Review of Weasels in the Attic by Hiroko Oyamada

There is no humor in this book, or if there was, I could not recognize it. 

It is very short, maybe 25K words. Another mish mash of random thoughts dashed off by the author, like her other two books currently available in English. The characters are generic and unmemorable. The writing is very basic, lacking in figurative language, containing no discernible sense of voice. This is neither literary fiction, nor upmarket. It is not magical realism, nor is it genre fiction. It is a book about weasels in the attic. It describes what they do and not much else. There is some bland discussion about domestic life. No keen observations are to be found in it. I discovered no information of any possible use. I was not amused once while reading it. I skimmed over large sections, then decided to go back and read them properly, only to find that what I had skimmed over was ultimately meaningless.

If it were typical slice of life, I would have expected more (or any) character quirks, witty dialogue, societal satire, or social commentary. At least a unique perspective on life. Needless to say, none of these things were on offer here.

Dig as deep as you want, disagree with me if you will, but I found this to be an exception to Cervantes’s rule: “There is no book so bad…that it does not have something good in it.”

How is this person making money, selling books, or gaining any sort of positive reception?