Go: A Coming of Age Novel Kindle Edition

I got this book only because it seemed to be the lesser of all the evils. I wasn't interested in any of the KF books this month, and not only was I not interested, but they all seemed not just lackluster but bad. I suppose that was at 3 am this morning when I couldn't sleep and was cranky, but when I came back to the books after having gotten some sleep my opinions were changed some, but not a lot. So I didn't expect much from this book. I read the sample chapters and already had 4-stars hovering in the back of my mind. Then I bought it and got into it, and was significantly less than inspired.Somewhere around 30-ish percent my 4-stars had shifted to a magnanimous 3, and I put the book down to go look at the author. And when I read that he'd not only won an award for this book, but that the book's film adaptation won every major award in Japan in 2002 my biggest thought was: "HUH?" I hadn't found the rhythm of the story yet. I didn't necessarily enjoy Sugihara's bad-boy personality and propensity for picking every fight known to man.What I didn't want, however, was to write a DNF review, so I soldiered on—which is a word that makes me cringe a little now. I don't know when the story caught me. I don't know where I was when I finally got it, because apparently I'd been too slow on the uptake before. The book was breathtaking. The story filled with hidden meanings, and hidden pains. It was a "love" story, but on a deeper level than I ever imagined. It was a stunning look into the ugliness of discrimination, and the fight to have dreams and also keep them. I don't know at what point "soldiering" became riveted. I don't know because I didn't bother to check. I didn't WANT to check, because then I'd learn that however much I had left in the book, it wasn't enough.I do know the point I started crying though, because I took the time to highlight it. That was at 69%. I'll include that passage at the bottom of this review, and to close it off, I'll just say that whatever I could possibly say to recommend this book would be inadequate, and I'm sure it's already been said. This book is one that stands above those that stand above, and it is perhaps the most prolific KF selection I've ever had the privilege of reading."I saw this show the other day about this retirement home for guide dogs in Hokkaido. It's this place where old dogs that can't do their job anymore can go to live out their last days... And then they showed a woman saying goodbye to her guide dog. It was a blind woman and a male golden retriever couple, and she just held him in her arms completely still for a good hour until finally the staff had to pull them apart. As the car drove away from the retirement home, the woman leaned out of the window and waved, shouting, 'See you,' and 'Bye-bye,' and the dog's name, but the dog just sat there and watched the car go. But that's the way it had to be. It's how guide dogs are trained. They aren't allowed to show excitement, and they aren't allowed to bark. Even after the car was gone, the dog didn't move an inch from where they said their goodbyes, and he kept looking in the direction the car disappeared......and in the evening it started to rain. Really hard. The dog that had been looking straight ahead until then looked up like he was watching the rain come down and started to howl. Waoon waoon. Like that—again and again. He didn't look the least bit sad or pathetic. He bayed with his back stretched, and the line from his chest to his chin perfectly straight like a beautiful sculpture. I cried my eyes out. Waoon waoon. Just like that.[So what] I'm trying to say is that I want to love someone the way that dog did. His howl was more beautiful than any music I've ever heard."To those who would like to know: there is a small amount of mild sexual content, emphasis on the mild...kissing and a few insinuations and comments...and I can't recall a single curse word in the book.

I was so fascinated--and entertained--by the narrator of this story that I actually read it in one sitting. Sugihara, a Japanese teenager, is both familiar and exotic. He's a smart-ass, scrappy kid, a mixture of bravado and vulnerability, intelligence and naïveté. Sugihara's understanding of himself and his place in the world is profoundly influenced by his circumstances: He's the son of Koreans who have lived most of their adult lives in Japan. Although I've read a few articles about discrimination against Koreans and other minorities in Japan, this first-person novel allows the American reader to understand the issue on a personal level and to feel the identity confusion and alienation that is the result of systemic discrimination. No aspect of Sugihara's life is untouched by the fact of his ethnicity. When he and a Japanese girl from a "good" family fall in love, even that joy is distorted by a sense of foreboding--what will happen when she finds out he's Korean?Reading fiction in translation can be problematic--characters can wind up "sounding" as though they've been poorly dubbed. *GO* is exceptional in its authenticity of voice. The love story is awkward and real. The humor-as-defense that Sugihara relies on to get through his difficult life is genuinely funny. Although there's some minor cursing and a couple of sex scenes, I think this would be a particularly good book for any high-school aged kids you might know. I'm looking forward reading more Kaneshiro!

I was immediately drawn into the story of Sugihara. I laughed, I cried (okay, not really, but my heart hurt immensely) and felt swarms of joy in just 160 pages. The length was the perfect amount, however I could have kept reading about these characters for days. Sometimes books drag on and lose their magic, not this one. And while the description does mention romance, it is so much more than that. So if heavy romance isn't your thing, you're safe with picking up this book.

I've enjoyed Japanese food for decades. I adore Kurosawa and Miyazaki and consider Ringu to be one of my all-time favorite horror movies. That said, I know nothing about Japan. To me, it's a distant, wondrous place filled with smart, hard-working people who like eating raw fish, smoking, and frequenting public baths.Reading Go by Kazuki Kaneshiro was a revelation to me, cutting through the myth of an orderly society to reveal deep-seated racism not unlike what we find in this country. Specifically, it's bigotry against people who are Zainichi, people of Korean descent who are living in Japan but treated differently than other Japanese citizens. As told through the eyes of a boy named Sugihara, this world is brutal and unforgiving. Every day is a fight for survival. And then, he meets the girl-Sakurai.Some academic is probably going to roast me for saying this, but here goes. For me, Sugihara is Holden Caufield-only much more interesting. He's violent and tortured, but only because he's been bullied all his life. When he meets Sakurai, he discovers in himself a capacity for love. And she learns that creating a tolerant society can begin with one person. Go is a beautiful coming-of-age story that readers of great literary fiction shouldn't miss.

The story of those born in Japan but never accepted as Japanese is always an interesting perspective as it is so often ignored, particularly in modern novels.The book is fairly short and doesn't overstay it's welcome. It was written for a Japanese audience in mind and expects the reader to understand the underpinnings of Japanese society so it may not be as impactful for those who have never lived there.

Good

A light and enjoyable read that managed to make me smile and occasionally laugh. Superficial but with an honesty that’s refreshing and made for a book that was hard to put down. A better read than I expected, a sentiment that I expect many will feel.

It was my first time reading a novel set in Japan. Apart from being cute, it was educating. So many random facts and just knowledge about Japan. I guess I have found myself a book boyfriend.

I picked the book on a whim and to be honest felt like giving up right from the start but one review kept me hooked on to it. Someone mentioned how it reads like a K- Drama and it sure does. It has its moments though. Our protagonist is trying to find his place in a country which gives him no privilege of being born there. The whole question of nationality plays an important role in the story but it primarily revolves around his love affair as he keeps putting out information about his childhood, nationality, beliefs and such in the background.