The Tatami Time Machine Blues

A Novel

De: Tomihiko Morimi

Narrado por: Kurt Kanazawa

Duración: 4 h y 43 m

Resumen del Editor

In the boiling heat of summer, a broken remote control for an air conditioner threatens life as we know it in this reality-bending, time-slipping sequel to The Tatami Galaxy.

During a scorching August in Kyoto, our protagonist and his worst friend, Ozu, are locked in a glaring contest in a four-and-a-half-tatami-mat room. Ozu has spilled Coke on the air conditioner’s remote control—the only AC in Shimogamo Yusuisuiso, their famously shabby sweatbox of an apartment building. Vengeful and despairing, our protagonist discusses countermeasures with his secret crush, the reliably blunt Akashi, when Tamura, a strange young man with a bad haircut, appears.

Tamura claims to be a time traveler from 25 years in the future, and shows off the time machine he uses to travel. Our protagonist has a brilliant idea: the sweetest revenge would be to go back one day in time and retrieve the functioning remote control. His simple fix is complicated by Ozu and several others who are also eager to take a ride back in time. But in attempting to alter the past, our protagonist foresees the world's extinction. Even more troublingly, Akashi mentions she’s bringing someone to the upcoming bonfire . . . and it's not him. Only one thing remains certain: it's going to be a very long month.

Obliteration? Salvation? Coca-Cola? Castella cake? What does the time machine hold for our (not quite) heroes? It all depends on which one gets there first.

Translated from the Japanese by Emily Balistrieri

©2023 Tomihiko Morimi (P)2023 HarperCollins Publishers

Good side story hindered by a poor performance

While Morimi's writing shines through, my main issue with the audiobook is that the new narrator's performance isn't as good as Andrew Grace's reading of the Tatami Galaxy, especially when trying to "voice" other charactera besides Watashi.

Its not unlistenable, but its a shame they not only couldn't keep consistency with Galaxy's audiobook, but also got a narrator who seems to take a whole hour to get to a point where the narration is decent. The audio quality sounds off too.

Either way the translation is excellent and reads well! Still a fun listen, but the drop in quality in the narration is disappointing.

Great but not the same

Kanazawa was entertaining throughout, but I don't think his persona fit the protagonist as perfectly as our previous narrator. Overall the characters are still great fun and I appreciate the new take on the silly tone of the series.