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3.48 AVERAGE
3.48 AVERAGE
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
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:
Complicated
This book was just okay to me and I mostly think it just wasn’t my style or preference in type of book. It was super slow paced and is very minimally plot based. I mostly just found myself uninterested and getting through it for the sake of finishing.
Stealing this quote from another reader’s (zibbi_is_reading) review because they nailed it:
“It’s packed with empathy and tackles heavy themes, but the stream-of-consciousness structure made it tough to stay fully connected at times. I get that this style mirrors the protagonist’s scattered memories and mental state, but there were moments where it felt more distancing than engaging.”
Stealing this quote from another reader’s (zibbi_is_reading) review because they nailed it:
“It’s packed with empathy and tackles heavy themes, but the stream-of-consciousness structure made it tough to stay fully connected at times. I get that this style mirrors the protagonist’s scattered memories and mental state, but there were moments where it felt more distancing than engaging.”
4/5stars
Really enjoyed this!! So well written, covered so many different topics and POVs, very disjointed but in an interesting/dreamlike way
Really enjoyed this!! So well written, covered so many different topics and POVs, very disjointed but in an interesting/dreamlike way
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
emotional
reflective
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Hmmm… I think I’ll need to revisit this review in a few months to see how I really feel about the book. One thing that keeps sticking with me is the title. Why focus on Tokyo Ueno Station when the park feels like a much bigger part of the story? I can’t help but wonder if this was an intentional choice or just a way to make the title more appealing to readers.
The book is short, but it’s definitely not an easy read. It’s packed with empathy and tackles heavy themes, but the stream-of-consciousness structure made it tough to stay fully connected at times. I get that this style mirrors the protagonist’s scattered memories and mental state, but there were moments where it felt more distancing than engaging.
The story offers a quiet exploration of grief, poverty, and the lives of people who are often overlooked. It ties personal struggles to larger social and economic issues, especially highlighting the challenges faced by Japan’s working class. It doesn’t just tell a story, it forces you to reflect on how society moves forward at the expense of those left behind.
Content Warning: Death, Grief, Mental Health Struggles
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Devastatingly beautiful.
Quiet, poetic meditation on life packaged into a sociography/crash course in modern Japanese history . Although the book has a protagonist, the ghost of a recently deceased homeless man, the real focus of the novel is the titular Ueno Park in Tokyo, rich with symbolism, a meeting point of competing historical ideologies and the extremities of the social hierarchy.
challenging
emotional
reflective
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
deeply affecting very sad and heavy with grief but also deeply full of such love and just a sweet attention to mundanity I loved the flow of the narration it's very stream of consciousness and just so so gorgeous
emotional
reflective
sad
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:
Yes
Content Warnings
Graphic: Suicide
fast-paced
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Tokyo Ueno Station is a haunting novel about loss, displacement, and the lingering weight of the past, but for me, it was an unsatisfying experience. The story revolves around Kazu, a ghost who reflects on his life as a laborer and estranged father, haunted by regret and tragedy. Despite its promising premise of exploring themes of loneliness and the human condition, the execution left much to be desired.
The plot’s central moment—Kazu returning home only to find his son dead—sets the stage for what should have been a deeply emotional narrative. Instead, I found it difficult to connect with Kazu as a character. His story felt distant and lacked the emotional depth needed to evoke sympathy. Rather than focusing on his grief or personal connections, the novel frequently veered into historical asides that felt disjointed and out of place, making the direction of the story hard to follow.
Additionally, the tone was far from what one might expect from the book’s appearance. If I had picked up a physical copy, I might have assumed it was lighthearted or uplifting, but it was anything but that. The heavy themes of poverty and death are important, but they’re presented in a way that felt cold and inaccessible.
Ultimately, Tokyo Ueno Station didn’t resonate with me. The historical references and fragmented narrative style made it hard to stay engaged, and the lack of emotional connection with the protagonist left the story feeling hollow. I wouldn’t recommend this book. For me, it’s a 1 out of 5.