A review by xengisa
Fault Lines by Emily Itami

5.0

From now on, I'm going to be happy, shut up all my demons, and make everyone around me smile. I'm going to devote my whole life, all my energy, to it, because it's the only acceptable thing, given the circumstances.

All things considered, a book about an affair and less than ideal domestic life, is the sort of book that probably deserves 5 stars just by virtue of me actually finishing and enjoying it. The tone, I think, really livened the book. Mizuki's thoughts are, to sum up, worryingly relatable, and nicely-packaged.

Given this impending turnaround, though, given that from now on it's going to be Ghibli theme songs and freshly baked melon bread served with a smile, I'm just going to have one last scream before I start. A bit like consuming an entire bucket of Kentucky Fried Chicken the night before beginning the nattou-and-grated-yam diet. One last gargantuan temper tantrum, throwing all my toys out of the stroller and howling, and after that, I'll be good forever.

So, I was more or less sold on the first chapter, like that.

To rephrase: If you're at least inwardly unhinged or maladaptive but typically dislike slice-of-life or problematic romance & relationships or modern settings (where are my swords! Magic? Castles!?) ie. if you are like me, this is the slice-of-life-problematic-romance-and-relationships-in-a-modern-setting book for you.

If anything (spoilers) if you don't like confrontation and squicky situations I think this book is good. I didn't get too overwhelmed with secondhand embarrassment that I had to indefinitely drop it so, that's a win for me.

Below this is an entirely incoherent ramble!

The characters, I think, are fairly... full of depth? Mizuki aside, whose narrative absolutely slaps in this book, the kids are amazing. I mean, they're written in a way that they are disgustingly or ignorantly endearing the way children are, the sort you want to make sure are shielded from the terrible world out there, and then they are also demonic psychopaths you want to hurl off the balcony of an apartment complex. And they are cohesively written, in my opinion. Which is amazing.

I don't know how I feel about Tatsuya and Kiyoshi. I did think that they were well-written but I don't really... understand? I get Kiyoshi a bit better, but not by much. Why's Tatsuya suddenly behaving in a way that doesn't warrant domestic homicide, toward the end of the book? Though considering it is from Mizuki's perspective, it didn't seem overwhelmingly strange, since she did go through a whole shift due to Kiyoshi. Or not due to Kiyoshi himself, but yea. Um... That's how life is, I guess, though this sort of unreliable (?) narrative gaps might not do it for some people. I like it though.

Plus, the descriptions in this book, well, Emily Itami is slapping hard is all I can say. It's vibrant sometimes, the way neon lights and spring is, and sometimes blaringly monochrome the way Tokyo seems to be. We get cherry blossoms compared to frog eggs which also amuses Kiyoshi. I think that's something.

Also a personal thing, again: Some of these Asian countries are in desperate need of therapy, and that makes it more relatable! Like Singapore, Jesus, the barely concealed inwardly insanity being a relatable feature (YMMV)? Get help.

What are we, apart from the stories we tell ourselves and other people? I know all too well that I'm a flimsy construct, a flamboyant play set shot through with exaggerations and inconsistencies and secret compartments full of unsavory surprises. I made myself that way.