Reviews

Strange Weather in Tokyo by Hiromi Kawakami

gpeterson1999's review against another edition

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emotional reflective tense fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? N/A
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

catherinedarcy24's review against another edition

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reflective slow-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? No

3.75

leesima's review against another edition

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adventurous hopeful mysterious reflective relaxing sad medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? No

5.0

Začalo to velmi zvláštně, téměř jsem pochybovala. Velmi se mi to však líbilo a můžu říci, že si ty příběhové jednohubky přečtu ráda znovu. Krásné, něžné a opravdu podivné.

„Slunce nás potěší, déšť nás osvěží, vítr nás povzbudí, sníh nás rozradostní. Neexistuje totiž špatné počasí, jsou jen různé druhy dobrého počasí.“ - John Ruskin

priss's review against another edition

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reflective slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.0

3/5. I’m not sure if it’s due to the specific books from Japanese authors I’ve read so far, but I feel like they have a type of writing style that is concise, while still telling a full(-ish) story. I thought the same with this book - sometimes I was even a bit confused about what was happening, but I think with this book it’s a matter of go with the flow. I liked the short chapters that felt like snippets of Tsukiko and Sensei’s lives that intermingled, very slice of life-y and makes the slow shift in their relationship visible. I think, in the end, the story wasn’t really something for me though - I liked Tsukiko’s reflections on loneliness but Sensei was just a little bit strange and I couldn’t really understand their relationship that turned romantic.

skye04's review against another edition

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medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.25

casse's review against another edition

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adventurous hopeful inspiring reflective relaxing medium-paced

3.5

a_copp's review against another edition

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emotional hopeful fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

forthesanityof1's review against another edition

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emotional reflective sad slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? N/A
  • Diverse cast of characters? N/A
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

Gorgeous, melancholic prose that enhanced the moodiness of the narrative and highlighted the complexity of adult loneliness. The emotional poignancy cannot be overstated. Sadness is a constant companion in this novel, and I don't know that I have ever read something that portrays it so well with such succinct style. I will definitely be reading more from this author and translator.

jenneregrette's review against another edition

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emotional reflective slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

ethanzo's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional hopeful lighthearted mysterious reflective relaxing sad medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

I think I'm really starting to fall in love with translated (specifically Japanese) literature. There is such a difference in the way writing is done (from my experience with it), and both books I've read have been very stylized and poetic just based on structure alone. This book was extremely vivid and cinematic, and the prose was phenomenal. It truly captured the feeling of loneliness and love (infatuation), grief, and loss. I like the way that the author took a fairly taboo relationship and made it seem real and understandable. I'm not a fan of age gaps at all, but it just made so much sense with the story that I could look past it. I was thoroughly entranced the entire time, even by the more mundane descriptions, they made the book feel that much more alive. If I were to critique this at all, and the reason I didn't give it 5 stars, was mostly down to the fact that it is a fairly short book, and I would have liked to see a bit more done at the very end to wrap things up a bit. I really enjoyed this, though, and highly recommend it.