Reviewed by Sin - Lala Pipo

Lala Pipo
by Hideo Okuda
Amazon link


"Lala Pipo" is a relay race: as each story ends, a previously minor character takes the lead and shows us what was going on in his/her life while someone else had the spotlight. From housewives to host boys, you get a graphic tour of who's getting it in Tokyo, and who's not getting enough. Anger, stress, and self-destruction are the predominate themes. You would think getting laid would make people happy, but Hideo Okuda knows better. Sometimes sex is the last thing you need.

The book starts with a man who has no life, no friends, and one new neighbor. When a very audible parade of sexy women ensues the man, and his penis, are happier than they've ever been. Unfortunately, he's no host boy and, as time goes by, the man's addiction to the antics upstairs get the better of him. And that's one of the tamer stories.

"Lala Pipo" is proof that perversion can have a point. As titillating as the stories are (did you want me to lie?), they are also thought provoking, and in some cases touching. Okuda's characters aren't the nicest people but, even if you don't agree with what they do, you understand how they got there. To me, that is the mark of an excellent writer. It's easy to make you like a character who's charming and funny. Making you care about someone who needs a boot to the ass takes talent.

Reviewed by Sin - In the Pool

IN THE POOL
By Hideo Okuda
*English translation
Amazon link


"In the Pool", by Hideo Okuda, is a collection of five stories with two things in common: The protagonists all have an unusual problem, with a relatable human core, and they are all under the care of doctor Ichiro Irabu, head of neurology. Along with his indifferent nurse, Mayumi, Doctor Irabu specializes in indulging his patient's irrational, self-destructive impulses. Whether it be compulsively swimming, or text messaging their lives away, doctor Irabu is there to tell them everything is all right.

By the second story you can see the method behind doctor Irabu's madness, while his patients are left in the dark. Seeing how each patient deals with having the most fucked up aspect of themselves encouraged, and eventually figure out why, is the brilliance behind "In the Pool." Yet, as much as you come to know each character and why they are the way they are, the "real" doctor Irabu remains a mystery. Where does the therapy end, and the person behind it begin? I just read the book, and I have no idea, yet it's impossible to dismiss doctor Irabu as crazy. He has a vision, and it comes complete with mommy issues and a pea green porsche.

It's rare that a book makes me laugh out loud, but this one did it repeatedly. It also made me feel bad for the characters, and root for the ones that got their lives together. My favorite story is the first, titled "In the Pool", about a man whose stress drives him to swim. Soon a few laps isn't enough, and it becomes impossible to balance his trips to the pool with the rest of his life. Here, and in the other stories, the journey is what's important, even when the characters don't get where they wanted to go.

Personal rating = A+