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A review by carojust
All the Lovers in the Night by Mieko Kawakami
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
sad
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
4.0
This is a love story, a self-love story.
Our narrator is a proofreader who doesn't have friends. Even coworkers talk behind her back. She is alone with her work, and soon alone with alcohol.
Mieko Kawakami has given us a bitterly beautiful portrait of depression. This character watches life pass her by, even in the detachment she has with the stories she's proofreading. Her drinking drowns out the need to experience anything, to avoid showing up as herself. But there is a turning point that gives us hope. She is fascinated by light and color, "the color that we're seeing is whatever's left behind." She becomes infatuated with someone who gives her a sense of routine, and companionship.
You will love this if you're in the mood for something bittersweet, if you're in a solitary season of your life, if you're at the point where you're not sure what you're doing but want to contemplate and sit with the feeling.
Our narrator is a proofreader who doesn't have friends. Even coworkers talk behind her back. She is alone with her work, and soon alone with alcohol.
Mieko Kawakami has given us a bitterly beautiful portrait of depression. This character watches life pass her by, even in the detachment she has with the stories she's proofreading. Her drinking drowns out the need to experience anything, to avoid showing up as herself. But there is a turning point that gives us hope. She is fascinated by light and color, "the color that we're seeing is whatever's left behind." She becomes infatuated with someone who gives her a sense of routine, and companionship.
You will love this if you're in the mood for something bittersweet, if you're in a solitary season of your life, if you're at the point where you're not sure what you're doing but want to contemplate and sit with the feeling.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcoholism, Mental illness, Sexual assault, Vomit, and Alcohol