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3.49 AVERAGE
3.49 AVERAGE
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I read this book in German.
What I enjoyed the most was the prose, especially how the author wrote so picturesque that I could really see and feel the situation in my head. It all felt very gentle but at the same time matter-of-fact. The translator did wonderful work of achieving this so well in the German edition - I am sure the Japanese and English editions are very similar in this.
It was my first book by Banana Yoshimoto, but it will surely not be the last.
The story itself was interesting, albeit a bit unusual for me - I don't read a lot of contemporary fiction. The way the author dealt with the heavier topics of this book (see content warnings, though they might be minor spoilers) read very well and it didn't feel too overwhelming or uncomfortable, even though the topics themselves can easily be so.
While reading, I felt rather calm and somehow content and comforted, in a very weird way. For me, it was a meditative read, if one could call it that.
I loved this book, the love being calm and meditative. Being like this, I give it 5 stars.
What I enjoyed the most was the prose, especially how the author wrote so picturesque that I could really see and feel the situation in my head. It all felt very gentle but at the same time matter-of-fact. The translator did wonderful work of achieving this so well in the German edition - I am sure the Japanese and English editions are very similar in this.
It was my first book by Banana Yoshimoto, but it will surely not be the last.
The story itself was interesting, albeit a bit unusual for me - I don't read a lot of contemporary fiction. The way the author dealt with the heavier topics of this book (see content warnings, though they might be minor spoilers) read very well and it didn't feel too overwhelming or uncomfortable, even though the topics themselves can easily be so.
While reading, I felt rather calm and somehow content and comforted, in a very weird way. For me, it was a meditative read, if one could call it that.
I loved this book, the love being calm and meditative. Being like this, I give it 5 stars.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Death, Incest, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide
Minor: Alcoholism, Abortion, Death of parent, Pregnancy
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
emotional
reflective
sad
medium-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
mysterious
reflective
sad
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
designed to get over new beginning. like a friend telling you her very long dream
challenging
emotional
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Content Warnings
Graphic: Incest, Pedophilia, Suicide
Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Death, Suicidal thoughts, Death of parent
Minor: Abortion
dark
emotional
reflective
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
3.5*
Zo fijn en makkelijk te lezen. Waarom? Ik denk omdat niet alles wat gezegd wordt superbelangrijk is, maar juist meer wordt gebruikt om de omgeving licht te schetsen, en je op een rustige manier kennis te laten maken met de personages. Ook in dit boek weer spirituele en psychologische ondertonen, en op zichzelf staande personages die je niet gauw zal vergeten. Kitchen blijft mijn favoriet, maar door dit te lezen begreep ik weer waarom ik zo hou van haar boeken.
Zo fijn en makkelijk te lezen. Waarom? Ik denk omdat niet alles wat gezegd wordt superbelangrijk is, maar juist meer wordt gebruikt om de omgeving licht te schetsen, en je op een rustige manier kennis te laten maken met de personages. Ook in dit boek weer spirituele en psychologische ondertonen, en op zichzelf staande personages die je niet gauw zal vergeten. Kitchen blijft mijn favoriet, maar door dit te lezen begreep ik weer waarom ik zo hou van haar boeken.
emotional
reflective
sad
slow-paced
This book enthralled me. From the first page, Yoshimoto’s writing reads like liquid, her words so perfectly chosen, her descriptions so soothing and emotional. Whilst so much in this book confused me, it comes together into a completely beautiful close, and I feel as though I understand everything she was thinking with this story, but I cannot put to words how it has made me feel. I’m not sure any other writing has ever made me feel this way, so thoughtful, as though I have been shown something so subtly stunning that is has melted into me. I feel about this book as that characters did about N.P. , just completely mesmerised.
What fuelled me was something of an entirely different order: Desperation; questions that had fuelled me since childhood. The sorrow of being alive. The blinding sunlight when I first met Sui; the glimmering surface of the pond. Her hands, her hands holding mine. Summer, the shimmering colours that surrounded Sui, the direction her life was heading in. Grief.
‘What a waste.’
I can’t believe I have now only read this twice. I think about it all the time. This is my favourite book ever I think. I read this again in one day, a day entirely different than the one I first did and it reached me even more potently, somehow. Such a glorious and emotionally stirring novel. It’s so incredibly beautiful and utterly moving. God, how brilliant.
What fuelled me was something of an entirely different order: Desperation; questions that had fuelled me since childhood. The sorrow of being alive. The blinding sunlight when I first met Sui; the glimmering surface of the pond. Her hands, her hands holding mine. Summer, the shimmering colours that surrounded Sui, the direction her life was heading in. Grief.
‘What a waste.’
I can’t believe I have now only read this twice. I think about it all the time. This is my favourite book ever I think. I read this again in one day, a day entirely different than the one I first did and it reached me even more potently, somehow. Such a glorious and emotionally stirring novel. It’s so incredibly beautiful and utterly moving. God, how brilliant.