Reviews

'How Kyoto Breaks Your Heart' is an intimate little essay collection about the impermanence of life.

It's Florentyna Leow's account of her experience of living in Kyoto for 2 years, and everything she learned while working there as a tour guide.
It's a sentimental story with a focus on belonging, friendships, love and loss.
I found the author's musings, learnings and observations very relatable, and I appreciated her vulnerability and honesty in this book.
It's a lovely book I'd recommend to readers who are looking for a light and easy, but immersive read.

ligayafleur's review against another edition

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emotional mysterious reflective relaxing slow-paced

3.0

king_of_the_pippins's review

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adventurous emotional hopeful inspiring reflective relaxing fast-paced

3.25

sophie_laura_'s review

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emotional hopeful inspiring reflective medium-paced

4.25

How Kyoto Breaks Your Heart explores the end of a friendship through genres of memoir and food writing. After hearing Hannah May discuss it in a youtube video, I was so excited to read it that I bought a copy immediately.

I found it really refreshing to see Leow talk about the end of the friendship, an experience that’s universal yet shrouded in shame, with the openness that people more commonly associate with the breakups of romantic relationships. Leow’s descriptions of food and life in Japan were enthralling and exquisite. This is one of the most open, raw, and underrated memoirs I’ve ever picked up.

billytaysay's review against another edition

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funny hopeful lighthearted reflective fast-paced

3.75

calm and simple beauty. soft reflections

marplellous's review

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reflective medium-paced

5.0

Having lived through the worst break-up of my life while also living in Kyoto, this book felt too targeted towards me.

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