一次元の挿し木 has an interesting plot and setting, but there are too many things that were problematic to me, some might be a question of taste, but I also do think that some are inherent flaws.
To me this novel felt like reading a summary of the novel rather than the novel itself. It opens several interesting topics but elaborates on none of them, characters feel extremely shallow, even Haruka with whom we spend the most time with. It feels like the novel is constantly rushing towards the next scene, without taking the time to give depth to existing elements. It’s a shame because some of these elements (the relationship between the pharmacology company and the sect, the clone and DNA stuff, the family drama and relationships) were really interesting and worth developing more, but because everything feels so rushed, I didn’t find any of what is described particularly engaging.
One thing that I usually dislike and found very pronounced in this novel, is that the plot comes first, and to make the plot possible, the author ends up writing character decisions that do not really make sense or lack motive. To make the plot progress, we have resolutions that come too easily and are not realistic (like staging a false kidnapping to make someone reveal everything they know), or on the contrary artificial obstacles (everyone knew something but everyone decided to hide it from Haruka). All these little things made the mystery lose its power. Shiharu’s decision and motive in particular feels difficult to understand and the reason given is not convincing.
There were a little bit too many twists too, but in the end, the real truth was quite underwhelming for me. Characters from the research expedition felt strangely absent from the story, only appearing when it was convenient. And overall, their decisions and actions could have been easier to understand if the novel had spent more time on it.
I also found that the multiple points of view narration was a bit artificial. I love multiple points of view when it brings something to how the reader perceives the story as a whole, but here, characters simply take the focus when it’s their time to narrate what happened. So we get the point of view of a character we never got before just because we reached the point of the plot where it’s their turn to reveal what they know. The truth is then revealed by these multiple characters, instead of being the result of a real investigation.
Overall, I found that this book felt a lot like a film. The time it takes to read, the way it’s structured and the way it’s narrated, it felt more like watching a movie than reading a book. This might be the reason why the novel is so popular, it’s easy to read and entertaining. I do think though, that a book looking like a film ends up lacking both the film’s power (image, sound, acting, music, voice. light…), and what makes a novel compelling.
It’s an entertaining novel overall that reads extremely quickly (I had to double check that the paper book is really 384 pages, it felt like reading a 200 pages book), but I really don’t understand the hype around it…