"Scattered All Over the Earth" is Better in Theory than in Practice

 

I have many things I want to say about book, none of which are very positive. 

Before departing on a trip earlier this month I visited my local book store in search of a good fictional read. I was captivated by the aesthetic cover art of this book, and upon reading its description I decided to purchase Yoko Tawada's Scattered All Over the Earth. 

Let's just say thought that this was a tragic waste of $17. 

Scattered All Over the Earth follows the story of a young woman named Hiruko, whose home country of Japan has ceased to exist (one can likely assume from the effects of climate change, though the book never confirms this). 

Unable to return to her native land, Hiruko becomes stranded in Denmark, where she soon develops her own language, called "Panska," a mixture of several Scandinavian dialects. 

Searching for anyone else from her homeland, Hiruko goes on a transcontinental quest to hear her mother tongue once more, and along that way picks up a motley crew of travelers. 

I loved the idea of this book more than the actual piece itself. Within the first couple of pages I knew that Scattered All Over the Earth should perhaps not be judged by its cover. While Hiruko's "Panska" language is certainly a fascinating concept, it is somewhat confusing to follow at times. Her use of jumbled language often results in her only saying a few words that readers have to piece together, while also making her sound less intelligent than perhaps she truly is as a character.

The theme of language is central to the entire book, and is what ultimately binds many of the characters together. One comes to recognize language as a unifying force, that often transcends physical location or ethnicity. This somewhat intriguing element of the book is, however, unfortunately overshadowed by the poor structure and character development of the piece.

Everything that happens in this book feels very haphazard. Characters actions are quite spontaneous, but we are not given a motive or reason for their behavior. There's little to no character development, and events simply occur, oftentimes making it feel as though the author was simply coming up with the story as she wrote it. As result it is hard to be invested in the overall plot of the piece, which feels very discombobulated and short-sighted. 

Poor character development and plot aside, the book is slightly problematic in its descriptions of certain racial groups and gender identities. The author, who is Japanese, often would stereotype other racial or ethnic groups, in a manner that appeared somewhat uninformed at times. Moreover, racial slurs were frequently used, as one character was repeatedly referred to as an "eskimo," despite the fact that this terminology has been widely denounced by Inuit groups. 

Additionally, there is a character in the book named Akash who is transgender woman, and yet is repeatedly misgendered by other characters, who refer to her with male pronouns despite her expressing the contrary. Akash seems to be unbothered with this, even when asked offensive questions such as "what are you?" These instances of transphobic language are not only harmful but also go unaddressed throughout the book. 

Another frustrating aspect of this piece is that no character aside from Hiruko seems to have any memory of Japan's existence as a country. It is bizarre that in a fictional, technologically-advanced society no one would have any recollection of a culture or country with such global significance as Japan. Perhaps this was an intentional choice of the author, but it is somewhat absurd given the overall context of the book. 

Ultimately, the best part of Scattered All Over the Earth is its cover art, as the actual content of the book falls short of its ambitions.