I found this novella funny, deeply weird and involving. It is likely to be divisive, but I would definitely recommend to Murakami and Sayaka Murata fans.

An homage to Murakami's short story Slow Boat to China, this short novella is introspective and circular as the narrator reminisces about the three women of his past. As an echo of Murakami it works well, but it may be a little existential for some readers.

Strange little book, as so many Japanese novels are strange, and possibly it helps to have at least some familiarity with Japanese literature to fully appreciate this short tale of a young man’s coming-of-age in Tokyo and the three girlfriends who have meant so much to him. It’s an easy pleasant read, but for me didn’t amount to very much in the end – just not my type of thing. Too rambling and inconsequential, although admittedly with some very vivid scenes and set-pieces.

I would rate this a 3.5 and that's a bit generous but giving this reputable author the benefit of the doubt. I received a copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an unbiased review. It is a book that is very hard to get into but thankfully was not very long. For those who like stream of consciousness writing, it might be better enjoyed. It is a coming of age tale told by a young narrator who had a troubled youth in Tokyo and his many attempts to leave. Literally, this book may have gotten lost in the translation from Japanese as it has gotten rave reviews. For me, it was a little too difficult for me to follow.

Published in Japan in 2003; published in translation by Pushkin Press on June 6, 2017

Slow Boat is a novella-length story of three loves, told by a man who recalls his past. Each love represents (at least in his mind) a failed attempt to leave Tokyo, either physically or metaphorically.

Slow Boat is almost existential in its depiction of a man who feels hopeless, powerless, and trapped in a heartless Tokyo. Three times, he has tried and failed to leave Tokyo. The first time he was in grade school, chasing after his girlfriend, whose parents were taking her away. The second time he was planning to join his new girlfriend at the airport. Both attempts ended violently. The third time he decided to leave metaphorically, leading to another new girlfriend and another disaster.

I’m not sure what to make of Slow Boat. It’s sort of a commentary on Japan over the course of the last few decades, but it’s also personal, a commentary on Japan as seen from the standpoint of a man (or boy) at various stages of his life, looking for a way out. Not a way out of Japan, necessarily, but a way out of the life for which he seems destined. Perhaps the narrator is simply coming to terms with his life, coming to accept that he is on a slow boat to nowhere. Or perhaps he is about to challenge fate. Part of the novel suggests that simply doing the best we can with what we have toward the people we love will have positive if unforseeable consequences, even if we do not stay with those people forever.

Fortunately, Hideo Furakawa includes an explanation of the book, which he calls a remix of Haruki Murakami’s story, “Slow Boat to China.” Familiarity with that story might help a reader appreciate Hideo Furakawa’s remix, but I haven’t read it so I can’t comment on that. I did appreciate the explanation of the novel’s surrealistic nature, which I found interesting but puzzling. Readers with a greater background in Japanese literature might get more out of Slow Boat than I did, but I liked it well enough to recommend it to readers who are up for a challenge.

RECOMMENDED

I did not get this, in fact I am kind of embarrassed how totally I did not get this. I read the words but didn't understand their deeper meaning. It felt a bit like I am lacking the framework needed to understand this book. I feel the need to point out that this is totally my fault - I know nearly nothing about Japan, so I wasn't even sure if the places visited by the protagonist are real or not.

How baffling this whole book was for me is best exemplified thusly: my copy has letters missing (the "th"s at the start of sentences were missing as well as the letters "ft" if they followed each other) and I am not even sure if that wasn't in fact on purpose. I have no idea how to adequately write a review of a book that I so fundamentally did not get.

The narrator is the complete focus of this work, the book is in fact highly introspective in nature and as such his story is told in a circular and repeating manner. He has tried and failed to leave Tokyo at least on three separate occasions and is sure he will never be able to leave and start anew somewhere else (it is never explained why he wants to leave or why he feels like his attempts are doomed). He reminisces on his three girlfriends and how those relationships end. Then there are interludes written by one of his friends who works as a free-lance journalist and I don't quite know what they were about.

As I sad, I just did not get it - the whole subtext went past me and the whole experience was baffling to me - and not in a particularly fun way.

Thank you to Pushkin Press for providing me with an advance copy of Hideo Furukawa's novella, Slow Boat, in exchange for an honest review.

PLOT- Furukawa's novella Slow Boat is translated from the original Japanese by David Boyd. This dream-like story follows a young man named Boku and his desire to escape is native Tokyo, along with his disastrous relationships with women, who share his desire to escape. 

LIKE- I read this story in a single sitting, taking me about ninety-minutes. As much as I love novels, I also enjoy reading shorter works where I can wholly immerse myself for the duration of a story, without breaks.

Furukawa's story isn't linear, it drifts around with regard to both content and style: for example, there are a few sections written as a newspaper article. My favorite character was a teenage sushi chef. She is bold and sassy, eventually becoming the girlfriend of Boku. Boku realizes that she will have a bigger life outside of Japan and lets her go to pursue an international internship. 

DISLIKE- Furukawa mentions that he was inspired by a short story of Haruki Murakami; a story that I have not read. I feel like I may have missed the magic of Slow Boat, by not having read the Murakami story. As it stands, I was not overly impressed with Slow Boat. It was often tedious and slow. I didn't connect with Boku, which made me resistant to care about his journey.

 I'm not sure why, but throughout the novella, letters were missing, making it difficult to read. If memory serves, " T H & F" were missing in words that contained those letters. I wasn't sure if this was a stylist choice or perhaps because I had received an ARC. In any case, it was very distracting and served to slow down the pace in which I read Slow Boat.

RECOMMEND- No. I did not enjoy Slow Boat enough to recommend it.

Slow Boat by Hideo Furukawa is a pleasure to read! If you're interested in Japanese literature, this will be a welcome addition to your shelf.

I have had troubles reading this file on my device, so I have only read the beginning. It didn't really appeal to me, I think you have to be in a particular mood to enjoy this dreamy atmosphere. The reference to Haruki Murakami is quite obvious and I think people who enjoy Murakami will better "get it" than me.

DNF. Probably because it is a riff on Murakami, who is patently unreadable, this is the same – it has flashes of good scenes, but a lot of waffle, and just too much (punning, place references galore, etc) that did not translate.

Our narrator wanders (apparently aimlessly) through Tokyo, exploring abandoned parks and tracing the city's perimeter on the metro. There's an element of the caged animal about his movements: a man rendered powerless by his surroundings. He has never made it out of the sprawling metropolitan district of Tokyo, although he has made three attempts, at three different periods of his life. Each is bound up with the story of one of the women he has loved. As he tells us these stories, we dip into vignettes of the young man's life - at the ages of ten, nineteen and twenty-six - and follow his increasing struggle for self-direction and self-awareness. Each of these women, in different ways, challenges him to contemplate breaking the boundaries that have kept him penned in Tokyo, and each time Fate intervenes in a different way.

It's a somewhat meandering story, interspersed with fragments of a chronicle written by the narrator's friend, which offers further snapshots of what their friendship group was up to at different stages in their lives. Finally there are the narrator's strange dreams, as he drops off while resting during his Christmas Eve wanderings. In this dream he finds himself trapped in a strange room, unable to see out of a window or to find a door. He's convinced that, if he can only solve the mystery of where he is, he'll suddenly be free. But time is running out, and the dream is getting realer all the time...

With stories like this, I find myself dangerously close to becoming a dull, literal-minded reader and asking that pernicious question, "Yes, but what's it actualy about?" I'm sure that, in asking this, I am actually missing the point entirely, as the novel has the feel of a stream-of-consciousness meditation on life, death, freedom and all manner of profound things. But it does feel rather bewildering. Perhaps it's easier to understand if you've read Haruki Murakami's short story Slow Boat to China, on which this novella is based, and whose themes it borrows and 'remixes'. I haven't, however and, without having that cultural reference to hand, I'm fully aware I'm missing the most significant layer of the novella's meaning and probably overlooking many important details.

There is something typically Japanese about this novella: its abstract feel, its methodical narrative voice and, I have to add, its obsession with the breasts of its female characters (I used to think this was just Murakami, but perhaps it says something about the culture more broadly). While I found it baffling, I didn't actually dislike it: it's short, at 128 pages, and easy to read, thanks to Boyd's contemporary, chatty translation. Appropriately, for a tale focused on dreams, it shifts and tantalises, half-grasped, its meaning floating ever just out of reach. It's self-indulgent, shape-shifting, a quicksilver piece of whimsy.

For the review, due to be published in 18 April 2017, please see my blog:
https://theidlewoman.net/2017/04/18/slow-boat-hideo-furukawa

https://bookstalkerblog.wordpress.com/
“What if someone got their hands on my dreams? Just thinking about it sent shivers down my spine. It’d be like someone messing with your corpse.”

The author wrote this as an homage to Haruki Murakami, much in the same ‘magical realsim’ vein . While Haruki’s writing is masterful and not easy to emulate, Hideo certainly captured a touch of the surreal realities Murakami excells at creating. It’s hard to write as beautifully as Murakami does, there is something about his stories that I’ve yet to see anyone write with beauty and ease. Furukawa does a decent job with this strange story about three girlfriends who all seem to slip through his fingers like sand… or… time. He tells us right away “I’ve never made it out of Tokyo.“ But why? Why doesn’t he get out? Is it something having to do with the whims of fate? Is it self-sabotage? Are his dreams to blame? The first girlfriend happens in his early youth. In fifth grade, after Golden Week he stops going to school (this seems unbelievable to me, Japanese parents are pretty serious about their children’s schooling, at least when I lived in Japan) the trigger, he tells us, was Children’s Day. If you wonder at the flags of Koi (carp) flapping “satsuki-nobori” in the breeze, it’s a day that celebrates children, their personalities, and their happiness. To think a day celebrating children’s happiness can trigger this period in his young life lends a strange feeling to the tale. He is suddenly consumed with the reality of death, one day he will die. This ties into his dream diary, sleep being a nightly death in and of itself, but sleep always finds him. The first girl he falls for when he is sent away to a special school, a place where children live together, one for those that can’t go (or won’t) to regular school. She is his first love, and a strange alien one. This is the part of the story I loved, she is a unique girl, the best kind- a hyper-talker. “Within a couple of days, her mouth had totally devastated our peace and quiet (if we ever had such a thing). She rattled everyone’s cage.” She is a new dream for him to focus on, the giver of his first kiss and before he knows it, fate steps in and the first girlfriend is taken away. She won’t be the last. Fast forward to the future and a woman who wants him to leave for Okinawa for her, to CHOOSE to be with her is a dead end when “Synchronized Attacks” happen that make it impossible for him to make his flight. What is stranger, his waking life or his coded dreams? Why is he unable to leave? Just when he is ready to take a plunge, to be the captain of his fate it seems Tokyo will not let him go! The third woman, “Knife Girl” has dreams of her own to follow too and just like the girl before her, these dreams aren’t for life in Tokyo. Things that happen to prevent him from leaving are a brand of outrageous bad luck, or are they? The Slow Boat takes on real meaning for our seemingly ill fated friend, but maybe the way out isn’t always a lover. It’s a very slow leaving.

It’s a strange tale, and I wonder how different it would be in the original language. I almost wish the entire story could have been about girlfriend one, I think that’s a novel I’d devour. The ending was fitting, and there were odd moments. Sometimes it worked, sometimes it threw me off the boat. I liked it, and there is something endearing about Furukawa’s admiration of Murakami. Maybe not for everyone, but just the right taste of odd for others.

Publication Date: June 6, 2017

Pushkin Press

I can definitely see where the comparisons to Murakami are coming from - although Slow Boat didn't quite get to the same fantastical levels. I enjoyed the writing, but found the narrative to be a bit too short to be satisfying. I finished it quickly over the course of a single evening, and because of that lost some of the impact that seems essential to this kind of writing style.

It was well written, and well translated from what I can tell however! I'd be very interested in reading more from this author.

One man's bizarre journey trying to leave Tokyo, his strange dreams, and the loss of his three girlfriends. This novella didn't quite cut it for me. I was kind of bored to tell you the truth. I had such high hopes for this novella and now my hopes have been dashed. I'm kind of sitting here like what was that?

Although, two things that struck me from the book were: one, is that the kids were taking a class to learn how to make goggles out of bamboo segments so they could explore the riverbed. And the second was a favorite quote: "I wasn't so weak when I was young. But I got old. Now I always think about consequences." He wants to stand up and fight back for what he feels is right but feels he can't because he is not young and strong anymore.

Maybe for me in another time or another place, but not today.

Unfortunately I was unable to download this title. Therefore unable to provide a review.
Thank you for giving me access to read it however.

In his "liner notes" afterword Hideo Furukawa acknowledges his debt to Haruki Murakami and describes Slow Boat as a remix of Murakami's story Slow Boat to China.
"For me," he admits, "Murakami is at the centre of it all - the roots of my soul" and the influence is clear with his hapless narrator, constantly thwarted by fate and the transient love of the women that briefly intersect with his life. But Slow Boat is more than a fan's tribute to his hero, it's an assured piece of writing in its own right.

"This is the story fifth-grade boy hell-bent on making sense of his dreams. Cracking the code" . So Slow Boat's own narrator Boku describes his story and the tale often occupies that strange territory between sleep and waking. Boku's dreams often intersect with his life, tantalising him with hints of meaning (which also call to the reader as Furukawa tips his hat to his own novel with pop-culture references) and the writing is full of jerky, confused dream-logic, bringing with it the feeling of heart-racing awakening from frenzied chases and unbelievable twists of fate that balloon out of control. As a coming-of-age story it is full of the failings and frustrations of a youth in a world that seems determined to defeat him. The overarching theme of (failing to) "escape" from Tokyo is full of that deep, visceral need to just get out of the place you were born that many will recognise. To slip the collar of the place that has for so long defined you.

"Idiots." Boku sneers at one point, "Tokyo thought my Trojan Horse was avant-garde? Die, Tokyo, die."

There is also a preoccupation with language and its ability to confuse, miscommunicate, from the imperfect similarities of Chinese and Japanese Kanji to his attempts to understand the words of his hyper-vocal first girlfriend. But there is also the fellowship provided by a shared language as relationships develop through a shared vocabulary such as the secret language he develops with his friends to supply the deficiencies of Japanese to describe the experience of a changing world.

The circle of life, for many individuals, is completed within a small radius of their place of origin. Boku was born in Tokyo, feared he would die in Tokyo and made several botched attempts to leave. His dreams of life in Tokyo were colorless and murky. Boku had three girlfriends. One was taken from him, one left him as a result of mistakes and the third one, he sent away.

As a fifth grader, Boku became obsessed with death as "The Big Limit". He stopped attending school, slept all day and kept a dream diary resulting in his being shipped off to an alternative school for dropouts. Enter girlfriend number one. By attending summer school, she was out of her mother's hair for the summer. Summer ends abruptly, halting the budding friendship and romance.

Boku's university years provided a second chance. What started as physical stirrings and incredible chemistry led to love. Girlfriend two was determined to leave Tokyo for Okinawa, so much so, that she called from the airport holding two tickets to Okinawa. Boku can leave Tokyo with her if he arrives at the airport. It is a race against time.

Fast forward to our narrator's new decision. If he can't leave Tokyo, he can keep Tokyo out of his business venture. His cafe called The Power of Kate is an establishment with aromas and flavors foreign to Tokyo. Girlfriend three, Knife Girl, the chef, will leave Tokyo soon to fulfill her dreams.

One cannot deny the fact that circumstance is a factor in his inability to leave Tokyo. Time marches on and it is incumbent upon Boku to navigate his own destiny. If the odds are against him, he has allowed them to be so. All he needs is a dose of hope and to exercise free will.

"Slow Boat" by Hideo Furukawa is a story of Boku's inability to change his focus from inaction to self betterment, hopefulness and happiness. Yes, he is often misguided and would profit from better communication skills, but hope is still within reach. "Slow Boat", a novella, highlights a life tormented by feeling there is no way out and no escape. An excellent read.

Thank you Steerforth Press,Pushkin Press and Net Galley for the opportunity to read and review "Slow Boat".

This is a "remix" of a short story by Haruki Murakami. Basically, this means that it is a novel based on a short story by Murakami. As a teenager, I loved Murakami, but as I've grown up, I find myself not enjoying him as much. The criticisms I have with Murakami unfortunately extend to "Slow Boat" as well - the main character is self-centered, the other characters are not well-developed, and the women are particularly weakly developed. "Slow Boat" is a quick read, and fans of Murakami will enjoy, but it wasn't really for me.

What a weird little book this was! But I loved it! The story, the pace of it, the connection to dreams, reality or somewhere in between. I know nothing of the author or their work but I intend to rectify that as soon as possible.