A review by humblebee20
People From My Neighbourhood by Hiromi Kawakami

5.0

The first thing I read about this book was to take it slow and not read it in one go, despite its 120 page length. I'm really happy I took that advice to heart as this book is best enjoyed in small bursts. Each story is about 3-6 pages of a person or thing in the narrator's neighborhood. All of them seem self contained at first, but I was delighted when characters would return in other stories, giving the entire book a very interconnected feel, just like a real neighborhood that one would become aquainted with over time. Some stories are more coherent than others, but all of the stories have a sense of magical realism that makes them a treat read. The auto-biografical angle was a lovely touch that made me not want to leave. I do recommend not reading all of them in one day, these are definetely stories to savor.