Lucas Blogs About Books

Add caption So, what's this book's deal? Have you seen the 2006 anime adaptation directed by Satoshi Kon ? Is it possible for me not to have seen a movie you've seen? Well, doesn't the "Hypothetical Reader" conceit rrequire that you haven't read the books I have? Let's not examine that too closely. Yes, I've seen Paprika . Well, the novel isn't all that different. I mean, there are differences, but honestly, if you've seen the movie, I wouldn't say that reading the source material adds that much to the experience. Yeah, about the novel, this is theoretically a review of that and not an Oddaptations , right? Oh, right. So Yasutaka Tsutsui's Paprika  is a Philip K. Dickian sci-fi psychological thriller about a psychotherapist who is able to enter her patients' dreams. The therapist in question is Dr. Atsuko Chiba who's been using PT (psychotherapy) devices to treat patients since before the devices were legal...

SYMBOLISM! My feverish pursuit of MOAR content brought forth a new feature: Simplified Series. Here's the pitch: quick (mostly spoiler-free) synopses of the entries in a series followed by the reasons you should or shouldn't read it. This week: The Sea of Fertility tetralogy by Yukio Mishima Background info: In America, Mishima is probably as well known for the circumstances of his  death  as for his accomplishments as a novelist (he was also a poet, bodybuilder , dramatist , actor , three-time Nobel nominee , and of course, the founder of a right-wing nationalist militia).  The Sea of Fertility was his last major work, with the final volume being completed just before his attempted coup. It follows the life of Shigekuni Honda from 1912-1975 as he continually tries (and fails) to save the life of his childhood friend, Kiyoaki Matsugae, who Honda believes is doomed to die young and be reincarnated unless Honda can find a way to break the cycle. Spring Snow  ...