Monday, June 27, 2005

A Manga to Sink Your Teeth Into



So, you know this must be good for it to take me out of the Blogcave. I just got finished reading Love As A Foreign Language, and it was... it was a great many things. Most of all, however, is that it was completely and totally accessible, while also keeping the reader completely immersed in the "stranger in strange land" feel. While this is a fast-paced and rather small trade paperback, its portability allows for rereadability.

There is also something to be said about the author's mastery of conversation. And I don't just mean between two people. He mixes things up, you never hear the same thing twice, even if you may think you have. And the topic is truly universal (several of them are) I found myself nodding along with this victim of wanting one thing, and not knowing that it would come to be a place you detest. And you have friends, but when none of them are in the same frame of mind, they tend to find you a depressing bore.

The subtleties of learning new things about Korean culture, almost demand at least a quick glance back. But the constants of how one can relate to so much of this, means that it will be nice and snug in your back pocket. It doesn't read backwards, and it won't have you cursing about whether someone is male or female. But it will be an experience, and like coming home, all at the same time.

2 comments:

Kit said...

sounds cool! i'll have to look for that one.
btw-did you realize that this manga is korean? there's lots of korean manga out there.

Justin said...

Yeah, made a bit of a comment about the Korean aspect towards the tail end of the blog. Anyway it is very cool, and if memory serves it was from Onipress... and can be purchased at talesofwonder.com I am not sure it fits the description of Manga in a strong sense of the word, but it is definetly worth the five dollars or so that it retails for.