Reviews for Brave Story (Novel)

The average rating for Brave Story (Novel) based on 2 reviews is 4.5 stars.

Review # 1 was written on 2008-01-03 00:00:00 Marilyn Regazzi Besides having to hide at my desk to read this at lunch hour (people were constantly asking me 'how long's it take you to read a book like that??), I really like it. I'm a big fan of japanese literature in general but this was my first taste of fantasy. Usually I can only get mysteries. Miyabe is an accomplished mystery writer which is probably why she managed to get this one marketed in the US. I'm so glad she did! I'll be honest, if you don't spend hours glued to Final Fantasy you're going to miss a lot in this book. It's not that you won't enjoy it but it reads like a long role-playing game. One that has a good story line, a rarity in RPGs;) The first third of the book takes place in the real world where Wataru Mitani deals with the his father's abandonment, his guilt and his mother's attempted suicide. Then he goes to Vision, a world built out of his own mind - which is filled with images of his favorite video game. One of the things I like about Japanese stories is that they don't hold so close to the evil=evil and good=good storylines that dominate Western children's lit. The world of Vision struggles with ideological, ethical and individual values. As Wataru travels through vision he questions everything but tries to do what he thinks is right. Eventually he has to accept that part of himself that hates. Hatred that exists even for people he loves. A good satisfying read. It does take a while to "take off" but I enjoyed Wataru so much I didn't mind just wandering around with him a bit.

Review # 2 was written on 2010-10-28 00:00:00 Dave Shiwram Really there's not much else to say but that I was blown away by Brave Story. It was so much better than I expected, a thoroughly designed young adult fantasy that builds its strength on the problem of growing up. It's a little known fact that I find most fantasy novels to be less engaging than their real-world counterparts. Authors of fantasy, then, really have to present something special or endearing in order to get a) to finish their works and b) to be happy I did. Despite being perfectly at home with the idea of fantasy fiction (what with having grown up with X-Men and Thor and Dungeons & Dragons), I can count on one hand the number of fantasy adventure literatures that I would admit to liking: 1) Harry Potter 2) Lord of the Rings 3) Watership Down 4) The works of Neil Gaiman (e.g., Stardust and Anansi Boys) and, I guess I can add: 5) Voyage of the Dawn Treader. Well folks, colour me stupefied and help me replace my hook with a more digitally inclined prosthetic because I'm gonna need a second hand.* Miyuki Miyabe's Brave Story is that good. So far as young adult fantasy goes, Miyabe's novel is far more interesting than what we're commonly given to expect. While Brave Story follows a number of familiar narrative arcs (e.g. beginning the fantasy hero in the real world before depositing him in a strange land, having him grow in strength before he has to meet the final challenge, a climax in which the entire world hangs in the balance), this book distinguishes itself on two fronts: propelling the protagonist into viable introspection and weighing moral choices in a world that is anything but black and white. The story concerns Wataru, a fifth grader who is likable enough that most people are friendly to him, but is also a bit shy around the ladies. The first quarter of the book centers on Wataru's day-to-day, his life in school, with friends, and with family. Things are changing in his life and not for the better. Concurrently, he discovers the gateway to another land, one beyond the wakeful eye, and discovers that the solution to all his problems might lie in that other place. Pretty typical story conceits, but nothing is as plain as all that. Wataru spends the rest of the book discovering both the meaning of anguish and, more, what it means to take part in the human nature. More than any external foe, Wataru must confront himself and his own struggle against what he is and will become. That a book aimed at younger readers would tackle the concepts and issues Miyabe does is just fantastic. Wataru's solutions (and in some sense therefore, Miyabe's) aren't the solutions I would find, but that he's even considered things enough to arrive at his solution makes him 258% more thoughtful than any other young fantasy hero out there. Was there anything less than lustrous about Brave Story? Certainly. One grave problem looming over the entire fantasy genre is setting. Because readers aren't familiar with the ins-and-outs of whatever land an author has crafted in a bout of world-building, authors must take special pains in describing these worlds so that readers can gain a sense of place. And the more imaginative the world-setting, the more time must be spent describing the quality of the air, the density of the trees, the geological formations, the political boundaries, the fashions, the customs, etc. All fine and good when divorced from story, but as soon as an author begins describing the world or phenomena, the story is paused. No character interactions, no story development, no ruminations on meaning or purpose or philosophy. Instead, we get saddled with the flatness of what a particular wall looks like or the way in which the half-man, half-parrot thing stands in order to keep his balance on the motorcycle geese. Or we get a description of the rules of Quidditch. Not at all fun and really just a terrible albatross to hang around the throat of an entire genre. So yeah, there's that. And though Miyabe of course has to engage in these kinds of shenanigans, she does so for a not ungodly amount of time and the rest of her tale more than makes up for what amounts to a fault in genre. All told, Brave Story might be my favourite fantasy yarn after Watership Down. And hey, you can't beat that. Since... you can't beat bunnies. Or something like that. *note: I don't really have a hook for a hand, but I'd make a dashing vagrant if I did.