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Trilogy #1
Scattered All Over the Earth
Welcome to the not-too-distant future. Japan, having vanished into the sea, is now remembered as ¡®the land of sushi¡¯. Hiruko, a former citizen and a climate refugee herself, has a job teaching immigrant children in Denmark with her invented language Panska (Pan-Scandinavian): ¡®homemade language. no country to stay in. three countries I experienced. no time to learn three different languages. might mix up. insufficient space in brain. so made new language. homemade language most Scandinavian people understand¡¯.
Hiruko soon makes new friends to join her in her travels searching for anyone who can still speak her mother tongue: Knut, a graduate student in linguistics, who is fascinated by her Panska; Akash, an Indian man who lives as a woman, wearing a red sari; Nanook, an Eskimo from Greenland, first mistaken as another refugee from the land of sushi; and Nora, who works at the Karl Marx House in Trier. All these characters take turns narrating chapters, which feature an umami cooking competition; a dead whale; an ultra- nationalist named Breivik; Kakuzo robots; uranium; and an Andalusian bull fight. Episodic, vividly imagined and mesmerising, Scattered All Over the Earth is another sui generis masterwork by Yoko Tawada.
Hiruko soon makes new friends to join her in her travels searching for anyone who can still speak her mother tongue: Knut, a graduate student in linguistics, who is fascinated by her Panska; Akash, an Indian man who lives as a woman, wearing a red sari; Nanook, an Eskimo from Greenland, first mistaken as another refugee from the land of sushi; and Nora, who works at the Karl Marx House in Trier. All these characters take turns narrating chapters, which feature an umami cooking competition; a dead whale; an ultra- nationalist named Breivik; Kakuzo robots; uranium; and an Andalusian bull fight. Episodic, vividly imagined and mesmerising, Scattered All Over the Earth is another sui generis masterwork by Yoko Tawada.
224 pages, Paperback
First published April 26, 2018
642 people are currently reading
18.6k people want to read
About the author
Y¨ko Tawada
124?books920?followersY¨ko Tawada (¶àºÍÌïÒ¶×Ó Tawada Y¨ko, born March 23, 1960) is a Japanese writer currently living in Berlin, Germany. She writes in both Japanese and German.
Tawada was born in Tokyo, received her undergraduate education at Waseda University in 1982 with a major in Russian literature, then studied at Hamburg University where she received a master's degree in contemporary German literature. She received her doctorate in German literature at the University of Zurich. In 1987 she published Nur da wo du bist da ist nichts¡ªAnata no iru tokoro dake nani mo nai (A Void Only Where You Are), a collection of poems in a German and Japanese bilingual edition.
Tawada's Missing Heels received the Gunzo Prize for New Writers in 1991, and The Bridegroom Was a Dog received the Akutagawa Prize in 1993. In 1999 she became writer-in-residence at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology for four months. Her Suspect on the Night Train won the Tanizaki Prize and Ito Sei Literary Prize in 2003.
Tawada received the Adelbert von Chamisso Prize in 1996, a German award to foreign writers in recognition of their contribution to German culture, and the Goethe Medal in 2005.
(from Wikipedia)
Tawada was born in Tokyo, received her undergraduate education at Waseda University in 1982 with a major in Russian literature, then studied at Hamburg University where she received a master's degree in contemporary German literature. She received her doctorate in German literature at the University of Zurich. In 1987 she published Nur da wo du bist da ist nichts¡ªAnata no iru tokoro dake nani mo nai (A Void Only Where You Are), a collection of poems in a German and Japanese bilingual edition.
Tawada's Missing Heels received the Gunzo Prize for New Writers in 1991, and The Bridegroom Was a Dog received the Akutagawa Prize in 1993. In 1999 she became writer-in-residence at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology for four months. Her Suspect on the Night Train won the Tanizaki Prize and Ito Sei Literary Prize in 2003.
Tawada received the Adelbert von Chamisso Prize in 1996, a German award to foreign writers in recognition of their contribution to German culture, and the Goethe Medal in 2005.
(from Wikipedia)
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 1,012 reviews
April 26, 2022
The first in a projected trilogy, Scattered All Over the Earth builds on themes that will be familiar to regular readers of Y¨ko Tawada¡¯s fiction. Tawada¡¯s famous for working in both Japanese and German, Germany having been her home for many years, but has settled on Japanese for this latest translated work. It¡¯s short but dense and richly inventive with an unusual folkloric aspect: sometimes a little perplexing but always engrossing and thought-provoking. The novel unfolds from a variety of viewpoints but at its centre¡¯s Hiruko who, like her namesake, is adrift in the world, ending up working as a storyteller in a Danish community centre. Hers is a world that¡¯s both instantly recognisable, a 2011 in which Anders Breivik¡¯s infamous terrorist attacks are just about to take place, but also strangely disorientating. In this version of reality, Hiruko¡¯s homeland Japan no longer exists, even its name has vanished from memory, it¡¯s now known only as the land of sushi.
Hiruko¡¯s story revolves around her quest for someone who shares her mother tongue. As her search takes her across Northern Europe, she quickly accumulates an unlikely entourage: Danish Knut who¡¯s a linguistics scholar of sorts; Nora a curator from Trier¡¯s Marx Museum and her erstwhile lover Nanook who hails from Greenland but has reinvented himself as ¡°Japanese¡± Tenzo; and Akash an Indian, trans woman who joins them on their travels. Chapters move between their voices - the emphasis on voices is deliberate and significant, Tawada privileges the oral with its immediacy and flexibility over the limits and constraints of the written word.
The characters¡¯ narratives intertwine, intersecting with Knut¡¯s mother whose existence¡¯s structured around her need to rescue and sponsor young people from Denmark¡¯s former colonies. Through this disparate group, Tawada teases out a multiplicity of interconnected themes, often returning to her long-standing preoccupations with environmentalism and the damaging implications of nationalistic policies; alongside her fascination with communication, language and identity, and the possibilities for new forms of selfhood opened up by nomadic individuals. All of which echo aspects of her earlier work especially Memoirs of a Polar Bear and Where Europe Begins.
Tawada¡¯s characters¡¯ experiences highlight the transformational potential of transnational identities, forming a strong plea for casting off the constrictions of nationalist longings. Hiruko¡¯s created her own language Panska incorporating words and phrases from numerous Scandinavian countries, giving her an enviable freedom both in her encounters and her ability to represent the world around her. Her polyglot style allows her to move beyond the limits of her cultural underpinnings. Instead, she¡¯s able to mix and match aspects of her past and present, using folklore and fairy tales from her childhood that she reinvents for new audiences of migrant children.
The nature of Tawada¡¯s interests may make this sound potentially dry and overly academic, and there are moments when that seems likely but the book¡¯s rescued by her creative approach and vivid style; while her prose¡¯s laden with memorable phrases and evocative descriptions, bringing in musings on a wonderfully-eccentric range of topics from the Moomins, to lost civilisations to Ovid¡¯s Metamorphosis. Tawada uses Hiruko¡¯s group to explore and question established or conventional notions of race or gender binaries that often go hand in hand with a stifling fixation on national origins and a stubborn refusal to let go of divisive myths of linguistic and cultural purity. It¡¯s a timely, fertile story and I¡¯m looking forward to finding out where future instalments will take me. Translated here by Margaret Mitsutani.
Thanks to Netgalley and publisher Granta Publications for an ARC.
Hiruko¡¯s story revolves around her quest for someone who shares her mother tongue. As her search takes her across Northern Europe, she quickly accumulates an unlikely entourage: Danish Knut who¡¯s a linguistics scholar of sorts; Nora a curator from Trier¡¯s Marx Museum and her erstwhile lover Nanook who hails from Greenland but has reinvented himself as ¡°Japanese¡± Tenzo; and Akash an Indian, trans woman who joins them on their travels. Chapters move between their voices - the emphasis on voices is deliberate and significant, Tawada privileges the oral with its immediacy and flexibility over the limits and constraints of the written word.
The characters¡¯ narratives intertwine, intersecting with Knut¡¯s mother whose existence¡¯s structured around her need to rescue and sponsor young people from Denmark¡¯s former colonies. Through this disparate group, Tawada teases out a multiplicity of interconnected themes, often returning to her long-standing preoccupations with environmentalism and the damaging implications of nationalistic policies; alongside her fascination with communication, language and identity, and the possibilities for new forms of selfhood opened up by nomadic individuals. All of which echo aspects of her earlier work especially Memoirs of a Polar Bear and Where Europe Begins.
Tawada¡¯s characters¡¯ experiences highlight the transformational potential of transnational identities, forming a strong plea for casting off the constrictions of nationalist longings. Hiruko¡¯s created her own language Panska incorporating words and phrases from numerous Scandinavian countries, giving her an enviable freedom both in her encounters and her ability to represent the world around her. Her polyglot style allows her to move beyond the limits of her cultural underpinnings. Instead, she¡¯s able to mix and match aspects of her past and present, using folklore and fairy tales from her childhood that she reinvents for new audiences of migrant children.
The nature of Tawada¡¯s interests may make this sound potentially dry and overly academic, and there are moments when that seems likely but the book¡¯s rescued by her creative approach and vivid style; while her prose¡¯s laden with memorable phrases and evocative descriptions, bringing in musings on a wonderfully-eccentric range of topics from the Moomins, to lost civilisations to Ovid¡¯s Metamorphosis. Tawada uses Hiruko¡¯s group to explore and question established or conventional notions of race or gender binaries that often go hand in hand with a stifling fixation on national origins and a stubborn refusal to let go of divisive myths of linguistic and cultural purity. It¡¯s a timely, fertile story and I¡¯m looking forward to finding out where future instalments will take me. Translated here by Margaret Mitsutani.
Thanks to Netgalley and publisher Granta Publications for an ARC.
May 6, 2022
One of the most fascinating premises I have encountered in years is tragically wasted on a chaotic mess of a book. I stuck it out through the end, but aside from a few clever musings about language, identify and the travesty of ¡°fusion¡± cuisine, there¡¯s not a lot to love here. I was also deeply put off by the treatment of the novel¡¯s one trans character. The novel makes a point of describing Akash as transitioning but declining to have surgery - then proceeds to describe her as a ¡°man in woman¡¯s clothes¡± for the duration of the book. The author even goes so far as to note that Akash appears unbothered by deeply transphobic comments such as ¡°what are you?¡± There is no thoughtful critique or plot-based reason for this callous and offensive treatment of Akash¡¯a character, and I implore the author to return to the drawing board and educate herself if this is indeed going to be a trilogy.
August 18, 2022
I like the author, Yoko Tawada's writing style and the way she presented the story in this book.
Each chapter has a different person telling their story from their point of view and all the stories are finally related together.
There are few people characters and languages and even different races including nationalities. Learn some new cultures and places.
A group of people met up coincidently and each one has different motives.
The more you read the more you like to discover. I think this book is underrated.
Each chapter has a different person telling their story from their point of view and all the stories are finally related together.
There are few people characters and languages and even different races including nationalities. Learn some new cultures and places.
A group of people met up coincidently and each one has different motives.
The more you read the more you like to discover. I think this book is underrated.
April 16, 2023
I have found a new favorite author in Yoko Tawada. I absolutely loved all aspects of my reading experience of Scattered All Over the Earth. It is a brilliant exploration of language, communication, and connectedness.
The author does not explicitly state, but hints at Japan having disappeared (by political and/or climate changes). This leads to exploring the impact of its disappearance on languages and immigrants learning new languages. I found this to be fascinating and intriguing.
A great quote that captures this is. ¡°A long time ago, most immigrants headed for one specific country and stayed there until they died, so they only had to learn the language spoken there. Now, when people are always on the move, our language becomes a mixture of all the scenes we¡¯ve passed through on the way.¡±
What a diverse and interesting ensemble of characters. Each chapter is told through a different character¡¯s perspective. The characters met unexpectedly and join together to go on a quest to find a ¡°native speaker¡± of Japanese. I learned a lot and laughed out loud. Each character is flawed, yet so very likable. The meddling mother was too much!
There is so much to this story! Love, coming of age, identity, the lingering effects of colonization, adapting, redefining, leaving home, work/finding work, what is home, generational differences and expectations, misconceptions, misunderstandings, and above all, communication. The choice of which language a character spoke was purposely, knowing the choice or the language¡¯s origin has implications to meaning and interpretation.
Scattered All Over the Earth is an ode to spoken language and communication. It is beautifully written, the use of language is exquisite, descriptive, playful, and multilayered. If you love to travel by book or are a lover of language, I highly recommend this book.
The author does not explicitly state, but hints at Japan having disappeared (by political and/or climate changes). This leads to exploring the impact of its disappearance on languages and immigrants learning new languages. I found this to be fascinating and intriguing.
A great quote that captures this is. ¡°A long time ago, most immigrants headed for one specific country and stayed there until they died, so they only had to learn the language spoken there. Now, when people are always on the move, our language becomes a mixture of all the scenes we¡¯ve passed through on the way.¡±
What a diverse and interesting ensemble of characters. Each chapter is told through a different character¡¯s perspective. The characters met unexpectedly and join together to go on a quest to find a ¡°native speaker¡± of Japanese. I learned a lot and laughed out loud. Each character is flawed, yet so very likable. The meddling mother was too much!
There is so much to this story! Love, coming of age, identity, the lingering effects of colonization, adapting, redefining, leaving home, work/finding work, what is home, generational differences and expectations, misconceptions, misunderstandings, and above all, communication. The choice of which language a character spoke was purposely, knowing the choice or the language¡¯s origin has implications to meaning and interpretation.
Scattered All Over the Earth is an ode to spoken language and communication. It is beautifully written, the use of language is exquisite, descriptive, playful, and multilayered. If you love to travel by book or are a lover of language, I highly recommend this book.
April 17, 2023
This book grapples with interesting ideas in, to me, a not particularly interesting way.
I was intrigued by the general idea, a future world in which Japan has disappeared and a Japanese woman is looking for a compatriot to speak her own language to. I¡¯ve said before that recently I¡¯ve read a number of ¡°gentle dystopias¡± that haven¡¯t exactly set my heart on fire, but what I liked here was that it wasn¡¯t really a dystopia at all (unless, I suppose, you are Japanese), merely an intriguingly mundane future world.
And I felt the pursuit of a fellow native speaker had promise. I¡¯ve lived abroad for years, and there have been times when all my English speaking friends seem to have moved away and yes, it erodes identity in a curious way, even as speaking another language adds something to who you are, it takes something away.
Unfortunately, I wasn¡¯t charmed by Hiruko¡¯s conclusions when she finally catches up with another Japanese man (and earlier, one who isn¡¯t).
I also found the novel frustrating on many other levels. It is narrated in turns by a group of largely-European young people. Never have I met a more tedious crowd. From Knut, a linguist, whose claim to fame seems to be that he smokes weed, to Akash, a transgender Indian with no personality whatsoever apart from having the hots for Knut, to Nora, a German woman with no personality whatever on any issue.
I think a lot of the problem is less the book than me, which is why I¡¯m giving three stars. Tawada has a light, quirky, eccentric kind of style that I¡¯ve discovered before doesn¡¯t work for me. My husband described her previous book as ¡°silly,¡± so perhaps it¡¯s just us.
I can see how for somebody else this could be invigorating both in concept and execution but for me it fell flat.
Thank you to Netgalley and Granta (whose books I generally love) for an ARC.
I was intrigued by the general idea, a future world in which Japan has disappeared and a Japanese woman is looking for a compatriot to speak her own language to. I¡¯ve said before that recently I¡¯ve read a number of ¡°gentle dystopias¡± that haven¡¯t exactly set my heart on fire, but what I liked here was that it wasn¡¯t really a dystopia at all (unless, I suppose, you are Japanese), merely an intriguingly mundane future world.
And I felt the pursuit of a fellow native speaker had promise. I¡¯ve lived abroad for years, and there have been times when all my English speaking friends seem to have moved away and yes, it erodes identity in a curious way, even as speaking another language adds something to who you are, it takes something away.
Unfortunately, I wasn¡¯t charmed by Hiruko¡¯s conclusions when she finally catches up with another Japanese man (and earlier, one who isn¡¯t).
I also found the novel frustrating on many other levels. It is narrated in turns by a group of largely-European young people. Never have I met a more tedious crowd. From Knut, a linguist, whose claim to fame seems to be that he smokes weed, to Akash, a transgender Indian with no personality whatsoever apart from having the hots for Knut, to Nora, a German woman with no personality whatever on any issue.
I think a lot of the problem is less the book than me, which is why I¡¯m giving three stars. Tawada has a light, quirky, eccentric kind of style that I¡¯ve discovered before doesn¡¯t work for me. My husband described her previous book as ¡°silly,¡± so perhaps it¡¯s just us.
I can see how for somebody else this could be invigorating both in concept and execution but for me it fell flat.
Thank you to Netgalley and Granta (whose books I generally love) for an ARC.
March 8, 2025
nope. i think the ludicrous amount of time it took us to read this 256 page book says enough ?, it wasn¡¯t absolutely horrible though, hence the two star rating instead of one. maybe one day i¡¯ll write a more thorough review and finish the series, though not in the near future. the premise was intriguing and i could resonate with the characters at times (rarely), but ultimately i simply couldn't find it in me to truly care about them.
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br with olivia ?
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br with olivia ?
May 2, 2022
Albeit a few clever observations of language and identity, there was neither a definite theme nor a striking plotline in Scattered All Over the Earth. Yoko Tawada¡¯s narrative spreads and builds around the idea of a world in which Japan no longer exists because of the rising sea levels, with only a few survivors scattered all over the earth. And only the remaining few remember their native language, be it fragmental or fluent. From the incipient, Tawada expects us to believe the absurd - The language of a highly culturally influential nation is, unfathomably, rendered near extinct. In a global and multicultural society, where the exchange of languages and cultures is prominent, when people are excavating and deciphering arcane scripts, do polyglots and capable linguists no longer exist? While the writing alludes that no outsiders retain memory of the language, there is no believable backstory or coherent world-building proving the same. Also, if a language is erased from collective memory, it raises the questions of who, how, and why?
While Tawada inserts interesting dialogue on language and linguistics, the off-kilter jumps from one character to another, and the injection of surface-level commentary on environmentalism, nationalism, immigration, attitudes to refugees, and exoticism of foreigners turned the narrative pedantic and hoary.
Adding to the above, Yoko Tawada continuously mis-genders a trans woman (who identifies as female and did not opt surgical procedures) throughout the narrative and we see other characters address Akash as ¡®he/him¡¯ or ¡®a man dressed in woman¡¯s clothes.¡¯ Also, she depicts the only transgender character as a jealous and borderline-obsessive lover. And in no instance, we get to see the author addressing the above issues, or include discussions on gender and challenge the negative stereotypes attached to the transgender community.
While this is the first in the trilogy, and despite the hovering thought of what-if-it-gets-better, I doubt I¡¯ll pick up any of the future installments.
While Tawada inserts interesting dialogue on language and linguistics, the off-kilter jumps from one character to another, and the injection of surface-level commentary on environmentalism, nationalism, immigration, attitudes to refugees, and exoticism of foreigners turned the narrative pedantic and hoary.
Adding to the above, Yoko Tawada continuously mis-genders a trans woman (who identifies as female and did not opt surgical procedures) throughout the narrative and we see other characters address Akash as ¡®he/him¡¯ or ¡®a man dressed in woman¡¯s clothes.¡¯ Also, she depicts the only transgender character as a jealous and borderline-obsessive lover. And in no instance, we get to see the author addressing the above issues, or include discussions on gender and challenge the negative stereotypes attached to the transgender community.
While this is the first in the trilogy, and despite the hovering thought of what-if-it-gets-better, I doubt I¡¯ll pick up any of the future installments.
December 23, 2022
Be ready because this is going to be a long one:
Yes the book is pretty, yes the writing is moving at times, yes it¡¯s exploration of language is unique, and yes the premise is interesting, but the overwhelming transphobia in this book completely ruins it for me.
The purpose of the story is to explore how individuals build their own identities and they present themselves to the world. Society will try to define you but you have the power to shape your own reality.
One of the characters that I guess is meant to represent these themes is a transgender woman named Akash. In her pov chapter she explains how she presents herself as a woman, lives as a woman, and wants the world to see her as a woman.
And YET the book INSISTS on misgendering her on EVERY SINGLE OCCASION. The MAIN CHARACTERS, her FRIENDS!!! Think of her as a ¡°man in women¡¯s clothes¡±. There is a moment in the book in which someone says to her ¡°what are you?¡± And all Akash does is shrug, with no one really pushing against it.
The author may be trying to make a point about the importance of an individuals sense of identity, but she completely fails with Akash. It does not matter that Akash is a woman and presents herself as such, the world around her does not recognize it.
To make matters worse, there are ZERO moments where the supposed friends are confronted about their misgendering of Akash, nor is there any indication that the act of misgendering is inherently wrong. Akash literally has no moment of agency through which she can present herself. (I also do not love that she is made to be desperately in love and chasing after a man who doesn¡¯t even see her as a woman)
Beyond Akash, the book at time loses its sense of purpose, the racial dynamics are strange, and there is an undercurrent of misogyny that I did not love.
Yeah, great premise, too bad it was transphobic AF.
TW: transphobia, misgendering, racism, slurs.
Yes the book is pretty, yes the writing is moving at times, yes it¡¯s exploration of language is unique, and yes the premise is interesting, but the overwhelming transphobia in this book completely ruins it for me.
The purpose of the story is to explore how individuals build their own identities and they present themselves to the world. Society will try to define you but you have the power to shape your own reality.
One of the characters that I guess is meant to represent these themes is a transgender woman named Akash. In her pov chapter she explains how she presents herself as a woman, lives as a woman, and wants the world to see her as a woman.
And YET the book INSISTS on misgendering her on EVERY SINGLE OCCASION. The MAIN CHARACTERS, her FRIENDS!!! Think of her as a ¡°man in women¡¯s clothes¡±. There is a moment in the book in which someone says to her ¡°what are you?¡± And all Akash does is shrug, with no one really pushing against it.
The author may be trying to make a point about the importance of an individuals sense of identity, but she completely fails with Akash. It does not matter that Akash is a woman and presents herself as such, the world around her does not recognize it.
To make matters worse, there are ZERO moments where the supposed friends are confronted about their misgendering of Akash, nor is there any indication that the act of misgendering is inherently wrong. Akash literally has no moment of agency through which she can present herself. (I also do not love that she is made to be desperately in love and chasing after a man who doesn¡¯t even see her as a woman)
Beyond Akash, the book at time loses its sense of purpose, the racial dynamics are strange, and there is an undercurrent of misogyny that I did not love.
Yeah, great premise, too bad it was transphobic AF.
TW: transphobia, misgendering, racism, slurs.
October 16, 2022
Finalist for the 2022 National Book Award for Translated Literature
When the original no longer exists, there¡¯s nothing you can do except look for the best copy
Y¨ko Tawada is a fascinating writer. Born in Japan but resident for many years in Germany, she writes her novels in either German or Japanese, switching between languages for different books, particularly if she feels she is getting too comfortable writing in one. As she explained in , this loss of familiarity is key for her:
And Scattered All Over the Earth, in a 2022 translation from Margaret Mitsutani from the 2018 Japanese original, is focused on identity and language, and indeed the loss of a native language.
The novel opens with a young Danish linguist (although a rather half-hearted one and more of a pothead), Knut, watching TV when he stumbles across a program about people from countries that have disappeared - the GDR, USSR, Yugoslavia. He finds his attention caught by one panelist, a young woman, who reminds him of an anime heroine. Called Hiruko, she is from an archipelago somewhere between China and Polynesia (which the reader soon realises is Japan, although Knut seems unaware of the country, and it is never named). As he listen he realises that while he understands her she isn't actually speaking Danish, nor Swedish nor Norwegian, and she transpires to have invented her own language, Panska, a mishmash of the three languages, resulting from her time as a refugee flitting between each:
recent immigrants wander place to place. no country oblighed to let them in has. not clear if they can stay. only three countries I experienced. no time to learn three different languages. might mix up. insufficient space in brain, so made new language. homemade language most scandinavian people understand
Hiruko also speaks English - although only quietly as she is convinced she will be sent to the US if anyone knows she speaks the language and fears that because of their terrible health system - as well as increasingly forgetting her own native tongue.
The infatuated Knut describes her Panska, rather rhapsodically, as breathing in several grammars, melding them together inside her body, then exhaling them as sweet breath.
For the translation this must have presented challenges, but also for the original author (and it would be fascinating to see the book, and hence Panska, translated into a Scandinavian language) and Mitsutani's rendition of Panska, which draws only on English vocabulary, can come across as a little Yodaese.
this bird legs does not have. artist did not draw. I, too, legs left out when crane I drew. colleague said, 'duck.' legs I added. 'crane,' colleague said. but making colleague see crane is not art.
Mitsutani describes her approach in this interview from .
Hiruko is on a quest to find native speakers of her language, which has all but been erased with her country, with her culture seemingly absorbed internationally (Knut is convinced Sushi is Finnish and very dubious of her claims that it is from Hiruko's native land). In the above-linked WWB article Y¨ko Tawada explained how this erasure of a language and separate cultural identity has echoes in Japan's own colonial history and their attempt to cultural assimilate the Korean people in 1910-1945.
The time setting of the novel isn't so much the future as some sort of alternative reality. There is for example an odd incident when the characters visit Oslo, where there is unusually heightened security due to a terrorist incident which is clearly the 2011 attacks by Anders Breivik, but then the character called Breivik is someone else: also a Norwegian ultranationalist but expressing this not via terrorism but rather arranging a sushi competition using whale meat (that this makes sense in the context of the novel rather speaks to its at times forced quirkiness).
And the cause of the deminse of Hiruko's land is never entirely clear, with various references to:
- the country levelling the mountains, then sinking under the waves as the sea rise with climate change;
- overpopulation at one stage;
- followed by population decline due to lack of sex drive;
- people unable to distignuish between the real and virtual worlds'
- death through overwork;
- robots taking over from people;
- a factory explosion (possibly nuclear) rendering large parts of the country uninhabitable; and
- houses built of paper and wood which burned easily.
The story itself turns into a Wizard of Oz style quest as Knut and Hiruko travel across Europe (from Copenhagen to Trier in Germany, to Oslo and then Arles in France) seeking Susanoo, reputed to be one of the few remaining speakers of her language, in the company of a group of fellow travellers each searching for something in terms of their identity:
- Akash, from Pune, who is transitioning gender from male to female;
- Nora from Trier, who claims to have no interest in people's origins yet, immediately she meets someone, imagines origin stories for them;
- 'Tenzo', Nora's boyfriend, who tells her he is a sushi chef from Hiruko's country but is actually an Eskimo(*) from Greenland. That he learned his sushi skills from a chef from Fujian Province on China who himself learned them from a French chef in Paris is the context for the quote that opens my review;
- Knut's mother, convinced she is the surrogate mother of all Eskimos in Denmarl.
(* I used the term advisedly as both Tenzo and Knut's mother each claim it is no more, perhaps less, offensive than Inuit - which seems a rather odd call by the author)
The visits to both Arles and Trier are not coincidental to the novel's message since each contains remants of a former empire, the Roman.
It makes for a fascinating if slightly exasperating read - and one that doesn't really reach any conclusions, since this transpires to be the first of a planned trilogy.
3.5 stars - rounded down as an obvious test is whether I will snatch up the next part when it appears in translation, and I'm not sure I woud.
When the original no longer exists, there¡¯s nothing you can do except look for the best copy
Y¨ko Tawada is a fascinating writer. Born in Japan but resident for many years in Germany, she writes her novels in either German or Japanese, switching between languages for different books, particularly if she feels she is getting too comfortable writing in one. As she explained in , this loss of familiarity is key for her:
It is useful, I believe, to fundamentally lose one sense of direction at least once. To break with the familiarity and routine of the culture and the institution of the society in which you grew up. Thus one is at least partially reborn somewhere else and this gives you a double advantage: you can observe the patterns of new institutions in a foreign world with the critical consciousness of an adult and selectively appropriate them like an actor does.
And Scattered All Over the Earth, in a 2022 translation from Margaret Mitsutani from the 2018 Japanese original, is focused on identity and language, and indeed the loss of a native language.
The novel opens with a young Danish linguist (although a rather half-hearted one and more of a pothead), Knut, watching TV when he stumbles across a program about people from countries that have disappeared - the GDR, USSR, Yugoslavia. He finds his attention caught by one panelist, a young woman, who reminds him of an anime heroine. Called Hiruko, she is from an archipelago somewhere between China and Polynesia (which the reader soon realises is Japan, although Knut seems unaware of the country, and it is never named). As he listen he realises that while he understands her she isn't actually speaking Danish, nor Swedish nor Norwegian, and she transpires to have invented her own language, Panska, a mishmash of the three languages, resulting from her time as a refugee flitting between each:
recent immigrants wander place to place. no country oblighed to let them in has. not clear if they can stay. only three countries I experienced. no time to learn three different languages. might mix up. insufficient space in brain, so made new language. homemade language most scandinavian people understand
Hiruko also speaks English - although only quietly as she is convinced she will be sent to the US if anyone knows she speaks the language and fears that because of their terrible health system - as well as increasingly forgetting her own native tongue.
The infatuated Knut describes her Panska, rather rhapsodically, as breathing in several grammars, melding them together inside her body, then exhaling them as sweet breath.
For the translation this must have presented challenges, but also for the original author (and it would be fascinating to see the book, and hence Panska, translated into a Scandinavian language) and Mitsutani's rendition of Panska, which draws only on English vocabulary, can come across as a little Yodaese.
this bird legs does not have. artist did not draw. I, too, legs left out when crane I drew. colleague said, 'duck.' legs I added. 'crane,' colleague said. but making colleague see crane is not art.
Mitsutani describes her approach in this interview from .
It¡¯s safe to assume that Hiruko¡¯s native language is Japanese. I therefore tried to incorporate certain characteristics of the Japanese language, such as bringing the verb to the end of the sentence. One review said that, ¡°Panska reads like a Japonic parody of Nordic syntax translated into a West Germanic language.¡± While I can¡¯t exactly say that that was what I was aiming for, it seems like a good mixture. Also, Hiruko says that she doesn¡¯t speak English very well, and I puzzled over how to show that. I didn¡¯t want to have her speaking ¡°broken English,¡± but in the end I decided to leave out an article here and there, especially when she¡¯s excited. There¡¯s no equivalent of the English article in Japanese, so that¡¯s something Japanese speakers have trouble with.
Hiruko is on a quest to find native speakers of her language, which has all but been erased with her country, with her culture seemingly absorbed internationally (Knut is convinced Sushi is Finnish and very dubious of her claims that it is from Hiruko's native land). In the above-linked WWB article Y¨ko Tawada explained how this erasure of a language and separate cultural identity has echoes in Japan's own colonial history and their attempt to cultural assimilate the Korean people in 1910-1945.
The time setting of the novel isn't so much the future as some sort of alternative reality. There is for example an odd incident when the characters visit Oslo, where there is unusually heightened security due to a terrorist incident which is clearly the 2011 attacks by Anders Breivik, but then the character called Breivik is someone else: also a Norwegian ultranationalist but expressing this not via terrorism but rather arranging a sushi competition using whale meat (that this makes sense in the context of the novel rather speaks to its at times forced quirkiness).
And the cause of the deminse of Hiruko's land is never entirely clear, with various references to:
- the country levelling the mountains, then sinking under the waves as the sea rise with climate change;
- overpopulation at one stage;
- followed by population decline due to lack of sex drive;
- people unable to distignuish between the real and virtual worlds'
- death through overwork;
- robots taking over from people;
- a factory explosion (possibly nuclear) rendering large parts of the country uninhabitable; and
- houses built of paper and wood which burned easily.
The story itself turns into a Wizard of Oz style quest as Knut and Hiruko travel across Europe (from Copenhagen to Trier in Germany, to Oslo and then Arles in France) seeking Susanoo, reputed to be one of the few remaining speakers of her language, in the company of a group of fellow travellers each searching for something in terms of their identity:
- Akash, from Pune, who is transitioning gender from male to female;
- Nora from Trier, who claims to have no interest in people's origins yet, immediately she meets someone, imagines origin stories for them;
- 'Tenzo', Nora's boyfriend, who tells her he is a sushi chef from Hiruko's country but is actually an Eskimo(*) from Greenland. That he learned his sushi skills from a chef from Fujian Province on China who himself learned them from a French chef in Paris is the context for the quote that opens my review;
- Knut's mother, convinced she is the surrogate mother of all Eskimos in Denmarl.
(* I used the term advisedly as both Tenzo and Knut's mother each claim it is no more, perhaps less, offensive than Inuit - which seems a rather odd call by the author)
The visits to both Arles and Trier are not coincidental to the novel's message since each contains remants of a former empire, the Roman.
It makes for a fascinating if slightly exasperating read - and one that doesn't really reach any conclusions, since this transpires to be the first of a planned trilogy.
3.5 stars - rounded down as an obvious test is whether I will snatch up the next part when it appears in translation, and I'm not sure I woud.
April 19, 2022
? SCATTERED ALL OVER THE EARTH by Yoko Tawada, translated from the Japanese by Margaret Mitsutani, 2019/2022 @ndpublishing
Tawada's tale is a near future speculative; Japan is underwater due to climate change. Remaining inhabitants are "scattered all over the earth". This background is set for a smaller story of people living and communicating in a future Europe - specifically Denmark and Germany.
One of the only remaining Japanese people seeks other refugees to speak to in her native language, while simultaneously creating a collective European language she calls panska.
A strange story that includes a lot of linguistic speculation and an eclectic cast characters: an Inuit sushi chef, a Danish linguist, a trans Marathi-speaking tour guide, many others...
There wasn't a lot of direction or plot here, but the perspective shifts and speculation on disappearing countries and people kept me reading.
Probably a solid 3? - maybe a little more since I'm still thinking about it a few days later.
Tawada's tale is a near future speculative; Japan is underwater due to climate change. Remaining inhabitants are "scattered all over the earth". This background is set for a smaller story of people living and communicating in a future Europe - specifically Denmark and Germany.
One of the only remaining Japanese people seeks other refugees to speak to in her native language, while simultaneously creating a collective European language she calls panska.
A strange story that includes a lot of linguistic speculation and an eclectic cast characters: an Inuit sushi chef, a Danish linguist, a trans Marathi-speaking tour guide, many others...
There wasn't a lot of direction or plot here, but the perspective shifts and speculation on disappearing countries and people kept me reading.
Probably a solid 3? - maybe a little more since I'm still thinking about it a few days later.
August 18, 2022
I am SO frustrated by this book! I found it so interesting and yet every time the narrative character referred to the trans woman character as "he" it jerked me out of it. The narrator changes chapter by chapter, so I thought maybe it was just a trait of one or two particular characters to show something about their personalities, but no, they all do it! This is transphobic! For a book about the importance and power of language this is especially egregious.
September 16, 2024
Set in a near future, climate change has caused several of our present-day countries to disappear. Protagonist Hiruko is a former resident of a country that no longer exists ¨C it has been absorbed into the sea. As the story opens, she is living in Denmark. She is on a quest to find anyone who still knows her native tongue. During her search, she gradually assembles a small group of people who travel together. She meets a Danish linguistics student, a non-binary Indian immigrant, a German woman, and a sushi-chef from Greenland. Each has a special connection with linguistics.
Hiruko has created her own language, called Panska, which enables her to communicate with northern Europeans. The characters form an interesting, quirky bunch. It is a book about language, communications, and linguistics. It explores the concepts of homelands and migrations, and how these may change in the future. Even though it is dystopian, it has a certain charm, portraying how people try to do the best they can in less-than-ideal circumstances. The ending is open and full of irony. I read the English translation by Margaret Mitsutani. I look forward to reading more of Tawada¡¯s catalogue.
Hiruko has created her own language, called Panska, which enables her to communicate with northern Europeans. The characters form an interesting, quirky bunch. It is a book about language, communications, and linguistics. It explores the concepts of homelands and migrations, and how these may change in the future. Even though it is dystopian, it has a certain charm, portraying how people try to do the best they can in less-than-ideal circumstances. The ending is open and full of irony. I read the English translation by Margaret Mitsutani. I look forward to reading more of Tawada¡¯s catalogue.
May 28, 2022
Having largely enjoyed I was curious about 's latest novel in translation, and I loved the idea of the plot. This novel tackles similar themes but the plot was all over the place (too much going on but simultaneously incredibly slow moving), the characters were poorly developed and I didn't care for the writing. Not for me.
Thank you Netgalley and Granta for the advance copy, which was provided in exchange for an honest review.
Thank you Netgalley and Granta for the advance copy, which was provided in exchange for an honest review.
January 16, 2024
DNF at 40 pages because the trans character was being misgendered by everyone. I was also so bored so early on.
July 3, 2022
Such an inventive dystopian narrative that was so playfully narrated. Love the backdrop hue and its not so heavy conflict and intriguing characters. Set in a not-too-distant future when climate change has 'eaten up' Japan from the world map; Hiruko, a refugee and former citizen of Japan invented Panska language while teaching the immigrant children in Denmark. Curious with the language she used while growing up, she soon make new friends to join her in her travels searching for anyone who can still speak her mother tongue: Knut, a graduate student in linguistics who fascinated by her Panska; Akash, an Indian man who lives as a woman; Nanook, an Eskimo from Greenland that was first mistaken as another refugee from Japan; and Nora, who works at the Karl Marx House in Trier.
Told in alternating perspectives and stories of each, love how Tawada balancing the worldbuilding and its characterization. A relatable setting that reflected today's society with a thorough view on globalization, economy, migration, environmental issues also a thought-provoking exploration of culture and identity. It delves into linguistics and food most of the times-- I suddenly crave for sushi while reading this! A debate on languages and one's culture; on perception and prejudice as well as the impact that we might see if present-day anxieties (social, political, classes of society, oppression) been mishandled or not fairly treated.
Would consider this as a light character-driven dysto-scifi, a great pick for a new reader of this genre as the execution was straightforward and the storytelling especially on the backdrop details were not hard to digest or imagine-- really love the small unique details of the world like the use of digital genomoney for cash withdrawal and how being a single mom would be considered as an upper class. It went quite draggy nearly the end with Knut's POV (he shouldn't lie and as much as I want to understand his mom, she was being too dramatic for me) yet I loved how it wrapped up at the end. 4 stars to this!
Thank you Pansing Distribution for sending me a review copy in return for my review!
ps: the aesthetic hue on the cover for this edition is totally looove!
Told in alternating perspectives and stories of each, love how Tawada balancing the worldbuilding and its characterization. A relatable setting that reflected today's society with a thorough view on globalization, economy, migration, environmental issues also a thought-provoking exploration of culture and identity. It delves into linguistics and food most of the times-- I suddenly crave for sushi while reading this! A debate on languages and one's culture; on perception and prejudice as well as the impact that we might see if present-day anxieties (social, political, classes of society, oppression) been mishandled or not fairly treated.
Would consider this as a light character-driven dysto-scifi, a great pick for a new reader of this genre as the execution was straightforward and the storytelling especially on the backdrop details were not hard to digest or imagine-- really love the small unique details of the world like the use of digital genomoney for cash withdrawal and how being a single mom would be considered as an upper class. It went quite draggy nearly the end with Knut's POV (he shouldn't lie and as much as I want to understand his mom, she was being too dramatic for me) yet I loved how it wrapped up at the end. 4 stars to this!
Thank you Pansing Distribution for sending me a review copy in return for my review!
ps: the aesthetic hue on the cover for this edition is totally looove!
September 18, 2023
Bizarre and brilliant story about languages - real, fictional and non-existent. I loved the colourful cast of characters and how their lives intertwined and converged. I'm not entirely sure what it was about, but I enjoyed reading it.
October 17, 2023
I read this really fast at the library while my kids ran around. It was fun for dystopian literary cli-fi sf. It¡¯s full of funny little wrong facts and ideas that made me think (e.g. Denmark has clean politics because it doesn¡¯t care about food tasting good).
January 13, 2023
Compared with her previous translated novel , I found Y¨ko Tawada's more elusive in plot terms yet more explicit in its themes. Both novels are atmospheric and ambiguous above all, in part because they are concerned with forgetting, disappearance, and decline. considers what might remain of a culture once its original home vanishes: the language, food, and a few refugees. However the rest of the world tends to assimilate such remnants, so their origin is soon forgotten. I appreciated the examination of this process via multiple perspectives. The shifting points of view deepened the introspection of the narrative, while ensuring the plot was slow and sprawling to the point of non-existence. Characters travelled about a bit and had conversations, but the book is much more concerned with their cultural backgrounds and how these influence their relationships.
My favourite aspect of the novel was the exploration of language and how it mediates experience. One character moves to Europe and is constantly assumed to be of Japanese background, when actually he came from Greenland. He reflects that learning a new language is like gaining 'an extra identity', which he considers fun and exciting. Another character experiences more of a loss from moving to Europe from Japan and no longer having anyone to speak Japanese with. She invents a 'homemade' language called Panska, which can be understood by anyone who speaks a Scandinavian language, and takes a job essentially translating mythology across cultures. The playful use of fusion food as a cultural signifier is interesting too, such as 'meditation pizza'.
As with , I found thought-provoking but would struggle to articulate what it added up to. It seems to be introducing characters and themes to set up events that never happen, then ends entirely arbitrarily. Indeed, I think it feels incomplete. I could have sworn I read somewhere that there will be a sequel, so perhaps this is intentional. The blurb describes it as 'a synaesthetic love song to language and liminality', which gives a fair indication of what to expect.
My favourite aspect of the novel was the exploration of language and how it mediates experience. One character moves to Europe and is constantly assumed to be of Japanese background, when actually he came from Greenland. He reflects that learning a new language is like gaining 'an extra identity', which he considers fun and exciting. Another character experiences more of a loss from moving to Europe from Japan and no longer having anyone to speak Japanese with. She invents a 'homemade' language called Panska, which can be understood by anyone who speaks a Scandinavian language, and takes a job essentially translating mythology across cultures. The playful use of fusion food as a cultural signifier is interesting too, such as 'meditation pizza'.
As with , I found thought-provoking but would struggle to articulate what it added up to. It seems to be introducing characters and themes to set up events that never happen, then ends entirely arbitrarily. Indeed, I think it feels incomplete. I could have sworn I read somewhere that there will be a sequel, so perhaps this is intentional. The blurb describes it as 'a synaesthetic love song to language and liminality', which gives a fair indication of what to expect.
March 2, 2022
Yoko Tawada¡¯s novel, Scattered All Over the Earth, is set in a future where Japan has been wiped from existence as well as the other long term effects of global warming have changed our planet¡¯s entire landscape.
Written in a quirky, multiple POV you slowly begin to realize that there is a ¡°7 degrees of separation¡± concept going on. I found it amusing putting together how exactly everyone knew each other throughout the years.
Hiruko is at the core of Tawada¡¯s story as a displaced citizen from Japan searching for anyone who is from her homeland. Along the way Hiruko decides to make up her own language called Pan-Scandinavian. It is through Hiruko¡¯s journey that Tawada allows you, the reader, to fully enjoy this book¡¯s theme of language and identity.
Being an American reading this translated story, Tawada left a lasting impression on how languages shape our everyday thoughts without even realizing it.
¡°The idea of getting an extra identity just by learning a new language was exciting.¡±
I was given the opportunity to listen to Scattered All Over The Earth as an ALC through Tantor Audio and ?New Directions Publishing via NetGalley in exchange for my honest review. If you¡¯re looking for a book to escape into a dystopian future that isn¡¯t too heavy, this is your book. I definitely will be purchasing this book for my personal collection!
Written in a quirky, multiple POV you slowly begin to realize that there is a ¡°7 degrees of separation¡± concept going on. I found it amusing putting together how exactly everyone knew each other throughout the years.
Hiruko is at the core of Tawada¡¯s story as a displaced citizen from Japan searching for anyone who is from her homeland. Along the way Hiruko decides to make up her own language called Pan-Scandinavian. It is through Hiruko¡¯s journey that Tawada allows you, the reader, to fully enjoy this book¡¯s theme of language and identity.
Being an American reading this translated story, Tawada left a lasting impression on how languages shape our everyday thoughts without even realizing it.
¡°The idea of getting an extra identity just by learning a new language was exciting.¡±
I was given the opportunity to listen to Scattered All Over The Earth as an ALC through Tantor Audio and ?New Directions Publishing via NetGalley in exchange for my honest review. If you¡¯re looking for a book to escape into a dystopian future that isn¡¯t too heavy, this is your book. I definitely will be purchasing this book for my personal collection!
April 20, 2022
my thoughts via speech to text after finishing at 2:11am last night:
I don¡¯t think I¡¯ve ever been so devastated for a book to be over. I let out an audible AH but thank God that this book is a trilogy I very much look forward to reading next to devastated that I will have to wait a while probably this book is life-changing and I wish that I had written it I think it will be formative in my style if I ever become an author wow just the exploration of language and identity is quite profound. this is my favorite book
My brief thoughts from now:
I withhold judgement about the plausibility of panska, a conlang amalgamation of the Scandinavian languages. Does the lexicon overlap enough for it to truly be possible? In any case, the English version of it was beautiful, a Yoda-like grammar and refreshing diction. There are tiny stabs into philosophy of language. What even is a language? What does it mean to be native?
The story is a compelling quest, with fun characters along the way. They are well developed psychologically, you really can get into their heads. There is definitely still much more to go, left for the rest of the Trilogy.
A beautiful exploration of language. I think the author could have gone even further.
I don¡¯t think I¡¯ve ever been so devastated for a book to be over. I let out an audible AH but thank God that this book is a trilogy I very much look forward to reading next to devastated that I will have to wait a while probably this book is life-changing and I wish that I had written it I think it will be formative in my style if I ever become an author wow just the exploration of language and identity is quite profound. this is my favorite book
My brief thoughts from now:
I withhold judgement about the plausibility of panska, a conlang amalgamation of the Scandinavian languages. Does the lexicon overlap enough for it to truly be possible? In any case, the English version of it was beautiful, a Yoda-like grammar and refreshing diction. There are tiny stabs into philosophy of language. What even is a language? What does it mean to be native?
The story is a compelling quest, with fun characters along the way. They are well developed psychologically, you really can get into their heads. There is definitely still much more to go, left for the rest of the Trilogy.
A beautiful exploration of language. I think the author could have gone even further.
June 6, 2022
Knut. Awkwardness deliberate unsure. Sometimes effect delight. Me. Japanese culture last mother tongue understand speaker. Akash. What Fuck? Nora knows maybe another: Tenzo.
So journey pan-Europe no Japan. Sunk maybe. Susanoo speaks wind.
First book trilogy story unfinished.
Reader: Bubble-eyed Californian burrito eater. Eye red retina operation hurt. Happy book short.
So journey pan-Europe no Japan. Sunk maybe. Susanoo speaks wind.
First book trilogy story unfinished.
Reader: Bubble-eyed Californian burrito eater. Eye red retina operation hurt. Happy book short.
March 9, 2023
I desperately wanted to love this. The premise is one that instantly enticed me.. but I didn't like the execution. Promising to be a story of identity, finding home and both the importance and familiarity of language, Scattered All Over the Earth at times, definitely had some imperative discussions laced throughout - but this book unfortunately just wasn't for me.
January 25, 2024
My encounter in '' left me both perplexed and oddly touched. The 'wtf' moments were plentiful, but beneath the unsettling surface, I sensed a powerful exploration of intimacy, vulnerability, and the very nature of human relationships.
This book solidified my desire to explore more of Yoko Tawada's work. While the dark humor of her latest work seems absent, I almost fully grasped the humor in this one (maybe 70%!).
"Scattered All Over the Earth" chronicles the journey of Hiruko, a former citizen of Japan, in a world altered by climate change. The Earth has warmed significantly, causing some countries, like Japan, to disappear entirely.
Hiruko longs to find someone to speak Japanese with in Europe. She hasn't spoken her native language in years, and this quest attracts a few strange travel companions. The narration in the book switches between different POV, but Hiroko is the main character.
Based on the above, this book has climate change (but it is just the setting, and the book does not talk about the problems of this issue much). However, the main theme is language, which is very funny. Like Some woman said we didn¡¯t need language anymore now that we have emoji, which seemed to me to be missing the point. If her son broke her favorite vase what would she do ¡ª draw an angry-face emoji for him?
Another thing that makes the book funny is the characters' reactions to the events that happen. But because the book is so thin, and the frequent shifts POV can make everything look rushed and condensed in a strange way. Or maybe it's because a book with a sequel (I didn't even know it had a sequel until I finished the book, like, Oh! There's more?). So it makes many issues unclear. However, I still found the book to be very enjoyable. The humor is sharp and witty, and the characters are quirky and relatable. I would definitely recommend it to anyone who enjoys dystopian fiction or thought-provoking stories about language.
This book solidified my desire to explore more of Yoko Tawada's work. While the dark humor of her latest work seems absent, I almost fully grasped the humor in this one (maybe 70%!).
"Scattered All Over the Earth" chronicles the journey of Hiruko, a former citizen of Japan, in a world altered by climate change. The Earth has warmed significantly, causing some countries, like Japan, to disappear entirely.
Hiruko longs to find someone to speak Japanese with in Europe. She hasn't spoken her native language in years, and this quest attracts a few strange travel companions. The narration in the book switches between different POV, but Hiroko is the main character.
Based on the above, this book has climate change (but it is just the setting, and the book does not talk about the problems of this issue much). However, the main theme is language, which is very funny. Like Some woman said we didn¡¯t need language anymore now that we have emoji, which seemed to me to be missing the point. If her son broke her favorite vase what would she do ¡ª draw an angry-face emoji for him?
Another thing that makes the book funny is the characters' reactions to the events that happen. But because the book is so thin, and the frequent shifts POV can make everything look rushed and condensed in a strange way. Or maybe it's because a book with a sequel (I didn't even know it had a sequel until I finished the book, like, Oh! There's more?). So it makes many issues unclear. However, I still found the book to be very enjoyable. The humor is sharp and witty, and the characters are quirky and relatable. I would definitely recommend it to anyone who enjoys dystopian fiction or thought-provoking stories about language.
July 25, 2022
[2.5] There is some interesting commentary on international identities in Yoko Tawada¡¯s odd semi-dystopia, but for me it got all tangled in an uninteresting mix of characters and plot. While I¡¯m more than okay with unrelatable characters and plotlessness, the prose was nothing to write home about either, I thought, and thus I had to speed through the novel after the midpoint. There were probably layers I missed.
June 20, 2023
Soooo¡?we're just going to misgender the trans character from start to end, huh? ?
Yeah, 2/5 is probably generous, especially considering all the transphobia and the book also being a bit of a mess. But I thought there were some interesting insights on language, belonging, and identity.
Yeah, 2/5 is probably generous, especially considering all the transphobia and the book also being a bit of a mess. But I thought there were some interesting insights on language, belonging, and identity.
Read
December 8, 2022DNF @ 40%
I DESPERATELY need short story collections to be advertised AS SHORT STORY COLLECTIONS.
I absolutely hate short stories, that is just my personal preference. I have never enjoyed short stories, short story collections, anthologies, etc. I avoid them at all costs because it's not fair to the author for me to read something I KNOW I do not like.
But nowadays it seems to be becoming a trend to market something as a novel that is actually multi-POV short stories that take place in the same world. I have had this same experience several times this year, and I've DNFed all of them. This book (what I thought was a novel) was one I was SO excited for, so even when I realized it was actually short stories, I truly tried to power through and try to read the whole thing because maybe I just haven't read good short story collections - maybe I need to give them more of a chance.
No, I don't. I need publishers to advertise books for what they ACTUALLY are.
I DESPERATELY need short story collections to be advertised AS SHORT STORY COLLECTIONS.
I absolutely hate short stories, that is just my personal preference. I have never enjoyed short stories, short story collections, anthologies, etc. I avoid them at all costs because it's not fair to the author for me to read something I KNOW I do not like.
But nowadays it seems to be becoming a trend to market something as a novel that is actually multi-POV short stories that take place in the same world. I have had this same experience several times this year, and I've DNFed all of them. This book (what I thought was a novel) was one I was SO excited for, so even when I realized it was actually short stories, I truly tried to power through and try to read the whole thing because maybe I just haven't read good short story collections - maybe I need to give them more of a chance.
No, I don't. I need publishers to advertise books for what they ACTUALLY are.
June 18, 2022
Translated from the Japanese by Margaret Mitsutani. Yoko Tawada is unique and this is probably the first book I truly enjoyed reading in 2022. As many already know, she writes her fiction in both Japanese and German. In a note by translator Susan Bernofsky who translated her previous novel, it was said that
, was started first in German, moved into Japanese, and then came back to German. Previously, she attempted to only write only in either Japanese or German as she approached her writings but she found herself moving back and forth in both languages in her creative process in writing The Naked Eye. And as in The Naked Eye, language is also central to the plots and developments in this story, and I¡¯m sure many people trained in linguistics would be able to appreciate the richness and philosophical nature of Yoko Tawada¡¯s latest novel with regard to language.
Scattered All Over the Earth takes its central plot in the discovery of one¡¯s identity, as nations disappeared in an imagined future. Does the concept of nationalities still exist when nations disappeared? A few pages into the story, we get introduced to our Danish linguist, Knut, as he watches a TV show featuring people who were born in countries that no longer exist. The first one on the show was a political linguist born in East Germany who following German reunification felt as though she became an immigrant in her own country even though she hasn¡¯t moved an inch from the place where she spent her time until then, followed by a woman from the former Soviet Union and a few others. But it was the last person featured on the show that catches Knut¡¯s interest, Hiruko.
Hiruko is described throughout the story as someone born in ¡°the land of sushi¡± which disappeared following the rising sea level caused by climate change. She has been living in Scandinavia since. Asked by the commentator, Hiruko said of the language she speaks, ¡°homemade language. no time to learn three different languages. might mix up. insufficient space in brain. so made new language. homemade language most scandinavian people understand.¡± She calls her homemade language Panska. ¡°I stuck the ¡®ska¡¯ of Scandinavia on the end of ¡°pan¡±, which means universal. There¡¯s a kind of ethnic folk dance in Sweden called the polska, which sounds like it should be from Poland though it¡¯s actually Scandinavian in origin. I¡¯m hoping my name for this language I¡¯ve invented has the same sort of strangeness,¡± as she explains the meaning behind the name Panska.
The concept of Panska as a universal language throughout Scandinavia is unique but a sound one as we have seen more migrations in the past few years, sometimes migrations that happen against individual¡¯s will such as those taking refuge in nearby European countries following the war in Ukraine. Refugees sometimes have to keep moving from one place to the next, only staying in one place temporarily before getting resettled. Hiruko considers her Panska as a good alternative for refugees coming to Scandinavia, so that they would not have to learn either Danish, Swedish or Norwegian, and instead, settles with the simpler Panska which is easy to learn but enough to be understood equally by the speakers of the three languages. I could only imagine the way the Panska is written in the original Japanese text of this novel and how the translation process is. But the way Panska is invented in the story pretty much sums up Yoko Tawada¡¯s experience in language as she writes in both Japanese and German, moving back and forth with them.
My experience learning foreign languages is something similar to Hiruko. At first, taking one word after another, making simple sentences enough to get meaning across, hoping that someday my interaction with those languages would bring me close enough to the level of native speakers after prolonged use of them. In the story, Hiruko tries with the help of Knut to meet with Tenzo, a sushi maker who rumours said also originates from ¡°the land of sushi¡± and currently resides in Trier. When she discovers that Tenzo is actually Nanook, an Eskimo who barely speaks any words of her mother tongue, she wasn¡¯t disappointed and instead thinks, ¡°In fact, the whole idea of a mother tongue no longer seemed to matter; this meeting between two unique speaking beings was far more important.¡± I can agree with Hiruko¡¯s point of view. Language barriers might be an issue when migrations occur, but language itself is not the only medium to get our meanings across. And perhaps besides conversing in languages that both sides understand, the fact that two individuals meet might be more meaningful. The attitude is more like, ¡°meeting first, then you can take matriculations on language later on.¡±
Another interesting thing besides the Panska is the cast of characters which is international in its nature. Besides Hiruko who comes from ¡°the land of sushi¡± and Knut the Danish linguist, we also have Akash the Indian immigrant, Tenzo or Nanook the Eskimo sushi maker, Nora the German girl who is Nanook¡¯s lover, and Susanoo who also comes from ¡°the land of sushi¡±. The international cast of the story brings about diversities with characters who are multi-lingual and multi-genders (for some). The way Yoko Tawada presents first-person points of view from each character also brings multiple points of view to suggest what each character thinks about each other. It¡¯s the closest to what a Weltliteratur can truly be, as Goethe suggested two centuries ago on the capacity of literature to transcend national and linguistic boundaries.
Reviewed from an electronic advance reading copy made available by the publisher via NetGalley.
Scattered All Over the Earth takes its central plot in the discovery of one¡¯s identity, as nations disappeared in an imagined future. Does the concept of nationalities still exist when nations disappeared? A few pages into the story, we get introduced to our Danish linguist, Knut, as he watches a TV show featuring people who were born in countries that no longer exist. The first one on the show was a political linguist born in East Germany who following German reunification felt as though she became an immigrant in her own country even though she hasn¡¯t moved an inch from the place where she spent her time until then, followed by a woman from the former Soviet Union and a few others. But it was the last person featured on the show that catches Knut¡¯s interest, Hiruko.
Hiruko is described throughout the story as someone born in ¡°the land of sushi¡± which disappeared following the rising sea level caused by climate change. She has been living in Scandinavia since. Asked by the commentator, Hiruko said of the language she speaks, ¡°homemade language. no time to learn three different languages. might mix up. insufficient space in brain. so made new language. homemade language most scandinavian people understand.¡± She calls her homemade language Panska. ¡°I stuck the ¡®ska¡¯ of Scandinavia on the end of ¡°pan¡±, which means universal. There¡¯s a kind of ethnic folk dance in Sweden called the polska, which sounds like it should be from Poland though it¡¯s actually Scandinavian in origin. I¡¯m hoping my name for this language I¡¯ve invented has the same sort of strangeness,¡± as she explains the meaning behind the name Panska.
The concept of Panska as a universal language throughout Scandinavia is unique but a sound one as we have seen more migrations in the past few years, sometimes migrations that happen against individual¡¯s will such as those taking refuge in nearby European countries following the war in Ukraine. Refugees sometimes have to keep moving from one place to the next, only staying in one place temporarily before getting resettled. Hiruko considers her Panska as a good alternative for refugees coming to Scandinavia, so that they would not have to learn either Danish, Swedish or Norwegian, and instead, settles with the simpler Panska which is easy to learn but enough to be understood equally by the speakers of the three languages. I could only imagine the way the Panska is written in the original Japanese text of this novel and how the translation process is. But the way Panska is invented in the story pretty much sums up Yoko Tawada¡¯s experience in language as she writes in both Japanese and German, moving back and forth with them.
My experience learning foreign languages is something similar to Hiruko. At first, taking one word after another, making simple sentences enough to get meaning across, hoping that someday my interaction with those languages would bring me close enough to the level of native speakers after prolonged use of them. In the story, Hiruko tries with the help of Knut to meet with Tenzo, a sushi maker who rumours said also originates from ¡°the land of sushi¡± and currently resides in Trier. When she discovers that Tenzo is actually Nanook, an Eskimo who barely speaks any words of her mother tongue, she wasn¡¯t disappointed and instead thinks, ¡°In fact, the whole idea of a mother tongue no longer seemed to matter; this meeting between two unique speaking beings was far more important.¡± I can agree with Hiruko¡¯s point of view. Language barriers might be an issue when migrations occur, but language itself is not the only medium to get our meanings across. And perhaps besides conversing in languages that both sides understand, the fact that two individuals meet might be more meaningful. The attitude is more like, ¡°meeting first, then you can take matriculations on language later on.¡±
Another interesting thing besides the Panska is the cast of characters which is international in its nature. Besides Hiruko who comes from ¡°the land of sushi¡± and Knut the Danish linguist, we also have Akash the Indian immigrant, Tenzo or Nanook the Eskimo sushi maker, Nora the German girl who is Nanook¡¯s lover, and Susanoo who also comes from ¡°the land of sushi¡±. The international cast of the story brings about diversities with characters who are multi-lingual and multi-genders (for some). The way Yoko Tawada presents first-person points of view from each character also brings multiple points of view to suggest what each character thinks about each other. It¡¯s the closest to what a Weltliteratur can truly be, as Goethe suggested two centuries ago on the capacity of literature to transcend national and linguistic boundaries.
Reviewed from an electronic advance reading copy made available by the publisher via NetGalley.
October 16, 2022
Wow, Scattered All Over the Earth is unlike anything I¡¯ve seen in Japanese literature before. It¡¯s a literary spectacle that is both surprisingly playful and remarkably thought-provoking.
Running throughout the book is the exploration of language and identity. As an immigrant, Hiruko invented a new language called Panska so that people from all over the world, especially immigrants, can talk to one another. The construction of the language is not systemic, rather it just sort of came into being as long people understand each other. Comprehensibility is what¡¯s most important, Hiruko said. Grammar? We don¡¯t know her. The way Hiruko speaks might be a little confusing to understand at first but it¡¯s actually not that hard and I got the hang of it when I read it aloud. There is also a character in this novel who finds it hard to maintain his original identity when he starts to learn a new language. New language equals to new identity. It¡¯s strange but it¡¯s also kind of logical, if you think about it.
Besides the rumination of language, there are also themes of racism, globalization, climate disaster and immigrant experience woven throughout. For a dystopian novel, this is rather a quiet one. There isn¡¯t much plot or action here. It focuses heavily on the above-mentioned issues, which I believe Yoko Tawada did admirably since it forced me to ponder on the nature of language through a new, different lense. The story taught me that language is fluid, constantly shifting and evolving, and that it also bends to the whim of the speaker. As Hiruko aptly and succinctly describes: ¡°Language becomes a mixture of all the scenes we¡¯ve passed through on the way.¡±
This book may not be for everyone but if you¡¯re a linguist or have an interest in language, you wouldn¡¯t want to miss this one.
Actual rating: 3.75 out of 5 stars.
Running throughout the book is the exploration of language and identity. As an immigrant, Hiruko invented a new language called Panska so that people from all over the world, especially immigrants, can talk to one another. The construction of the language is not systemic, rather it just sort of came into being as long people understand each other. Comprehensibility is what¡¯s most important, Hiruko said. Grammar? We don¡¯t know her. The way Hiruko speaks might be a little confusing to understand at first but it¡¯s actually not that hard and I got the hang of it when I read it aloud. There is also a character in this novel who finds it hard to maintain his original identity when he starts to learn a new language. New language equals to new identity. It¡¯s strange but it¡¯s also kind of logical, if you think about it.
Besides the rumination of language, there are also themes of racism, globalization, climate disaster and immigrant experience woven throughout. For a dystopian novel, this is rather a quiet one. There isn¡¯t much plot or action here. It focuses heavily on the above-mentioned issues, which I believe Yoko Tawada did admirably since it forced me to ponder on the nature of language through a new, different lense. The story taught me that language is fluid, constantly shifting and evolving, and that it also bends to the whim of the speaker. As Hiruko aptly and succinctly describes: ¡°Language becomes a mixture of all the scenes we¡¯ve passed through on the way.¡±
This book may not be for everyone but if you¡¯re a linguist or have an interest in language, you wouldn¡¯t want to miss this one.
Actual rating: 3.75 out of 5 stars.
June 9, 2022
2,5 stars
Maybe Yoko Tawada just isn't my cup of tea. I read 'Memoirs of a Polar Bear' a couple of years ago and wasn't very enthusiastic and I had trouble with this one as well. Don't get me wrong, I like her politics and weirdness. But I guess I just don't get her plots. Tawada addresses many different topics here, and all seem to be equally important. This novel is about prejudice, migration, politics, identity, home, belonging, language, art, food and taste, environmentalism, species becoming extinct, a world in crisis, terrorism, travel, robots, nuclear power plants, etc. For me, there were just too many things she wants to express, things that are often connected in a way I found confusing (human language and that of whales, that are endangered and hunted and eaten, referring to Eskimo¡¯s and Norwegians who kill them and sushi that is eaten especially in Japan etc etc) making it unclear to me what the main point of the story really is. I think it would have worked better had there only be two or three chracaters (Hiruko, Knut and Nanook for instance) and only one main theme (like language/identity/belonging/home). I also had some trouble with the style, which can be quite explanatory, stating the obvious. For instance: ¡°but this guy was so silent he might as well be mouthless. Of course he really did have a mouth, though. And teeth and a tongue.¡± So I guess, it's just me
Thank you Granta and Netgalley UK for the ARC, which was provided in exchange for an honest review.
Maybe Yoko Tawada just isn't my cup of tea. I read 'Memoirs of a Polar Bear' a couple of years ago and wasn't very enthusiastic and I had trouble with this one as well. Don't get me wrong, I like her politics and weirdness. But I guess I just don't get her plots. Tawada addresses many different topics here, and all seem to be equally important. This novel is about prejudice, migration, politics, identity, home, belonging, language, art, food and taste, environmentalism, species becoming extinct, a world in crisis, terrorism, travel, robots, nuclear power plants, etc. For me, there were just too many things she wants to express, things that are often connected in a way I found confusing (human language and that of whales, that are endangered and hunted and eaten, referring to Eskimo¡¯s and Norwegians who kill them and sushi that is eaten especially in Japan etc etc) making it unclear to me what the main point of the story really is. I think it would have worked better had there only be two or three chracaters (Hiruko, Knut and Nanook for instance) and only one main theme (like language/identity/belonging/home). I also had some trouble with the style, which can be quite explanatory, stating the obvious. For instance: ¡°but this guy was so silent he might as well be mouthless. Of course he really did have a mouth, though. And teeth and a tongue.¡± So I guess, it's just me
Thank you Granta and Netgalley UK for the ARC, which was provided in exchange for an honest review.
January 10, 2024
2??
While this book tries to be thought provoking in its discussion of language, culture, and a changing world, it ultimately fails to make any sort of impact.
The characters are paper thin, serving only as mouthpieces for the author¡¯s obvious opinions about language, society, sexuality, etc. There is virtually nothing happening in this novel other than random encounters that do not form a cohesive whole.
This is marketed as a surreal, dystopian story, and there was nothing surreal nor dystopian about this novel. There was no world building to explain how this dystopian society supposedly impacted by climate change works, nor a fleshed out setting. Instead it is a mix of long conversations about linguistics and extremely odd inner monologues from the main characters.
The author does try to criticize many problematic elements within society, but they only end up succeeding in being highly offensive, especially regarding a trans character that I think was handled very poorly. It is always nice to see trans people represented, but they should be portrayed faithfully and respectfully, not whatever the author was doing with the character in this book.
Unfortunately this book did not work for me. I understand what the intention was behind this piece of literature, I just do not think it was executed well.
Read for January in Japan.
While this book tries to be thought provoking in its discussion of language, culture, and a changing world, it ultimately fails to make any sort of impact.
The characters are paper thin, serving only as mouthpieces for the author¡¯s obvious opinions about language, society, sexuality, etc. There is virtually nothing happening in this novel other than random encounters that do not form a cohesive whole.
This is marketed as a surreal, dystopian story, and there was nothing surreal nor dystopian about this novel. There was no world building to explain how this dystopian society supposedly impacted by climate change works, nor a fleshed out setting. Instead it is a mix of long conversations about linguistics and extremely odd inner monologues from the main characters.
The author does try to criticize many problematic elements within society, but they only end up succeeding in being highly offensive, especially regarding a trans character that I think was handled very poorly. It is always nice to see trans people represented, but they should be portrayed faithfully and respectfully, not whatever the author was doing with the character in this book.
Unfortunately this book did not work for me. I understand what the intention was behind this piece of literature, I just do not think it was executed well.
Read for January in Japan.
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