3.34 AVERAGE

slow-paced
reflective slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven: Character
Strong character development: Complicated
Loveable characters: Complicated

An odd story, and even odder that it was recommended by a travel guide for Japan that I'm reading. A quirky cross-generational group of people working in a thrift shop interact over the course of a few weeks (although there's a leap of a few years near the end). As with some other Japanese authors I've recently read, conversations are elliptical, brief looks between characters prove to be momentous dozens of pages later, and progress in relationships seems glacial in pace, but somehow fitting. The cramped shop setting with all manner of objects from Japanese homes is a colorful setting for the not-quite human dramas that unfold. Love is often in the air, though barely detectable, and the sex seems awkward at best. Hard to rate an author's work from a culture so different from we aggressive Americans.
funny lighthearted relaxing slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven: Character
Strong character development: No
Loveable characters: Yes
Diverse cast of characters: Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

Mein Gott war das lahm.
Hatte das Gefühl ich lese mit 8 ein Kinderbuch (#vibes)
emotional hopeful reflective slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven: Character
Strong character development: Complicated
Loveable characters: Yes
Diverse cast of characters: No
Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes
lighthearted reflective 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
lighthearted fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven: Character
Strong character development: No
Loveable characters: Yes
Diverse cast of characters: N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus: N/A
lighthearted relaxing medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven: Character
Strong character development: Yes
Loveable characters: No
Diverse cast of characters: Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus: No

i always enjoy anything kawakami writes. this particular book was enjoyable in how every chapter felt like a short story centered on a particular object that the characters all interact with.