Utsubora: The Story of a Novelist

I came to Nakamura Asumiko through her BL and yaoi-- specifically Doukyuusei, The Inheritance of Aroma, and Double Mints-- and I really like her art and storytelling prowess. I bought this on a whim because I work in publishing and I'm a sucker for stories about authors, plus the twists and intrigue promised by other reviewers were a draw-- I don't think people start reading manga expecting the stories to be so nuanced and the characters so complex. I know I didn't!In a nutshell, Utsubora is a story about an author who does the unthinkable, the repercussions of his actions, and the eventual reveal of his motivations. To say more would spoil you and I'd hate to do that-- suffice it to say that nothing and no one are who they seem.Four stars because the translation needed one more pass by an editor (for example, 'snucked' is not a word), but it's otherwise good. Also, when you read the notes at the end you realize that a lot of little winks and nods and cleverness is missed. The title, for example-- throughout the novel it's referred to as 'Utsubora' but translated into English it is a very obvious reference to one of the characters. Not sure why the translators chose to overlook that, other than that Utsubora 'rolls off the tongue' (eyes?) more easily? I enjoyed one particular 'scene' that was nothing more than two characters eating a meal and chatting-- the names of the dishes being rattled off must sound beautiful in Japanese but most readers might not know what is fish and what is fowl. Regardless I enjoyed it. I used to live in Japan and miss the food very much.Nakamura's work is very reminiscent of art noveau style tinged with Al Hirshfeld in terms of the lines and languid forms. There's sex. Occasionally I had to really stare at the page to figure out what I was seeing because the mangaka did a lot of 'close shots' and not all were immediately recognizable. Still, really like her work so not such a hardship!

To an author, to write is to live. What happens if you can no longer write? What then, is life? When I first came across this book, I knew nothing about it nor its author, Asumiko Nakamura. The cover art alone intrigued me enough to want to pick it up, and I'm glad I did. The art on the inside was off-putting to me at first because because the characters, especially the male ones, looked like typical Yaoi or Shonen Ai character designs. Which means that they may be shown to sometimes have unusual, broad shoulders, be incredibly handsome in the face, or suffer from Yaoi basketball hands. The male characters may have some visual tropes from those more erotic comics but the women are also drawn very beautifully. With that said, it would be really unfair to judge this book by character design preferences because there are a lot of good things going for this book. As the title of the book implies, Utsubora is the story of a novelist. The main focus of the story is about an author and what happens to him when he succumbs to the lows of plagiarism. Filled with mystery, drama, and sensuality, Utsubora is a fun read. In the end, Utsubora is also a smart book that will have you guessing what exactly is going on with the cast of characters in the book. At the end of the book, there are some extras. Including an Illustration Story and Translator Notes. I really appreciated the translator's notes segment because it included interesting, informative cultural facts of things seen in the story and its the closest you can get for having commentary for a book. I feel this really adds to the cultural understanding of modern Japan. Utsubora is Asumiko Nakamura's first book published in English, and I enjoyed the book enough that I would definitely pick up another book by her if it were ever published. Recently released in North America in a single, thick volume by Vertical Inc, Utsubora is definitely worth checking out.

I'm a huge fan to say that least, or I have been recently. I really love her work.I've only been able to read her work through scanlations but to actually have a gorgeous work of her's in my possession is truly grand! I really hope there are more English translations of her work to buy, because I would buy them right away! (please start with the Boy's Love and Erotic books that she has, those are really lovely)Anyways, some of the reviews I've seen made me doubt about getting this book. One even said they didn't know it was a manga! And I'm just wondering how that could even happen because Nakamura has done so many different kinds of Manga to not know what to expect. She has so many genres, like what type hasn't she done yet?The story in itself was a little slow but don't let it fool you!It's like it takes you on a steady waltz and then in one slow, silent step it stabs you with realization.I can't really give any more than what it tells you in the book description but it makes more sense to read it than to read the description. And another thing is that it kept me on my toes and I had no idea about the ending twist until it just... Happened.I would recommend this if you love something along the lines of: psychological, mystery, anxiety, and romance of the twisted kind. Twisted as in it's all kinds of ... mixed up in the head.

A superb introduction to the world of manga once i had tuned in to the authors style i thoroughly enjoyed this dense graphic novel which will withstand many rereadings.

Very nice book, quick delivery. Thank you very much!

I highly recommend this book to the anyone who is reading it, this book is so gud and complex that I love it.So many people r like u need it 2 read a to understand what is it abt well I my case I got the whole story in 1 read!! But it's diff for diff people so I don't judge u! The thing I did I'd read 1 chapter a day so that I am not confused... If u don't seem to understand the whole book there are websites that tell u abt how they think the story is about (plz read the whole book 1st and then check the web out as if u don't u r gonna get very confused) and 1 more thing is that that book has many 18+ scenes so keep that in mind!! But ITS A MUST BUY!

The story was mostly easy to understand but the flashbacks and changes in scenes are often unclear. The art is pretty but doesn't make up for a long-winded and at times, boring story. Overall I would recommend getting it.

Utsubora es otro de los trabajos de la brillante Asumiko Nakamura, y no falla en entregar una historia profunda llena de misterios. Desde el principio, el libro está lleno de muchos acertijos extraños que pueden confundir pero, como avanza la trama, Nakamura resuelve cada uno de ellos con resultados de distintas magnitudes. Los personajes son la mejor parte de Utsubora, con el autor Mizorogi y la misteriosa Sakura Miki, quien es uno de los conflictos centrales de la historia, y muchos otros que no serán fáciles de olvidar al final.Aunque sí seré honesta, Utsubora no es para cualquiera. Es recomendado tener una mente abierta y madura debido a las situaciones sexuales que son introducidas, además de que requerirá leer el libro aunque sea una vez más para comprender todo lo que sucedió, y lo más importante, el arte no será para todos. Nakamura siempre ha tenido un estilo definido es su anatomía y diseño de personajes, por lo que el dibujo puede volverse un factor que no alente a muchos a leerlo.