Kazuki Sakuraba

This book was a quick and fun read. It is comprised of three sections that interlink with each other. For me this made the book feel like it was a collection of three short novellas with some shared history that eventually loops back on itself. This is not a complaint as I thought this worked in the author's favour. While all the main characters have physical descriptions, it's the actions and interactions of the characters that reveal their nature to the reader. The Bamboo (vampires) are not the Transylvanian monsters of popular Hollywood movies. This removal of stereotype adds a broadness to their characters which makes their interactions with humans interesting and in some instances quite beautiful. Nonetheless, they are monsters. Not being steeped in Japanese culture and history, I'm sure that there were references that I missed. Because of this, I could only read this book as a novel for young adults. And the more I read, the more my mind kept visualising everything as an anime. That being said, I liked this book and found it to be a pleasing piece of escapism.… (mer)

I saw an article/cartoon a while back that outlined the way Japanese narrative structures differ from the Western conflict-centered approach. I don't know how accurate or universal it was, but this book certainly reminded me of it. Not that the book lacked conflict, but it didn't drive the story. That was shaped by the parallels and variations between the three sections: brothers and sisters, the loss of family, and the Bamboo. These are essentially vampires from China whose society we see from these three different, increasingly intimate, angles. From the first ones we meet who are fascinated by the human "flame", or short but vibrant life, we then see their own vulnerability and mortality.… (mer)