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3.33 AVERAGE
3.33 AVERAGE
Characters ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Yayoi: I loved the unfolding of her relationship with her sister and also her love interest but I just find it a bit of an uncomfortable circumstance.
I loved how the love interest was described and his sincerity.
I love how the sister grew up kinda crooked and everyone understood this about her and despite how Yayoi romanticised her it was a flaw that humanised her.
I kinda like the parents too. I appreciate the dynamic they had where they gave their daughter room to explore this tension within and understood that she’s missing something.
PLOT ⭐️⭐️⭐️
My main problem with this book is that the first half is better than the second half. The anticipation that is built as she describes her aunt and also her tendencies to understand things beyond understanding. This curiousity led me to read thus far but when the big secret is dropped it felt so underwhelming and predictable. Certain other details that came subsequent to this main revelation felt odd and uncomfortable.
The book felt more fun to read when the characters are unfolding than when that point hits that the characters are fully “exposed”. At this point we only see weird relationships forming and all I can say is Japanese authors just can’t help themselves lol.
The ending was for me just too one note for a book about discovery and seeking answers. Why build so much anticipation for the final if the final scene didn’t affect much or even contribute to the story line??
Writing STYLE ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
I enjoyed it and arguably this was the most favourable part. Beautifully written and thoughtful piecing together of language. I’ve read “Kitchen” by Banana Yoshimoto and she didn’t disappoint there either. She certainly is a skilled writer.
Overall 3.5 stars.
Yayoi: I loved the unfolding of her relationship with her sister and also her love interest but I just find it a bit of an uncomfortable circumstance.
I loved how the love interest was described and his sincerity.
I love how the sister grew up kinda crooked and everyone understood this about her and despite how Yayoi romanticised her it was a flaw that humanised her.
I kinda like the parents too. I appreciate the dynamic they had where they gave their daughter room to explore this tension within and understood that she’s missing something.
PLOT ⭐️⭐️⭐️
My main problem with this book is that the first half is better than the second half. The anticipation that is built as she describes her aunt and also her tendencies to understand things beyond understanding. This curiousity led me to read thus far but when the big secret is dropped it felt so underwhelming and predictable. Certain other details that came subsequent to this main revelation felt odd and uncomfortable.
The book felt more fun to read when the characters are unfolding than when that point hits that the characters are fully “exposed”. At this point we only see weird relationships forming and all I can say is Japanese authors just can’t help themselves lol.
The ending was for me just too one note for a book about discovery and seeking answers. Why build so much anticipation for the final if the final scene didn’t affect much or even contribute to the story line??
Writing STYLE ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
I enjoyed it and arguably this was the most favourable part. Beautifully written and thoughtful piecing together of language. I’ve read “Kitchen” by Banana Yoshimoto and she didn’t disappoint there either. She certainly is a skilled writer.
Overall 3.5 stars.
challenging
mysterious
reflective
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I think this had a really beautiful, dreamy writing style that gave the book a very atmospheric feel.
However I felt that the issues with theincestuous relationship and the adult/minor relationship were not at all acknowledged and treated as if they weren't a problem at all, and I don't really understand why.
However I felt that the issues with the
Content Warnings
Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Incest, Grief, Abortion, Death of parent
mysterious
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
challenging
emotional
reflective
sad
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
emotional
mysterious
reflective
Really beautifully written. Only Banana Yoshimoto can write things like ‘he always looked younger Sundays’ and somehow you know exactly what she means.
as a nostalgia queen and yoshimoto fan (i haven’t read her in over 2-3 years now though) i love the general premise of this book but i think it really fell short on the execution for me.
i love the concept of remembering your past in fragments and not quite getting the full picture for better or for worse. i can empathize with the feeling of feeling like something is missing, being drawn to something and not knowing what it is but i guess the way these ideas were explored were not for me. also didn’t think she explored yayoi’s premonitions enough which is crazy because i think that’s the title of this book.
i tried to keep an open mind when it came to the taboo topics (incest and student-teacher relationships ) but ultimately i didn’t see its purpose. i’d like to think i’m missing some cultural context and that things got lost in translation.
challenging
dark
reflective
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
fast-paced
dark
emotional
fast-paced