Reviews for The floating girl

The average rating for The floating girl based on 2 reviews is 2.5 stars.

Review # 1 was written on 2017-03-31 00:00:00 Rick Matyas Not as good as previous books in the series. The mystery aspect took too long to start, the plot strands never came together in a meaningful or cohesive way, and Rei was at her most annoying much of the time. The manga angle is approached superficially and Rei never seems to really have a grasp on what manga is and what it means to its readers. The stereotypes trod out in this part of the story aren't just corny and tired, they're actually rather offensive. The whole tale just seemed a bit slap-dash, like it was thrown together without much thought or care. I hope Rei goes back to antiques in the next volume-in that milieu, she and the writer shine.

Review # 2 was written on 2010-11-26 00:00:00 Ti Turrey Set in the early 2000s, the series is about Rei Shimura, an antique dealer, who finds herself involving in various mysteries having emigrated to Tokyo. The novel was introduced to me by a friend as dealing with the manga industry in Japan and it piqued my interest. It is told in an outsider narrative, however, and it works in one sense. Being Japanese-American, Rei Shimura will not feel completely fit in with either her Japanese or "American" culture, but I often feel like there is a disdain and fascination with something Other gloss over the narrative. It can be innocuous, but often times, it has unfortunate implications, especially given the power United States has over Japan, culturally and socially, and the fact that this was written for a Western audience. So that left a sour taste in my mouth and I couldn't continue when it's apparent the novel is about Rei Shimura Rei Shimura Rei Shimura and not anyone else in the story -- and also, that the novel is not for Japanese-Americans despite being about them.