Nayara Nichelle Nichelle itibaren Texas itibaren Texas

I absolutely HATED this book. Will never read an "Oprah's" pick again. This was totally depressing.

When I first watched Tabi no Kino the anime, I was moved to tears more than once. It is a poignant series that while disjointed on some level, still conveys a great depth of feeling and an insatiable need to know on the part of the protagonist. I'm afraid that I dislike the translation of the novel. I'm sure in it's original Japanese the books are as beautiful as the series, unfortunately certain aspects do not translate well. One thing for example is Kino's androgyny. In Japanese there is a certain amount of gender neutrality when referencing a person. If one has watched the series than they would be familiar with the fact that Kino doesn't ascribe to any one definition of gender standards. While technically a woman, she is at an age where her body is not terribly developed either way and manner of dress also disguises her sex. This is important because it plays a key role in how people of various countries treat her and relate to her, especially when they realize that she is a woman. A series of judgments and assumptions are made based on sex and gender perceptions, which is part of the reason it just doesn't translate well. In English we only have sex specific pronouns, so there is no mystery. Kino is not a man or a woman, Kino is Kino.