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3.48 AVERAGE
3.48 AVERAGE
This book is beautifully written. It is the story of a man born in 1933, the same year as the Japanese Emperor, which should have been a lucky omen. However the narrator, Kazu, is actually a dead ghost, trapped in Ueno Train Station and park. He narrates his family’s personal story about poverty, loss and homelessness, and the hidden inequalities in the big, beautiful, colorful metropolis of Tokyo, and how Ueno Station also became a refuge for the homeless during the Fukushima nuclear meltdown and Tsunami. A very sweet little book, Miri Yū won the 2020 National Book Award for Tokyo Ueno Station. She also owns a bookstore in Fukushima called Full House, and runs it out of her own home!
So sad, the stories of his homelessness and losing his family hit hard and then leaving so as to not be a burden on his daughter’s family?? oh man. 4/5 stars, there was a lot of context with religion and with Japan that I am simply unfamiliar with but still a good sad book
challenging
emotional
informative
mysterious
reflective
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
I just don’t think this is my kind of book, it was pretty much alot of prose and exposition and not a lot of plot
reflective
sad
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I don’t think I entirely enjoyed it but it was a good thing to read and a new experience
informative
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
N/A
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
It took me 1.5 years to finish this book because I couldn’t get into it. I found the book to be painfully slow, even for the Japanese literature fiction genre. The storytelling is disjointed and the decision to weave in bits of Japanese history, real-time sensory details, and/or art history into Kazu’s perspective made me feel even more disconnected from the story. Kazu’s upbringing and life are full of financial struggle and hardship. The dissociated and non-linear narrative made it hard for me to feel much of anything when reading it. Tragedy upon tragedy, there was no point in which things would get better for him or his family line. I didn’t find much meaning in that.
This book highlights social issues around homelessness in Tokyo and builds empathy for this cause which is important.
This book highlights social issues around homelessness in Tokyo and builds empathy for this cause which is important.
challenging
dark
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
challenging
reflective
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
dark
informative
mysterious
sad
tense
fast-paced
Such a compact and devastating read. Feels so genuine in its critique of Japanese capitalist society. Really blown away about how circular, oftentimes paired with unfixed and unclear timelines, narrative structure of this novel. It’s very descriptive but also so many of the descriptions do not make clearer who Kazu is to us. So much he won’t so say and so much the narrative doesn’t have access to and doesn’t pretend to have access to. Really floored by this one; it’s just so unrelenting.