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I was warned this book is not a fun one. Indeed it is not.

You get to see the omnipresent fear and violence of a patriarchal surveillance state. You get to see how it got there, little by little, and how it got accepted. The disturbing part is that it is very much believable...

I hadn't seen since Orwell's "1984" the effect of a totalitarian system on an individual so well described, especially at an individual level. You get to see how a single mind resists or breaks when faced with such overwhelming brutal and oppressive environment.

It is definitely worth reading, especially when you keep in mind the fact that Atwood has been censored in several US states.

What a journey this has been.

I had a break of several years between the first part and the second one so my memories of the beginning are getting blurry. Still, two things made me enjoy this reading.

The first one is the description of the places, the people, their clothing, their way of life, and the atmosphere of the time. I knew nothing of history of Japan and this gave me a vivid, if not historically accurate, glimpse of the life then.

The second one is Musashi himself who you can really see evolve gradually from an excellent swordfighter to more than that. The author fleshes out throughout the book the idea that there is more to being an accomplished samurai than sword technique and I believe this is where the rivalry lies between Musashi and Kojiro.

And there are so many secrets in this little story, with most of them left undiscovered. The author manages to share with us all the confusion and existential dread of the main protagonist. An excellent evening read !

Ce livre est un témoignage de première qualité de ce qu'est la guerre économique et des pratiques de gangsters du gouvernement américain en matière de commerce. On pouvait s'en douter, mais c'est une chose de le deviner, et une autre d'en voir un exemple noir sur blanc.

Mais au delà de ce coup de poignard, qui est en définitive la routine des conflits entre états, on reste soufflé par le comportement absolument scandaleux du comité exécutif d'Alstom (surtout de son PDG) et du gouvernement français. On ne peut également qu'avoir des sueurs froides devant l'iniquité totale du système judiciaire américain, une machine à broyer les gens...

A lire absolument si vous portez un minimum d'intérêt à la géopolitique.

What a book ! There is much to say and yet it is hard to give a coherent summary of what unfolds in this story. The narration is fluid and I was able to swallow this massive book in little time, and yet, NOTHING in this story is written at random. Much like the Diogene theater piece, this book conveys hope and wisdom.

This novel is short and well written. I found in it what also charmed me in Lovecraft's novels like "At the mountains of madness". You are alone in a hostile environment, however, what bothers you the most is : what else is out there besides you ?... I enjoyed this book thoroughly !

This is my favorite format of science fiction : short but thought provoking stories. Surprisingly, the story that gave the name to this book is far from being the best in my opinion. If you want mind-bending novels that are both fun and at the same time disturbing, this book is a must-read.