Reviews

The highlight of this book for me was better understanding The Hague as a place where people live their personal lives, as well as being the site of the international court. I found the narrator's story engaging enough to pull me through the book, but was left quite unsatisfied by the ending. And for a book called "Intimacies," I found the tone quite cool and detached. Perhaps a conscious choice by the author? Definitely an interesting read, but wouldn't put it high in my rankings of this year's books.

signorponza's review against another edition

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4.0

Uno di quei libri che partono avvantaggiati perché scritti molto bene. Ecco, forse mi sento di dire che lo stile di scrittura e le atmosfere di questo romanzo sono i due pilastri che lo tengono insieme. La trama c’è, ma non è quella su cui farei affidamento: racconta la storia di una donna di origini giapponesi che arriva all’Aja per lavorare come interprete alla Corte Penale Internazionale. Ed è a partire da questo esordio lavorativo in una nuova città che si dipanano diversi avvenimenti che procedono in parallelo: il lavoro della Corte e il processo a un ex presidente imputato di crimini atroci, le amicizie, l’amore. Sono proprio queste varie tipologie di relazioni complicate che portano la protagonista (ma anche i lettori e le lettrici) a interrogarsi più volte sulla natura delle stesse nel corso di questo breve romanzo di Kitamura.

La mia newsletter sui libri: https://signorponza.substack.com

whitneysederberg's review against another edition

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4.0

really really excellent.

the writing is cold but compelling. i think kitamura is really great at writing cold women who feel incredibly real. i had trouble following how the different plot lines were all correlated, but i also liked how adriaan’s was so disconnected and non-central. in fact there was no plot that seemed central, which was wonderful but kind of loose at times. but the protagonists role as an interpreter as both a career and for the social relationships and political events around her was so great.

so so excited to work with katie for a writing program next month!!

martina_otr's review against another edition

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5.0

Prosa minimale, trama minimale. E allora qual è la forza di questo libro, cosa genera il magnetismo che lo caratterizza? Tutto quello che c’è nel mezzo, il tono così sommesso da essere un sussurro, il ritmo così lento e delicato da sembrare inerzia volontaria. E la consapevolezza che spesso, se si è predisposti, per fare rumore non serve clamore, basta un sussurro confidenziale, un soffio delicatissimo.

Rarefatto. E nuovo libro della mia vita, come da pronostico.

joetatum24's review against another edition

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5.0

Really thoughtfully written by someone you can tell is an observer of human behavior. It didn’t really matter to me what “happened” in this novel because I was so taken by the character’s observations of herself and those around her. I loved the prose and words that were used throughout, and would love to read more from this author.

emmareids's review against another edition

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mysterious reflective slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

sethudlamz's review against another edition

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challenging emotional funny informative tense slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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