REVIEW: #25 Solanin by Inio Asano
Reading time: 2 – 4 minutes
Title: Solanin Author: Inio Asano ISBN: 1421523213 Pages: 432 Rating:
Synopsis: (Taken From Amazon)
College graduates struggle to cope with the real world. Music offers refuge in this modern manga with an American attitude.
Meiko Inoue is a recent college grad working as an office lady in a job she hates. Her boyfriend Shigeo is permanently crashing at her apartment because his job as a freelance illustrator doesn’t pay enough for rent. And her parents in the country keep sending her boxes of veggies that just rot in her fridge. Straddling the line between her years as a student and the rest of her life, Meiko struggles with the feeling that she’s just not cut out to be a part of the real world.
Review:
Normally, I read manga series. Something I can read for a while. But lately I have been interested in graphic novels. I was doing my usual “Shopping for books I do not need” schpeal when I walked into the manga section. I saw this graphic novel facing forward and the cover (without so many words) said, “Pick me up!” So I did. I glanced at the price, $17.99. Crikey. I read the synopsis. It seemed interesting, at least to me. Maybe because I relate to the main character, Meiko on so many levels. I busted out my handy dandy #iphone and took a picture of the cover, sending it to #SnapTell to check out the reviews on the book. They were pretty good so I decided – heck, I’ll shelve out the (gasp) $17.99 for this book. (Oh, please don’t tell my husband I spent close to $20 on a MANGA book).
Honestly, though – especially for a first graphic novel (non-series manga) it was really good. Meiko was working in a thankless job with an asshole boss, working her tail off to help support her boyfriend who didn’t seem to get enough work on his own to support himself. Meiko decides to quit her job and take some time off. Suddenly she finds herself bored and the lack of job causes a strain on her relationship with her live-in boyfriend in realistic ways.
In the efforts to find herself – Meiko loses something incredibly important to her. Solanin is a realistic story of young adults, love, and life. I highly recommend it to anyone in 22+ who has “been there” and/or are struggling to find their own place in society.
Popularity: unranked [?]
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