Published in May by Neem Tree Press, Takeout Sushi is a collection of 17 illustrated short stories set mostly in contemporary Japan. As the publisher highlights, they ‘explore feelings of belonging, displacement, and the strangeness of everyday human interaction’.

Inspired by the author’s own experiences, these stories are described as ‘whimsical slice-of-life tales’, which I think is quite fitting as I find most Japanese literature to be somewhat unusual. And while the author was born in the UK, you can tell by reading these stories that he has lived in Japan for a long time.

As with all collection of short stories, it’s inevitable to have favourites. Some stories I was happy to say goodbye to, while others I would have liked to be longer. Mostly, however, I found myself content with their length as they did exactly what was needed and gave me the taste of a different world, one morsel after the other.

Last but not least, a simple line illustration by Rebecca Purton serves as an introduction to each story and is a great touch.

I came to this with my all-consuming passion for things Japanese, so the last few stories in the collection weren't really of interest. What we get from the 13 Japan-based stories were interesting enough, but somehow felt slightly at a distance. The author lives in Japan and clearly understands, from a Western perspective, Japanese society, work culture and the subtleties of personal relationships, but what I wanted perhaps was a little more depth of character and a 'message', without being beaten over the head. It's a difficult line to draw, but I just wanted a bit 'more' from some of the stories. And because I was reading an ARC e-book, the illustrations just didn't really work for me - if ever you need an argument for the physical book is better, here it is.

Enjoyable nonetheless, and file it under 'different perspectives of modern-day Japan' 3 to 3.5 stars.

(With thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for an ARC of this title.)

Takeout Sushi by Christopher Green is a collection of 17 illustrated short stories set mostly in contemporary Japan. These whimsical slice-of-life tales explore feelings of belonging, displacement, and the strangeness of everyday human interaction. Here's a brief review:

In this story collection, Green delves into the lives of characters in Japan, capturing ordinary moments and turning them into unexpected and entertaining tales. The author's ability to find intrigue in seemingly mundane situations—such as a salaryman ironing his pants or a commuter picking up objects dropped on the train floor—adds depth to the stories. What makes this collection particularly interesting is that Christopher Green, despite not being Japanese, has been a long-time resident of Japan. His unique perspective offers readers a genuine glimpse into Japanese culture and human experiences.

The writing style is sharp, and the emotions portrayed are diverse. Whether you're a fan of Japanese literature or not, Takeout Sushi provides an engaging and heartfelt exploration of life in contemporary Japan.

My favorite story was Burned and Spinning Wheels. I liked the illustrations this book had. My only complaint was that it felt as if some stories did end abruptly.

Overall, I recommend Takeout Sushi for its fresh perspective, humor, and heart.

Thank you The Write Reads for this book.

A wonderful collection of short stories! I enjoyed all of them thoroughly-- especially the simplicity represented via the daily life of a multitude of individuals. Some resonated with me more than others, but overall, a great read!

★ ★ ★ 1/2 (rounded up)
This originally appeared at The Irresponsible Reader.
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WHAT'S TAKEOUT SUSHI ABOUT?
This is a collection of 17 stories—13 taking place in contemporary Japan, and 4 in other parts of the world and other times.

It's difficult to describe a common theme or anything with this collection—you've got one crime story, one thing that straddles Science Fiction and Contemporary Fiction, and then a few that fall under slice-of-life kind of things. I'd compare them to the shorter works of Raymond Carver, John Cheever, or John Updike—at least in the kind of stories he's telling, I'm not equipped to talk about literary quality. I will say that I liked most of these better than almost everything I read by those guys.

CHARACTERS IN THE STORIES
Speaking generally, these stories focus on one person, with 1-3 other characters. I guess that's frequently the case for short stories in general, but as I read it, this collection felt more focused on an individual or two rather than the outside world.

With several of these, I have the impression I got to know the protagonist as well as I do some characters in 400-page novels—Green has a real gift for getting us up close and personal to his characters. And, I guess, we really don't get to know these people all that well—but in the moment, you'll be convinced you know them better than their own mothers or psychiatrists.*

* That's a joke, I can't imagine any of these people seeing a psychiatrist. Most should, however.

MAWAGE
There's probably an entire post to be written about the marriages depicted in the book—and, on the whole, the institution doesn't come out looking to good. There are a couple of exceptions—and one promises to be better soon after the story's events (thanks to an oddly sympathetic police officer). But, particularly early on, my notes are full of comments about the strange and (often) strained relationships between husband and wife depicted here.

I will say this—Green is fairly even-handed in what partner is "the problem." Too many collections like this would tend to paint the wife negatively—or the husband—but Green bounced back and forth between the two.

Basically, don't give this as a Valentine's Day gift.


SO, WHAT DID I THINK ABOUT TAKEOUT SUSHI?
Almost every time I talk about a short-story collection, I end up saying something like, "there were some real winners, and some that didn't do much for me, I expect you'll find the same (just with a different list of stories in each category)." I hate to repeat myself, buuuuuut...

Now, those that were real winners were just amazingly good. "Laugh out loud from surprise because you didn't expect to read something that skillfully done and imaginative" good (and occasionally laugh out loud because of the conclusion). Those that didn't rise to that level (in my estimation, I stress), did absolutely nothing for me. I even re-read a couple of them to see if I could figure out what I missed—I just didn't understand the point of them. There was one exception to that—the penultimate story, "The Pool." It was effective and affective—and completely not for me—but at least I got it.

A few years ago, I read a short story by Russell Day called "Not Talking Italics." It blew me away and started a years-long obsession with Day and his shorter and longer pieces. Green's "Crimes for Dummies" hit me in almost the same way. My note at the end was just one word: Fantastic. A few others were almost as good ("The Choice")—or better ("Spinning Wheels").

I'm not going to say any more about them because it would rid those stories of their punch. But those three more than justify the purchase price of the book—whatever you end up spending on it.

As usual, I'm more than prepared for people to come along and tell me that "The Pool" was brilliant (and explain why), or that "Spinning Wheels" was silly or derivative of something. Because tastes differ—as they should.

In any case, I expect that whoever picks up this collection are going to frequently have a real blast with it—and a couple of things to shrug at before diving into the next one that will get them giddy with excitement.

Disclaimer: I received a copy of this book from Neem Tree Press and The Write Reads via NetGalley.

I usually enjoy reading collections of short stories, but unfortunately, this particular collection did not capture my interest. While some readers might appreciate them, I prefer a collection of short stories with more depth and cohesiveness. I want to FEEL something by the end, or at the very least be entertained. A couple of stories stuck with me, but in general, I didn’t find myself excited to start a new chapter or pick the book back up.

Book source ~ TWR Tour

This is a collection of short stories that are just the right length, so you can easily pick it up and put it down as life dictates. I read it pretty much in two sittings, but I happened to have some time to do so. Well-written and fine-tuned, the stories are varied, but they all have one thing in common: they are entertaining.

I’m sitting here trying to decide which one I like the best and which the least. It’s a difficult choice. Apartment 601 intrigues me the most and the ending to The Tree makes me wonder about what the wife means. I don’t like the main characters in a couple of the stories since I think they are a bit mean-spirited or idiotic. I think I like Henry Sparkles the most even though the subject and tone is at times horrifying and sad. The most humorous in my eyes is Burned. I admit to a few chortle-snorts while reading it. As for my least liked, I believe that would be Crime for Dummies.

There’s something for everyone in this collection so I suggest giving it a go!

This was such a nice and fun read for me, the individual stories and illustrations were fantastic and very interesting.

"Take Out Sushi" by Christopher Green offers a nuanced portrayal of expatriate life in Japan through a series of slice-of-life short stories. These vignettes provide glimpses into the everyday experiences of foreigners navigating the intricacies of Japanese culture. While the stories capture moments of cultural exchange and personal reflection, they may fall short in offering a compelling narrative arc or profound insights. Despite the authenticity in depicting ordinary life, some readers may find the lack of standout moments or overarching themes less engaging. As a result, maintaining interest throughout the book may prove challenging, leading some readers to lose engagement before reaching the conclusion. While "Take Out Sushi" offers a realistic portrayal of expat life, it may not fully captivate readers seeking more dynamic storytelling or profound revelations.

Thank you @The_WriteReads for letting me be part of tbis tour and reviewing this book. I love the front cove of Takeout Sushi. It's awesome and the title. Takeout Sushi are short stories about Japan and people. I love the illustrations that are on each chapter. There were stories enjoyed more than the others which were Stories of Japan, Today, Burned- (this was my favourite), The Choice, The Tree, and The Jogger. This is a fast-paced read with excellent writing. The stories will make you smile, and they are very entertainment read. Takeout Sushi is a light read that you can dip in and out of. The illustration are great and great wide range of stories 5 stars

This collection is engaging and keeps your interest within each narrative. Some are comical, some are mysterious, some are alarming, but nearly all have that unique human quality that allows the reader to contemplate the curious events that happen within a life. My personal favorite is probably "Spinning Wheels" which is a story that imagines a company that implements robots as managers.

http://ryanyarber.com/2024/04/23/takeout-sushi/

Read from April 30th, 2024 to May 5th, 2024. Written on May 5th, 2024.

NEW BOOK RELEASE ALERT!!!

A great book with great short stories, spanning from Japan to Italy and South Africa in all sorts of stories that are easy to follow!

Seriously, I loved this book and the illustrations are amazing!

Pick it up, give it a try and I believe you won't regret it.

Thank you for the ARC!

Signing off,
B.

(Free ARC from NetGalley and Neem Tree Press that I chose to review after reading)

This is a compilation of lots of different stories set in Japan. I haven't finished them all yet but have been dipping in and reading the ones whose titles caught my eye. For that reason this is more of a spotlight than a full review but I'll write one when I do finish!

My favourite so far was Swirl, about a woman whose late husband won a haiku competition and what that leads her to discover. This was quite uplifting! However the very first story, Swallows, actually made me feel a little sad and I was disappointed with the slightly abrupt ending.

This book is a collection of short stories each exploring a slice of life set in modern day Japan. I requested this book on Netgalley as it was something really out of my usual genres and I thought it sounded like it would be really interesting and I’m so pleased that it was. Each story followed a different person and situation, which made for quite a reflective read where I was thinking about not only my own life but the people that surround me every day and what a slice of their life may look life.

Some stories were more speculative such as following a worker whose company introduces robot’s as team leaders to help make the workplace more efficient. Whereas others were more realistic and looked at the mundanity of life but each with a twist such as humour or the empowerment of a character to make a change to their life.

I thought that the wirting was excellent, each story was really well crafted and they made for a really thought provoking read. As with most collections I found some stories more engaging than others, but overall I was pleasantly surprised by this book and how much I enjoyed it.

I stopped reading about 60% in. I tried really hard to like it. I love short stories and there were some stories that I genuinely liked but the majority of it was not resonating with me. The lack of female characters was rough for me. All of the narrators or main characters in these stories were all men. And the female characters were almost non-existent. This is definitely a book written by a man for other men and that's fine, but as a woman, I did not resonate and I will not be finishing.

This collection of short stories was a quick and easy read, though it felt hard to relate to any of the stories. A lot of the story telling felt as though it had been written through a window of watching someone else live the life. There was very little actual emotion in the stories to me, more just being told what was happening which while good left me wanting more from each story.

I love a short story collection - this is no exception.

Really easy to jump from story to story, different enough but the short and direct storytelling is easy to get into the flow of. A good travel read.

I received an advance review copy of this book, to review as part of a tour with The Write Reads.

I think a book of short stories is often a good choice when you are feeling indecisive about what to read, and this was a delightful collection of short stories. Most of them were contemporary short stories set in Japan.

I found that while reading these stories, I was introduced to a variety of characters that I related to and connected with in different ways. I think the characters that I related to or empathised with the most were the protagonists in Burned, The Choice, and Plastic Irises. The protagonist in Burned was very clumsy, the protagonist in The Choice was indecisive, and Plastic Irises had a theme of loneliness, which sort of went to my heart. These were the ones that stood out to me the most, though I really liked all of the stories.

It seemed to me that some of these stories were sort of paradoxical, in a wonderful way. Some of the events struck me as a little bizarre or baffling, and it seemed that while the protagonist had begun by just going about their usual everyday life, by the end of the story, they had experienced something significant, which may have changed their outlook on life.

These stories were lighthearted and funny, and at the same time, I found them quite deep and moving. With each story, I found myself looking for a moral or hidden message, asking myself, “What can I take away from reading this?” I enjoy writing that makes me feel that way.

I thought the illustrations were charming as well, and this book was a little treat to read.

Thank you to The Write Reads, Neem Tree Press, and to the author, for the opportunity to read and review this.

This was a great collection of short stories primarily set in Japan.
There is something for everyone in this collection and its the perfect book to dip in and out of at your own pace reading one or two stories at a time.
I loved the illustrations throughout which just added a little something extra to the collection.

Anyone who knows me, knows I love short stories. I have never had the opportunity to come across a short story collection containing illustrations, these were so much fun to see. The stories in Takeout Sushi are set in contemporary Japan. Christopher Green has a brilliant and unique writing style that envelops you as you dive in to these stories. Cheers to release day!

Thank you to Neem Tree Press and Net Galley for the ARC!