Reviews

Am Meer ist es wärmer by Hiromi Kawakami

yusrah's review against another edition

mysterious reflective sad medium-paced

2.5

peaceandkindness2all's review against another edition

2.0

I’m not sure if it’s because of my aspd but I could not feel a single feel coming from this book. Started off bland and ended off bland. Too unnecessarily metaphorical, with after some thought, still did not make sense to me (I may be stupid). However only on the latter half of the book was when things somewhat began to come into fruition. However the reason I was continuing to turn pages was just for the sake of completing it. Nothing sparked and nothing from the book will stay with me other than to be healthy and sane always.


This is also my first Kawakami book so this is very unfortunate. Maybe I just picked the wrong book to read at first. Womp womp. Sad emoji. But I will be picking up her other works.

tigersmom's review against another edition

emotional reflective tense medium-paced

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

3.0

sci_mom's review against another edition

2.0

Another reviewer summed up how I felt about this book very well, so I'm stealing his thoughts on it.

"Engaging to read from start to finish, but it's kind of like y'know a big long stream of consciousness moment with no real depth to really justify it's meandering."

sup_demons's review against another edition

emotional mysterious relaxing sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

It's a very strange book, definitely the first one I've read of its kind. I enjoyed the detachment from the plot and the focus the book has on the character of the story and the way they dealt with the grief and the unknown. It felt like we gazed onto the window of passage in time of one person and their growth. Very insightful read with a deep reflection of what love, motherhood and grief is, or what it means to be human.

sanmeow's review against another edition

emotional mysterious reflective slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character

4.75

i don't think it's for everyone, mostly because it's sort of vague. but it's definitely for me! i love a story about memories, especially when the story is atmospheric. and the atmosphere is a huge part of the novel, much like with other books by hiromi kawakami. i've always been a huge fan of her writing style, so i'm really not surprised that i loved this. i found it very easy to emotionally connect and sympathize with kei, and i also liked the unnamed woman and how drawn to manazuru (the town) kei was. it all just builds a really enchanting atmosphere that i'm always in the mood for. i also thought the writing was lovely ^_^

rahakiw826's review against another edition

dark mysterious reflective slow-paced

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

4.5

severinam's review against another edition

3.0

Dark and unsettling. The prose is gorgeous, though. I did not read it in one take so the story was harder to follow, since the author does not specify what actually happened (and that is the charm of the book, I guess).

louise_de_la_lune's review against another edition

medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.0

monaccko's review against another edition

emotional mysterious reflective sad slow-paced

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

5.0