Lala Pipo [Paperback]

Hideo Okuda (Author), Marc Adler (Translator)

Book Description

Publication Date: July 22, 2008

"This sleazy novel is not recommendable for ladies and gentlemen." So reads the jacket of the Japanese edition of this collection of six dark, interrelated, tragicomic chapters dealing with themes of desire, inadequacy, and failure, using the underbelly of sex as its canvas. As misheard by one of the characters, " a lot of people," is "Lala Pipo."

Lala Pipo is an ingenious tapestry of absurdity, whose cast of unlikable characters cross the line of good taste thateven those who have crossed the line cannot help but notice. Each act pushes the envelope past the one preceding it. It's like an episode of Seinfeld directed by Bob Guccione, all the story elements cleverly weaving together, taking the reader from shock to gut-busting hilarity with each tale. The main difference: these losers are X-rated.

Editorial Reviews

Review

“Lala Pipo deftly mixes satire with farce, comedy with tragedy, and eroticism with social commentary. At times, the book reads like a fusion of The Usual Suspects and Ryunosuke Akutagawa’s “In a Grove”... The subject matter is not used for titillation and is not pornography, per se. Hideo Okuda gives us a fresh approach to the sleazy side of Tokyo, showing us the seedy parts of Shibuya beyond the shopping centers. Lala Pipo is a well-written, humorous and timely book.” —The Japan Times

“These human monsters, it turns out, could be as American as you or I, and their secret lives look distressingly familiar. Okuda successfully taps into the creep inside us all.” —The Stranger (Seattle)

"Spattered with all-engrossing, and admittedly often arousing, graphic tales of sexual exploits throughout, Lala Pipo proves a very dirty, gritty, underground tale of something very very real."--Kotori Magazine
“For this sort of thing, really quite good.”—The Complete Review

"There are no likable characters to be found here, but their horrible lives and the disastrous decisions are what keep the plot moving and the reader ensnared." --The Book Zombie

"For people who think literature shouldn't shy away from dealing with the sexual relationships between people Lala Pipo is worth checking out. I found it to be a well written, engaging and entertaining book."
--Gkleinman, Library Thing Review

"This book is a lot of dark and sexy fun. It reminded me of one of my favorite films, "Requiem for a Dream" but had a bit more of a sense of humor, and was about sexuality, not drug addiction." --John Thomas, Mecha Mecha Media

About the Author

Hideo Okuda was born in 1959. His first novel was published in 1998 after he worked as a magazine editor, planner, and copywriter. He is now one of the most popular authors of entertainment novels in Japan, known for his comical portrayals of people at all levels of society.

In 2002, he won the Oyabu Haruhiko Award for hardboiled and adventure novels for JAMA (Annoyance), and in 2004, he won the Naoki Prize (Japanese equivalent of the Pulitzer Prize) for Kuchu Buranko (The Flying Trapeze).

Product Details

• Paperback: 288 pages
• Publisher: Vertical (July 22, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1934287210
• ISBN-13: 978-1934287217
• Product Dimensions: 5.4 x 0.9 x 8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,387,871 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Fascinating novel of contemporary japanese life!, July 29, 2008

By 

Samuel C. Newhouse (Brooklyn, NY) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Lala Pipo (Paperback)

This book really changed my life. It gave me a whole new perspective on the relationship between Japanese and American culture. In such a thoroughly postmodern novel, which emphasizes misinterpretation and misunderstanding between different sections of humanity, we see a fascinating portrayal of the forces that push and pull on people and in fact, organize entire societies. Reminded me of the work of one of my favorite Japanese novelists, Riyu Murakami. In the end, "Lala Pipo" or "A Lot of People" evolves into a disorderly celebration of humanity. Fabulous translation job, as well.

Buy it - it will open your eyes and give you plenty to think about!

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A Dirty but Not Sexy Book - Solid Japanese Lit, September 9, 2008

By 

Geoffrey Kleinman (Portland, OR USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Lala Pipo (Paperback)

Lala Pipo is a very dirty book. It's got a strange fascination with the entanglement of ordinary people and extraordinarily perverted sex. But Lala Pipo isn't a pornographic book per se, it's intent is more to explore than excite. Told in a series of interweaving stories Lala Pipo follows several very lonely people as they try to connect to the world around them. Their intersection with others often happens sexually and almost always has an unhappy ending.

Author Hideo Okuda does a fantastic job of weaving these short stories into a cohesive whole. Rather than a book of six short stories Lala Pipo is a complete novel where each character gets their own complete storyline and several events are seen from more than one perspective.

If you're easily offended by sexuality then obviously Lala Pipo won't be for you, but for people who think literature shouldn't shy away from dealing with the sexual relationships between people Lala Pipo is worth checking out. I found it to be a well written, engaging and entertaining book.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Fast, sharp and deceptively simple, July 28, 2008

By 

Miera S. (New York) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Lala Pipo (Paperback)

Lala Pipo's deceptively simple, pop style packs some carefully measured and meted surprises. Tarantino meets O. Henry with each punch-in-the-face plot twist. This is clever, fast reading that haunts long after it's been taken in. I was shocked in all the right places by this unorthodox, underground view of Japan.