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A Drunken Dream
Oct. 21st, 2010 10:51 pmI recently received A Drunken Dream and Other Stories by Hagio Moto, translated by Matt Thorn and published by Fantagraphics. I heard about the book through ![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
battour, who is a fan of The Heart of Thomas, and I can’t pass down a high-quality translated volume of manga. Many years ago when I was just getting into anime and manga, I studiously devoured Matt Thorn’s blog, so I had—have—great trust in his translations. Plus, an autographed bookplate? Instant motivator. However, a week after I placed the order, I received a letter stating that A Drunken Dream was out of stock, and my hopes of a signed bookplate were crushed.
Yet! The day the book arrived, I’d already completely forgotten about it and was awaiting the arrival of my latest purchase, the limited edition DJ Max Portable 3. (That package has only just left its 3-day purgatory at Customs Canada.) The package arrived at noon as I was readying to leave the house, so I only had time to open it and admire the cover—and the unexpected but welcome bookplate—before heading off, late. I was absolutely blown away by the quality. No lie: I think the price was an absolute steal. Today, I finally opened the book, and as is my wont read the meta first before reading the actual story, or in this case, stories. I am struck by how frank Hagio-sensei is about her family life, for a culture whose children are taught to keep mum no matter what happens.
The best things should be savoured, and as such I have only read a couple of stories so far. It is hard to reconcile the style—both visual and literary—of the 1970s with that of shoujo manga of the past decade. Having also some exposure to Terra e… and Kaze to Ki no Uta, the first impression given by shoujo manga of that generation is of a world lost in time and space, the world of a child’s dreams and nightmares. It’s jarring coming from a habit of mundane realism and stark dystopia, though arguably, the worlds of these manga can be just as dystopian as any Lord of the Flies–styled story.
battour, who is a fan of The Heart of Thomas, and I can’t pass down a high-quality translated volume of manga. Many years ago when I was just getting into anime and manga, I studiously devoured Matt Thorn’s blog, so I had—have—great trust in his translations. Plus, an autographed bookplate? Instant motivator. However, a week after I placed the order, I received a letter stating that A Drunken Dream was out of stock, and my hopes of a signed bookplate were crushed.Yet! The day the book arrived, I’d already completely forgotten about it and was awaiting the arrival of my latest purchase, the limited edition DJ Max Portable 3. (That package has only just left its 3-day purgatory at Customs Canada.) The package arrived at noon as I was readying to leave the house, so I only had time to open it and admire the cover—and the unexpected but welcome bookplate—before heading off, late. I was absolutely blown away by the quality. No lie: I think the price was an absolute steal. Today, I finally opened the book, and as is my wont read the meta first before reading the actual story, or in this case, stories. I am struck by how frank Hagio-sensei is about her family life, for a culture whose children are taught to keep mum no matter what happens.
The best things should be savoured, and as such I have only read a couple of stories so far. It is hard to reconcile the style—both visual and literary—of the 1970s with that of shoujo manga of the past decade. Having also some exposure to Terra e… and Kaze to Ki no Uta, the first impression given by shoujo manga of that generation is of a world lost in time and space, the world of a child’s dreams and nightmares. It’s jarring coming from a habit of mundane realism and stark dystopia, though arguably, the worlds of these manga can be just as dystopian as any Lord of the Flies–styled story.
