#Miri Yu

[gennsoup]

I'm trying, I thought. Set me free from trying, I thought.

Miri Yu, Tokyo Ueno Station

[whilereadingandwalking]

Tokyo Ueno Station by Miri Yū, translated by Morgan Giles, was a heartbreaking tale of despair and homelessness in Japan, and a poetic lovely ghost tale. It was also a great glimpse into an area of Japan and its history. All in just 180 gorgeous pages!

Content warnings for child death, grief, suicide.

[ess-aluminaen]

Yeni yıl ve Kitaplar

Yeni yıl ve Kitaplar

[chippuyon]

comms

[miramizar]

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ "I was your strength, just as you were mine." ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

(rant under the cut ↓)

Many years back, I was told that there's a way of holding hands that isn't just about letting your palms or fingers intertwine, but instead you hold onto each others forearms. That way, should you ever slip and lose your grip you will still be held upright.

That imagery was what popped into my head when I saw that strength was the word for day 29, and I really wanted to use it for the one drawing I managed to make for puzzlejune, since these two never let go of each other... and I also wanted to combine that with them parting ways in the last chapter of the manga, the one time they had to let go... agh, now I'm making my own heart hurt (>v<;) But I hope that makes sense!

Thank you to the mod for holding this challenge and for inspiring me to post something for this lovely ship - they are truly precious and deserve the world~

[buddyhollyscurls]

[bellsandwords]

"The turning of the seasons no longer had anything to do with me—but still, I didn't want to take my eyes away from that yellow, which seemed to me like a messenger of light."

Tokyo Ueno Station, Yu Miri

[mrlancer]

Tokyo Ueno Station by Yu Miri follows the story of a man's working life in Japan.

Actually, this is probably too basic of a summary for the book. The book delvs into a lot of topics from the growth of construction around Tokyo, homelessness in Ueno Station and regret.

The main protagonist of this book suffers a lot of regret and missed opportunity. He missed out on watching his family grow up, there's also a feeling of alienation with his family, where he feels like he doesn't belong with them.

This is a man who suffered and lost out to be able to provide for his family, and there was no happy end for him.

I loved the comparisons between this man and the emperor of Japan. They were both the same age, but born into very different situations and circumstances. It really highlighted the class difference between the two. One who wants for nothing, and another who never gets anything he wants.

I really loved this book, it was really well written and I loved the haunted feeling throughout the book. There was a lot to unpack in this book that I don't think I'd be able to do justice in a simple review.

Overall, this book was amazing, and I really do recommend it to anyone, especially if you're interested in Japanese literature.

[thelibraryiscool]

A bird that was neither a wood pigeon nor a swallow nor a falcon, a bird with a pure white breast that I had never seen before, flew down from a branch of the cherry tree. Paying no mind to me despite the noise I made as I walked, it hopped around on the gravel like a new teacher walking back and forth in front of a blackboard with a stick of chalk in hand.

Yu Miri, Tokyo Ueno Station (trans. Morgan Giles)

[miramizar]

...I haven't drawn in forever, but I really really really wanted to give this a try and hopefully it doesn't look too bad (*ﾉ▽ﾉ)♡

heartshipping enjoyers draw this in your style!!💕💕

[free-air-for-fish]

"It wasn't that I wanted to die; it was just that I was tired of trying."

- Tokyo Ueno Station by Yu Miri

[gennsoup]

But then what of me remains here? A sense of tiredness. I was always tired. There was never a time I was not tired. Not when life had its claws in me and not when I escaped from it.

Miri Yu, Tokyo Ueno Station

[whilereadingandwalking]

For several long, hot days in Florida, and then cool, fall days in Chicago, I let myself take my time reading The End of August by Yu Miri, translated by Morgan Giles. I had to. It's a book that's not challenging once you settle into its pace and form. Its repetitions of "inhale exhale" and "hana, dul, set" (one, two, three). Once you settle a little bit, too, into its family tree.

The core of the book is protagonist Yu Miri (how autobiographical this book is, I don't know), whose family comes from South Korea but who was raised in Japan, engaging two mudangs who will help her engage with her family's spirits and put them to rest. After she attempts to run a marathon in hopes of connecting to her grandfather, Lee Woo-Cheol, and discovering why he was the way he was, the reader and Yu dive into Woo-Cheol's story, beginning with his own parents and their story, and following the multi-generational tale of his brother, his sons and daughters, his wives. Meanwhile the spirit of Arang watches over the events as they unfold in the city of Miryang in modern-day South Korea.

I agree with some reviews that the pacing could be uneven—the beginning unfolds so slowly and richly, and the second half skips and jumps and darts through time and can get confusing, and in the end, the marathon chapter feels like an aberration—and I agree that Yu could get overly expository (does it need to be 700 pages? I could argue that it needs to be more than 500, which I rarely am willing to argue, but I think it could have been successfully shorter).

Still, it was beautifully written throughout, and I loved what Yu did with her more experimental writing. The End of August is vivid, beautiful, and epic. I simply couldn't put this novel down. I loved the running, the spirits, that grounded this historical fiction that covers a Japan-occupied Korea straining at the seams, war-time Korea, Korea divided. Still, it was beautifully written throughout, and I loved what Yu did with her more experimental writing. Even when I was confused, I just chugged along or referenced my family tree, and it was worth all my patience. This epic left me with a satisfying heartache.

[ricardodsanchez]

Favorite novels I read in 2023

A reader lives a thousand lives before he dies, said Jojen. The man who never reads lives only one.” George R.R. Martin, A Dance with Dragons I am starting the year re-launching my Substack newsletter named “SinAgenda” which translates to No Agenda in English. This is nothing else but another way for me to commit to do more writing and share things I learn and read every week. It’s free, but if…

[blackfangedhellhound]

literally nothing funnier than searching “yu miri” on tumblr and finding a billion posts about tokyo ueno station and only one about full house. i thought this was the lolita website

[k-star-holic]

'MiriCosmos Laundromat' trademark-owning corporation Kim Do Hoon with Kyeon Mi-ri son

Source: k-star-holic.blogspot.com