The Astrological Diary of God
by Bo Fowler
Bloomsbury, 1999, 296 pages
Strange, strange, strange! Although the book cover has
review quotes like "strongly reminiscent of Kurt Vonnegut" and
"a damned fine novel - audacious, sparky and very funny," this novel
is nonsense. Zizo Yasuzawa (also known as Japs Eye Fontanelle), a 600-pound
former kamikaze pilot, attracts a huge following after the war's end because of
his astrological teachings and his frequent public masturbation to create
galaxies. The novel covers the period from his birth in 1925 in Kyoto up to the
present day, when he is held under armed guard because he has been accused of
killing time. He believes himself to be God, even though he regularly takes a
break to watch Star Trek. Of course, this book is parody, but it lacks
much humor with its repetition, vulgarity, and gibberish.
Zizo Yasuzawa had 38 failed kamikaze missions during World
War II. He failed for many reasons, such as engine trouble, weather, getting
lost, appendicitis, and his plane's wings falling off during takeoff. Yasuzawa
once was about ready to crash into a U.S. carrier but it sank of its own accord
into the ocean before he could reach it. He participated in both the first
kamikaze attack with the squadron formed by Vice Admiral Ohnishi in the
Philippines and the war's last kamikaze attack in one of the eleven planes led
by Vice Admiral Ugaki.
The story of his involvement in the Kamikaze Special
Attack Corps does have some parts that reflect history fairly accurately, but
many statements in this part of the novel make little sense, have vague details,
or contain historical mistakes. The book includes six kamikaze-related
photos, including several well-known ones. Instead of accurate descriptions of
these photos, they have humorous captions such as, "God returning from
ninth suicide mission (note increase in weight)."
This weird novel will waste your time with its ramblings.
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