Publisher Description

"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.

Author Biography

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).

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

Review Quote

"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 Pipoproves a very dirty, gritty, underground tale of something very very real."--KotoriMagazine "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

Details