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3.33 AVERAGE
3.33 AVERAGE
mysterious
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
There are elements of this I like a lot, like the narrative happening to the narrator beneath the surface of everything else. It's a fun little burial happening on every page, glimpsed only briefly through the cracks.
But most of the novel is the surface and the surface is just all right. I don't know. Part of me thinks I should give this a higher rating but the other part doesn't care because I do feel like I could've given up on this halfway through and missed nothing.
It's light and breezy and short with a sinister edge buried beneath, so check it out and decide for yourself.
But most of the novel is the surface and the surface is just all right. I don't know. Part of me thinks I should give this a higher rating but the other part doesn't care because I do feel like I could've given up on this halfway through and missed nothing.
It's light and breezy and short with a sinister edge buried beneath, so check it out and decide for yourself.
mysterious
sad
slow-paced
dark
mysterious
fast-paced
mysterious
fast-paced
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
This short but sweet book is difficult to put down. If you’re looking for a plot-driven, action-packed novel, move on. This isn’t for you.
The narrator ‘The Woman in the Yellow Cardigan’ makes it a full time job to keep tabs on ‘The Woman in the Purple Skirt’. She becomes infatuated and obsessive over this woman, and she manipulates her life from a distance. She keeps tabs on ‘The Woman in the Purple Skirt’, such close tabs that you as a reader feel like you are intruding on this poor woman’s life. You watch this woman struggle with poverty, work gossip, and other workplace relationships, all through the lens of a woman that doesn’t have the gall to interact with her directly. There is a tension between the narrator and ‘The Woman in the Purple Skirt’ that draws you back to the book, as you hope that they might finally interact.
If literary fiction or psychological fiction/thriller are not your thing, you might just not ‘get’ the book. It will most likely leave you feeling ‘meh’ and unsure about what you just read. If you like people watching, you might get a kick out of this book for a little while. On that note, this isn’t a life changing book.
Therefore, I give it a 3.5/5 star rating.
The narrator ‘The Woman in the Yellow Cardigan’ makes it a full time job to keep tabs on ‘The Woman in the Purple Skirt’. She becomes infatuated and obsessive over this woman, and she manipulates her life from a distance. She keeps tabs on ‘The Woman in the Purple Skirt’, such close tabs that you as a reader feel like you are intruding on this poor woman’s life. You watch this woman struggle with poverty, work gossip, and other workplace relationships, all through the lens of a woman that doesn’t have the gall to interact with her directly. There is a tension between the narrator and ‘The Woman in the Purple Skirt’ that draws you back to the book, as you hope that they might finally interact.
If literary fiction or psychological fiction/thriller are not your thing, you might just not ‘get’ the book. It will most likely leave you feeling ‘meh’ and unsure about what you just read. If you like people watching, you might get a kick out of this book for a little while. On that note, this isn’t a life changing book.
Therefore, I give it a 3.5/5 star rating.
mysterious
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Loveable characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
When it says voyeuristic, it definitely means voyeuristic. Ironic that the woman in the yellow cardigan says gossip (focusing on other people's lives) is something that's forced upon her at work and she doesn't enjoy it, and yet she's the one obsessing over the woman in the purple skirt's life.
Very short with an ambiguous ending. But this is definitely a fun read.
Very short with an ambiguous ending. But this is definitely a fun read.
What an insane book. I am once again impressed with Natsuko Imamura's ability to make me viscerally uncomfortable, in this case so much so that I often lost focus of the reading.