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regans's review
dark
sad
slow-paced
1.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Confinement, Misogyny, Rape, Domestic abuse, Trafficking, Physical abuse, Child abuse, Abandonment, Pedophilia, Racism, Car accident, and Classism
Moderate: Xenophobia
Minor: War
yetilibrary's review
dark
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
2.5
This book was a solid 3 until I got to the ending. I would have given it a 2, but, in spite of the slow pace (and the fact that it doesn't need to be 450 pages), it kept me engrossed. So I'll give it a 2.5.
So. That ending. Spoiler-free thoughts: I hated, hated, HATED the ending. The ending was utterly infuriating. I thought through it, and while it can be justified on the basis of character (flaws?), I think there are arguments that justify an alternative ending, and perhaps more to the point: I HATE IT.
After finally finding "home"--in a person--and accepting love in her life, Nori returns to Japan. I agree that she pretty much has to. But then, she accedes to her merciless grandmother's demands, because she ... thinks she is fulfilling what Akira was going to do? Because she can probably close down one brothel? Because she believes she can eventually REFORM A GIANT MAFIA ENTERPRISE? Because she plans to change even more of her personality such that she can command mafiosi, and powerful businessmen in general? She isn't even ready to face her dying grandmother without ripping herself to shreds and fainting! And to do all this, she has to turn her back on her only true friend AND the man she loves--the father of her child. Furthermore, she dooms that child to the position in life that she held, albeit with a much better existence.
It's possible to argue that she would do this out of devotion to Akira, the great love of her life, and because deep down, she still doesn't believe she deserves happiness or love. That's true. But this choice also requires belief that this is what Akira wants (her vision of him never says this), AND that this is what he wants for HER. It also requires belief that she is willing to hurt the two people she loves most in the world, and (essentially) sacrifice her child, for the sake of fulfilling her grandmother's wishes. Let's be clear: this was always what her grandmother wanted.
My final reason for hating this ending is purely selfish: after so much pain in this book, I just wanted better for Nori. I wanted better for her than a return to the place that hurt her so much (she vomits when she gets to this house!), and a choice to take over the role that her wicked grandparents had held for so long, with no one she could trust at her side. And this was all due to a vision of her dead brother and a quixotic belief that she could stop her family's widespread evil, singlehandedly. (In fairness, I'm sure she can stop some of it. And it's a good and worthy goal. But I have my doubts that any one person can take down an operation that large, and that old.)
TL;DR I HATED THIS ENDING WITH ALL MY BEING.
So. That ending. Spoiler-free thoughts: I hated, hated, HATED the ending. The ending was utterly infuriating. I thought through it, and while it can be justified on the basis of character (flaws?), I think there are arguments that justify an alternative ending, and perhaps more to the point: I HATE IT.
It's possible to argue that she would do this out of devotion to Akira, the great love of her life, and because deep down, she still doesn't believe she deserves happiness or love. That's true. But this choice also requires belief that this is what Akira wants (her vision of him never says this), AND that this is what he wants for HER. It also requires belief that she is willing to hurt the two people she loves most in the world, and (essentially) sacrifice her child, for the sake of fulfilling her grandmother's wishes. Let's be clear: this was always what her grandmother wanted.
My final reason for hating this ending is purely selfish: after so much pain in this book, I just wanted better for Nori. I wanted better for her than a return to the place that hurt her so much (she vomits when she gets to this house!), and a choice to take over the role that her wicked grandparents had held for so long, with no one she could trust at her side. And this was all due to a vision of her dead brother and a quixotic belief that she could stop her family's widespread evil, singlehandedly. (In fairness, I'm sure she can stop some of it. And it's a good and worthy goal. But I have my doubts that any one person can take down an operation that large, and that old.)
TL;DR I HATED THIS ENDING WITH ALL MY BEING.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Miscarriage, Adult/minor relationship, Classism, Death, Injury/Injury detail, Confinement, Suicide attempt, Emotional abuse, Domestic abuse, Child abuse, Toxic relationship, Violence, and Abandonment
Moderate: Racism, Slavery, Trafficking, and Rape
Minor: Rape
_desreads's review
dark
emotional
inspiring
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Appropriate title and mood read during Juneary here in Seattle. I first heard about this book on the currently reading podcast, I was intrigued by the synopsis: in a post-WWII Japan, Nori is a young girl who is taught not to fight, resist or think. Only to obey. For reasons unknown to the reader, Nori is abandoned by her mother and left on the doorstep of her grandmother’s. Nori soon learns from her confinement to the attic, to the chemical baths to lighten her skin, that she is an outcast, and that her aristocrat mother had an “illegitimate” child with an American soldier. Nori is doing her best to obey her mother’s wishes in obedience and compliance when her older half brother, Akira, comes to stay with them. From there her life is turned upside down, knowing that she not only has a brother but someone else who knew their mother, and after she builds a relationship with him, she can no longer stay silent and endure this caged life. She must find a way to be free.
Ok I’ll start out with this: it was hard to put the book down. Lemmie creates a beautiful story and gritty characters from the beginning that sucks you in. You are rooting for Nori the entire time, which is what gets you through reading about all of the abuse she endures. But wow, it is one tragedy after tragedy for Nori, think Kristin Hannah style but with a less redemptive ending. We grow up with Nori and as the book spans decades of her life, we see glimpses of hope and redemption, but then the story veers in a completely differently direction, it can be disorienting. And I am sorry but I did not like the ending. At all.
And yet, like I said, I had a hard time putting the book down, the characters are very compelling and you are Nori’s cheerleader the whole way through. Plus the historical context and setting of the novel is fascinating. I think Lemmie gave the world a great debut, this wasn’t totally for me, but I will 100% read her next one.
Content Warnings
Minor: Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Domestic abuse, Car accident, and Miscarriage
keatynbergsten's review against another edition
challenging
dark
sad
medium-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? Yes
3.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Abandonment, Child abuse, Confinement, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Grief, Infidelity, Physical abuse, Racism, Suicide attempt, Sexual violence, and Toxic relationship
rachdieb's review against another edition
dark
emotional
sad
medium-paced
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
One trauma after another — it was almost torturous to read, and the ending barely justified it.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body shaming, Child abuse, Confinement, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Miscarriage, Physical abuse, Rape, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, and Toxic relationship
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