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jasmijn45's review
dark
emotional
hopeful
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
lubrn's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
informative
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.25
ewurster's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
informative
reflective
medium-paced
5.0
rhealambe's review against another edition
emotional
informative
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
bradleyj's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
I don’t know what I was expecting but certainly not crying multiple times over this book! I really enjoyed Naoko’s journey and growth and learning about what she went through. I know the author says this is a work of fiction but the fact that it’s rooted in real life experiences makes it even more heartbreaking.
anjalisudarsan's review against another edition
5.0
A heart touching story, that really got me feeling all torn up about love. The book switches between the past (1957) Japan and the modern day. There's Naoko Nakamura, a Japanese woman in love with an American man, which is not accepted by her family or society. I loved how innocent and pure her love for Jimmy (Hajime) was, the way it was presented was so poetic; her unconditional love was so strong she was ready to sacrifice everything for him. Then she's pregnant, and that whole scenario is hard to read through. Really felt sad for her.
Modern-day, Jimmy's daughter searches for the woman her father's written about. And as she uncovers the truth behind her father's stories, we wait with bated breath to see what happens. The suspense built in this story was also well executed, and I was engrossed right till the end. 5 stars!
Modern-day, Jimmy's daughter searches for the woman her father's written about. And as she uncovers the truth behind her father's stories, we wait with bated breath to see what happens. The suspense built in this story was also well executed, and I was engrossed right till the end. 5 stars!
literarykerry's review against another edition
emotional
informative
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
3.5
smart_girls_love_trashy_books's review against another edition
3.0
-POTENTIAL SPOILERS-
You ever read a book and know right off the bat the review afterwards will be super short? That was me with this. The overall experience of reading this book was, to me, meh, and thus I don't have much to say about it.
The good stuff? Not much. I vastly preferred the historical parts, but that's just because I'm a bigger fan of historical fiction in general. Despite being *very* slow for most of it, it did pick up near the end and made me able to finish it so much faster than normal. I did enjoy the history and how it was based on the author's real family background. I liked how well-researched the culture was, especially in a debut novel by a Westerner. In my experience, a lot of other attempts end up....not very good. And that's putting it lightly. I also liked the message of the book, the idea that you have this story in your hands, what will you do with it now? I also really enjoyed the revelation of what happened to the daughter, it was a bittersweet twist not usually seen in stories like this where usually everything ends happily. It felt more realistic.
I was not a fan of this book's writing style. While not *bad*, it's still very simplified and basic, the type of writing you'd expect to see in a debut, or old high school assignments. Everything felt flat and uninteresting, which made getting though 80% of this book a chore. Nobody has an actual, definable personality, except the grandmother who was the 'wise Asian elder' stereotype, always ready to say nothing except random pieces of fortune cookie wisdom. Some of the language and culture stuff also came off as very amateurish, like someone just learned these terms and was trying to show off.
While this was definitely not the book's fault, I also think I'm burned-out on these types of stories where two time periods are connected, one today and the other in the past. I'm just tired of it being the seemingly only way I can get my history fix in, and I still have another one of these coming up on my 'to-read' list! Spare me.
Overall, a decent story about a dark time in history with a good message that's brought down by an amateurish style, snail's pace, and flat characters. Could've been so much more memorable.
You ever read a book and know right off the bat the review afterwards will be super short? That was me with this. The overall experience of reading this book was, to me, meh, and thus I don't have much to say about it.
The good stuff? Not much. I vastly preferred the historical parts, but that's just because I'm a bigger fan of historical fiction in general. Despite being *very* slow for most of it, it did pick up near the end and made me able to finish it so much faster than normal. I did enjoy the history and how it was based on the author's real family background. I liked how well-researched the culture was, especially in a debut novel by a Westerner. In my experience, a lot of other attempts end up....not very good. And that's putting it lightly. I also liked the message of the book, the idea that you have this story in your hands, what will you do with it now? I also really enjoyed the revelation of what happened to the daughter, it was a bittersweet twist not usually seen in stories like this where usually everything ends happily. It felt more realistic.
I was not a fan of this book's writing style. While not *bad*, it's still very simplified and basic, the type of writing you'd expect to see in a debut, or old high school assignments. Everything felt flat and uninteresting, which made getting though 80% of this book a chore. Nobody has an actual, definable personality, except the grandmother who was the 'wise Asian elder' stereotype, always ready to say nothing except random pieces of fortune cookie wisdom. Some of the language and culture stuff also came off as very amateurish, like someone just learned these terms and was trying to show off.
While this was definitely not the book's fault, I also think I'm burned-out on these types of stories where two time periods are connected, one today and the other in the past. I'm just tired of it being the seemingly only way I can get my history fix in, and I still have another one of these coming up on my 'to-read' list! Spare me.
Overall, a decent story about a dark time in history with a good message that's brought down by an amateurish style, snail's pace, and flat characters. Could've been so much more memorable.
biblijo's review
emotional
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
smcarlson's review against another edition
emotional
inspiring
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
This book is a hidden gem - I highly recommend reading it!