Utsubora: The Story of a Novelist by Asumiko Nakamura

Manga Novel

I recently read a manga novel titled Utsubora: The Story of a Novelist by Asumiko Nakamura. 

I am currently trying to expand my reading horizons by branching out and exploring new (to me) genres and/or authors... And Utsubora: The Story of a Novelist by Asumiko Nakamura fits the criteria as prior to now, I'd never read anything written by Asumiko Nakamura. Nor has the manga genre been a big interest to me personally.

Alright, so what initially grabbed my attention/caught my eye about Utsubora: The Story of a Novelist by Asumiko Nakamura?? The art work on the front and back of this novel definitely has curb appeal. The summary of the book itself on the back cover also made the thought of reading this novel appealing... And that fact that this novel is for adults 18+ also piqued my interest. So, with these three things in mind, I went ahead and purchased a copy of Utsubora: The Story of a Novelist by Asumiko Nakamura.

What did I loved about Utsubora: The Story of a Novelist by Asumiko Nakamura?? 

1. The art work is nicely done! 

2. This novel is more complex than I ever expected it to be. It's filled with many layers, like peeling an onion. It has a lot a depth to it and I still doubt I completely grasp the 'big picture' when it comes to fulling understanding this novel in its entirety. 

3. Quick read... Even though this novel is 400+ pages, it can be read within a couple of hours.

What I did NOT love about  Utsubora: The Story of a Novelist by Asumiko Nakamura?? 

1. The teeny tiny writing, which made it difficult to read the text for my aging eyes!! 

2. The bubbles where dialogue fit, didn't always clearly mark which character was actually speaking the words. This made you have to really work hard at times figure out who was saying what.

3. This novel didn't seem to follow a linear fashion... It seemed like events of the past were mixed into what was going on in the present making things confusing. 

4. Some scenes/events were difficult to follow. I don't want to have to work that hard trying to make sense of the unfolding events, etc in a novel. 

The following is a book summary from Amazon's website:

Young author Aki Fujino appeared poised to making it big in the world of publishing. Her debut title UTSUBORA was being pitched about to a number of editors and at least one person felt it was set to propel her into stardom. However, before she could ever have her book published, the young woman was found dead. Some believe it was a suicide, but those close to her feel there is something more sinister involved in this young talent's death.

Aki's death has become something straight out of a mystery. Much like the story behind UTSUBORA, there is something more to Aki, Sakura and their relationship with an author named Mizorogi than meets the eye. And it is possible that the only way to solve this mystery may be to uncover all their secrets.

Overall, I didn't enjoy reading Utsubora: The Story of a Novelist. It wasn't my cup of tea. I'm giving it a rating of 3 stars out of 10 stars.

Until my next post, happy reading!!