Book Review: Sorako (Manga)

Book: Sorako by Fujimura Takayuki

Source: Borrowed from Publisher/NetGalley for an honest review

Publication: Available now

Description:

Sorako lives an ordinary life. And this is an ordinary story. She has friends and family, loves her dog, thinks about life, and occasionally looks for work (kinda). These are the adventures into a typical girl's life.  


Rating: 4 1/2 stars

Review:

Sometimes it's nice to read a comic book about nothing more than everyday life. Sorako is a compilation of seven short stories that follow the lives of several people.


1st story "Lost Dog"

In this first story, Sorako had a job interview and she is also looking for her lost dog Toma. She has her heart set on that job but she's starting to feel a little disappointed and bored about living in her hometown but after visiting her father who has been in the hospital, she starts to get a new outlook on life and appreciation of things. Which will come in handy with trying to be hopeful that her dog Toma will find his way home and that she will get the job.


2nd story "April 18th (Thursday)"

The story follows a young barista who worked a full shift at the café but she's also trying to learn how to speak English because she would love to go to England either to visit or to study abroad. Two problems she doesn't have the money and her English is not up to task yet. And thanks to her friend telling a few people, all day her fellow employees and some customers kept asking about her plans to travel to England.

She's not going to let anything stop her from learning English not even being tired from working all day is going to stop her.


3rd story "The Birdcage and the Bystander"

In this third story, Hatoko is shown hanging out with her two friends Nojiko and Sugimura. One evening when she was at home getting ready to relax and enjoy a pizza she had ordered she received a phone call from Nojiko asking her to meet her and Sugimura at the bar (and bring the pizza) and after they were enjoying a couple of beers they headed out to Nojiko's apartment so she can show them her latest hobby oil painting but she doesn't use regular old oil paint no she uses condiments.

Nojiko is also thinking about buying an instrument. Throughout the story you get a sense that Hatoko doesn't really express her feelings that she's hiding a lot of things inside. Her life is filled with ups and downs but it's hard for her to just let her feelings out.

But I think after hanging out with her friend, Hatoko may have finally started to embrace life and stop being a sort of emotionless bystander.


4th story "Sorako's Job"

As you can tell from the title this story is about Sorako (from the first story) and who is still trying to find a job but this time it doesn't seem like she's trying too hard to find one. Despite her mother encouraging her to find one, all she mostly does is watch movies. She just can't seem to find the right job and an unexpected injury might be just what she's looking for to buy her some extra time.


5th story

In this story, a young Sorako was planning on joining a gym because she thought she had gained some weight but she found it to be more of a pain that it was worth. That girl is just lazy but this was cute and funny.


6th story "Intercolor"

A young woman had been caught leaving the love hotel and with help from her friend they tried to come up with a believable lie to tell that would explain why she was there.


7th story "A Boring Breakfast"

A young wife was starting to get tired of the same boring routine and wanted a change in her life. This story had her questioning her life and wanting to take a chance and pursue something different.


This was a very good group of stories, that range from funny to thought-provoking. The characters are interesting these stories show a glimpse into their lives whether they are attempting something new or making a huge mistake.