trononomics 's review for:

Mina's Matchbox by Yōko Ogawa

2.5

reflective slow-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: No

Flaws of characters a main focus: No

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This book was well written. There is strong character development, and the whole story is quite captivating, but ultimately falls flat as there's no real main plot. Rather, there are several smaller plots and dramas involving family dynamics and blended cultures. It reminds me of The Remains of The Day for this reason. There is a lot of introspection and you spend a lot of time with one character in a kind of day to day reflection of a time in a life.