スターティング・オーヴァー by Sugaru Miaki

スターティング・オーヴァー Reviews

• 
  Annemarie

  4.5 stars
  
  Sugaru Miaki is officially one of my favourite writers. His books are easy to read and interesting. A mix of fantasy and reality that is just perfect.
  
  This book is written in first person, and we follow an utterly unlikable protagonist. Even though he's unlikable the story itself is interesting enough to keep wanting to read more. I kept wondering if our protagonist was a reliable narrator or not.
  
  Sugaru Miaki seems to have a very deep understanding of mental illnesses. Not in the medical sense, but in how they make people feel, and behave. Especially considering things like depression, agoraphobia and similar increases (in the books I've read so far). This makes his characters feel very real and raw. His books are never happy, but dive into unhappiness with an honesty that is refreshing.
  
  The only reason I ended up giving this 4,5 stars is the ending. Up until the last 30 pages or so I felt like this was a 5 star read, but the ending feels very rushed, which is such a pity, as the books itself is very well paced. It's a lot less slow than other Japanese books I've read, though still kinda slow when compared to many English books. The rushed ending wasn't as good as the rest of the book which is really a pity.
  
  I'm looking forward to reading more of his books.
• 
  Naomi

  I read the 2ch version.
• 
  Nadz ☆

  Fiction books that somehow make you question your approach to life hold a special place in my heart.
  I love being introduced to different point of views and brought to understanding the thought process that led to their construction.
  In a way, this book was exactly that.
  
  What I liked most was how reflective the protagonist’s thoughts were (though some were just disturbing, more than anything). The simple writing style made it so that his darkest thoughts and emotions were delivered with an honesty and straight forwardness that was refreshing.
  While I’m discussing the writing style, I must say, the chronology throughout the book was confusing at times. As soon as I felt like I finally put all the pieces together, the protagonist brought up a part of his past he previously omitted, and I then had to mentally rearrange the whole storyline. While I had my doubts at first on whether that wouldn’t bother me in the long run, I surprisingly found myself enjoying this structure!
  
  Sadly, the ending felt rushed. There was no proper build-up to what happens in the final scenes which was a pity considering how good the rest of book was.
  
• 
  David Tay

  An intriguing premise with a decent ending. What really hooked me in was the first person narration that the author makes use of; Miaki's narrative style reads a lot like Dazai or Salinger's works. The MC's thoughts are deeply personal and reflective, bordering on disturbing even at certain points. To me, the characterisation of the MC along with the spotlight that Miaki gave to the MC through his narrative technique is "Starting Over's" greatest selling point.
• 
  Ramdani Zaenudin

  Like other fafoo's novel this is great to read. but this MC so gloomy person like other fafoo's novel.
  -Just Love my Former Girlfrend from my firstlife.
• 
  Will Yu

  A really good book to think over.
• 
  Tanner

  “The story I’m going to tell may run contrary to your expectations.” It most certainly did. Starting over isn’t the same as Sugaru Miaki’s typical writing, in the sense of how “real” or relatable it is. To me at least. We’ve all been depressed or hungover about our past at one point I’m sure. Whether it’s an embarrassing moment or just something you could’ve done better, we’ve all thought of going back in time and do something about it I’m sure. However, Sugaru takes this to the idea extreme in this story, pointing out just how one little detail can alter the life ahead of you. This is very evident shortly after you get into the story, with the main character getting more desperate as his time and age goes by. One thing I’d like to point out is how we never got his name. It’s a detail that I love so much about this book. The longing that he has for “Tokiwa” or his original life that led him to contemplate murder, bar him from sharing his own, hinting that he will never get his old life back. As stated in the title, the ending concludes with him “starting over,” this time with Hiiragi who, unlike him, was clearly named since she was never shown to have taken things to the very extreme. She might’ve followed around Tokiwa and Tsugumi, but she was never shown to jade plans involving their murder. Might have been a stretch on that very last detail, but that’s how I see things after reading it. Personally, I find the main character relatable (in some ways), trying to give myself distractions over the reality that is my life. In the same way he’s slowly accepted his second life, I’ve learned that it’s easier to just embrace change by distracting myself until I’m able to move on.
  The ending felt a little weird/wrong with the final scene on the sister instead of hiiragi, but I still think it was a great ending. It started and ended with him telling his little sister about his 10 year jump back in time.
• 
  Naira Marinho

  I started reading without any expectations. I didn't know the autor and I just wanted a Japanese novel to read... It was a great experience. The book brings some really interesting reflections about happiness, life choices, relationships, and so on. To me, the only flaw is the lost and confused memories of the main character... I didn't like this resolution. Seemed somewhat forced to me. The final part was a little bit rushed too. But itself, the book is great and I would recommend it! 😃
• 
  irene

  my favorite miaki book i’ve read so far.
  
  “starting over” delves into perspectives on happiness. it got me reflecting on my goals and the effort i put into them.
  
  & hehe minus the magical realism elements, the protagonist low-key seems so delusional. i quite enjoyed that.
  
  
• 
  Frank Wang

  Rating: 4.5/5
• 
  Lmaokellan

  i dont even know what to feel anymore
• 
  savedbybooks_

  I read this on whim but is was beautiful. initially it was below average , then the back to ten thing made it bearable and after that it keep on increasing lasting upto 4.5 stars for me.
• 
  buma

  I recommend this book to read
  I 'guess everyone will have their own opinion
  Mine is Great
  Just read it