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serendipity421's review against another edition
emotional
lighthearted
sad
fast-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
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Animal death, Chronic illness, and Death of parent
Moderate: Grief
nicoleanthony's review against another edition
emotional
inspiring
reflective
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Medical content, Grief, Cancer, and Death of parent
raypaws's review against another edition
emotional
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
2.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Cancer, Death, Death of parent, and Terminal illness
Moderate: Animal death and Grief
Minor: Suicidal thoughts
icarusandthesun's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
so. good.
a deeply emotional and beautifully written book. it was devastating as much as it was hopeful.
if you're scared of dying and death in general, this is the book for you, and it will change your whole perspective. except for the story being a bit slow sometimes, this is a perfect piece of art. adventurous, sad, sweet, calming.
a deeply emotional and beautifully written book. it was devastating as much as it was hopeful.
if you're scared of dying and death in general, this is the book for you, and it will change your whole perspective. except for the story being a bit slow sometimes, this is a perfect piece of art. adventurous, sad, sweet, calming.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Animal death, Death of parent, and Grief
angela_iseli's review against another edition
dark
emotional
inspiring
reflective
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
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Grief, Mental illness, Terminal illness, Cancer, Death, and Death of parent
emmagreenwood's review against another edition
funny
reflective
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Death of parent, Grief, Animal death, Cancer, and Terminal illness
alexisgarcia's review against another edition
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
i was so disappointed to not have loved this. i enjoyed the writing and concept but i don’t think it was executed in a way that i enjoyed. i fully thought this would be a 5 star read for me so i’m a little disappointed to have not fallen in love with this book. however, i did enjoy the focus on the memories of the main characters mom and how he was able to further mourn her years after her death.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death, Cancer, Chronic illness, Death, Death of parent, Grief, Medical content, and Terminal illness
minxtte's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Grief, Cancer, Death, and Death of parent
chazaiya's review against another edition
emotional
inspiring
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
i remember i got this book in like christmas 2015/16 maybe? i read and got pretty far into it, over halfway. i was in the middle of thursday's chapter when i dropped it. got no clue why i stopped reading it, especially considering that i was enjoying it, i just did.
revisiting this was good though. no doubt a flawed book, it starts slow and oftentimes overuses exposition. on occasion it felt like it was a book written for middle schoolers with its diction but with the themes i know that wasn't its intention. i could chalk it up to poor translation but there's a part in the first chapter(?) where he explains the book of genesis and then some of the story of jesus like it was everyone's first time reading this, and it's like who was the target audience when this was being written? i guess it makes sense though considering christianity isn't as widespread in japan as in the west, but it just led to clunkier writing (which was an issue throughout the book, which i'm gonna say is due to translation). there's also just some corny moments here, like when two characters bid eachother farewell by reciting popular movie quotes? come on.
regardless, as the story went on and it got heavier into its themes, Kawamura's writing became more convicted and personal. naturally this led to me getting way more into the book. the final stages of the book are truly where the book is strongest, which is of course about where i stopped reading initially lol. i don't want to get into it rn but it gets heavy and incredibly sad. it's tied up nicely with a lovely message, and while some things are left up in the air i don't mind it like that.
all-in-all this was a nice sentimental book that you could probably finish in like a day if you wanted lmao. naturally not gonna be for everyone but i enjoyed it. good with a cup of tea and some melancholy ambient music, like ruins by grouper or some shit.
revisiting this was good though. no doubt a flawed book, it starts slow and oftentimes overuses exposition. on occasion it felt like it was a book written for middle schoolers with its diction but with the themes i know that wasn't its intention. i could chalk it up to poor translation but there's a part in the first chapter(?) where he explains the book of genesis and then some of the story of jesus like it was everyone's first time reading this, and it's like who was the target audience when this was being written? i guess it makes sense though considering christianity isn't as widespread in japan as in the west, but it just led to clunkier writing (which was an issue throughout the book, which i'm gonna say is due to translation). there's also just some corny moments here, like when two characters bid eachother farewell by reciting popular movie quotes? come on.
regardless, as the story went on and it got heavier into its themes, Kawamura's writing became more convicted and personal. naturally this led to me getting way more into the book. the final stages of the book are truly where the book is strongest, which is of course about where i stopped reading initially lol. i don't want to get into it rn but it gets heavy and incredibly sad. it's tied up nicely with a lovely message, and while some things are left up in the air i don't mind it like that.
all-in-all this was a nice sentimental book that you could probably finish in like a day if you wanted lmao. naturally not gonna be for everyone but i enjoyed it. good with a cup of tea and some melancholy ambient music, like ruins by grouper or some shit.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death, Death, Grief, Terminal illness, and Death of parent
cereads's review against another edition
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
This is a wonderful book and I can imagine it’s really nice to read when suffering with grief of one’s own
Content Warnings
Graphic: Cancer, Death, Terminal illness, Animal death, Death of parent, and Grief
Minor: Medical content