3.34 AVERAGE

lighthearted 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
funny lighthearted relaxing fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven: Plot
Strong character development: No
Loveable characters: No
Diverse cast of characters: No
Flaws of characters a main focus: No

lighthearted
reflective medium-paced
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven: Character
Strong character development: No
Loveable characters: No
Diverse cast of characters: No

Acompanhamos os donos e os trabalhadores da loja Nakano de produtos em 2a mão como numa série japonesa tipo slice of life, com as suas paixonetas, escapadelas e situações constrangedoras. Mas é um livro com ritmo lento que se vai saboreando e leva-nos a olhar para os objetos que nos rodeiam com outros olhos.
emotional relaxing medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven: Character
Loveable characters: Yes
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven: Character
Strong character development: No
Loveable characters: No
Diverse cast of characters: Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus: No

what i personally got out of it was a portrayal of relationships and their limitations in improving our lives and making them worth living, coupled with a constant mental and emotional reassessment of those relationships. kawakami beautifully encapsulates the melancholia of ordinary life in which moments of warmth are moreso salves that make up for ordinary pains than reasons to live in themselves. for hitomi, the world feels so distant and devoid of feeling. and yet, in a world of decay, something worth remembering still emerges.

some reviewers have noted the warmth of the shop and its community, which certainly does exist, but there is nothing idealistic about their relationships with each other. “I was so sad [then]”, Hitomi proclaims to a group of people she didn’t keep in touch with and only came to meet once again through impulse and coincidence. there are only stretches of nothingness dotted with miracles so isolated as to feel impossible.

I really struggled to finish this one. Hitomi is too plain and the story too flat. Nothing really happens and in the rare moments wheb the scene gets interesting it cuts off or goes on a tangent.