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Man with the Compound Eyes
Man with the Compound Eyes | Wu Ming-Yi
9 posts | 5 read | 1 reading | 7 to read
When a tsunami sends a massive island made of trash crashing into the coast of Taiwan, two very different people--an outcast from a mythical country and a woman on the verge of suicide--are united in ways they never could have imagined. Intertwined with the story of their burgeoning friendship are the lives of others affected by the tsunami, from environmentalists to Taiwan's indigenous peoples--and, of course, the mysterious man with the compound eyes. A work of lyrical beauty that combines fantasy, reality, and dystopian environmental saga, here is the English-language debut of a new and exciting award-winning voice from Taiwan.
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Ididsoidid
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Mehso-so

Picked this up for the beautiful cover illustration alone. The story of Atile‘i, Taiwanese folklore and magical realism were a highlight in this ecological parable. Some of the characters (Detlef and Sara) seemed superfluous and distracting and I still don‘t understand the ending. I could have enjoyed it a lot more and I‘m not sure how much of this is down to clunky translation or the original text. 6/10

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bookwrm526
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Pickpick

For the first third of this one I wasn‘t sure I wasn‘t gong to like it. Eventually I got into it, and while the ending was incredibly weird and the moralizing was a bit heavy handed, I really did end up liking it. There‘s a terrifying garbage island, an adorable cat that doesn‘t die, and some serious discussions of environmentalism!

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Lindy
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At the Vancouver Writers Fest yesterday, Taiwanese author Wu Ming Yi spoke about his admiration for Margaret Atwood and said she is part of the reason he became a writer. It was a big thing for him when Atwood tweeted in 2013 about his first book to be translated into English (tagged). #VWF2019

27 likes1 stack add
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Squidapus
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Mehso-so

Sooooo... Squidapus did not finish this book. But he can't quite call it a bail. It is a very well written book with 3D characters and he learned an incredible amount about Taiwan and it's indigenous population. But...I just don't think it was for him. You know how you can recognize that something is good but not enjoy it? That's how he felt. So Squidapus feels it's disingenuous to say it's a bad book; for most readers it's probably excellent

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Squidapus
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Squidapus is gonna start this book tomorrow! Sounds very interesting!

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Louise
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Mehso-so

This book started out strong, with beautiful descriptions of a remote island nation's lifestyle and sea-centered spirituality. The main character in Taiwan is also interesting. However, the story is soon overwhelmed by its heavy-handed environmental message, too many new characters, and digressions into meta fiction & myth. There are some lovely, lyrical passages about the heart of Nature, though. #ReadingAroundTheWorld #Taiwan

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thegirlwiththelibrarybag
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My top 9 photos on Instagram...
hmmm, I went full book! Guess you can tell that I didn't go anywhere amazing on holidays this year...

snacksinthestacks Maybe not physically but Im sure you did mentally! 8y
elkeOriginal Every book takes you somewhere! 8y
Lindy What @elkeo said. 😊 8y
See All 6 Comments
BookishGirl06 Love those pics ❤️ 8y
GlitteryOtters Dude, you went to your LIBRARY, which is the MOST AMAZING place in the universe...! 📚😍📚 8y
thegirlwiththelibrarybag For sure @snacksinthestacks @elkeo @lindy @GlitteryOtters - I just meant that last year I had an amazing time exploring parts of the USA and this year hasn't included an exciting OS holiday (plus no cameras allowed in all the amazing book lands I've visited 😕) 8y
58 likes6 comments
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thegirlwiththelibrarybag
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I've read all the books in this photo except The Man With The Compound Eyes which I bought on holiday in New Zealand in December of 2013...

#pinkandgreenbooks #augustphotochallenge @TheSpinecrackersBookClub

TheSpinecrackersBookClub The cover art is so beautiful 8y
thegirlwiththelibrarybag @TheSpinecrackersBookClub, that may have influenced my decision to buy it... 8y
31 likes1 stack add2 comments
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Improperlycookedblowfish
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Started this book today. Have been in the mood for some magical realism.

6 likes1 stack add