craftyanty 's review for:

Fifty Words for Rain by Asha Lemmie

4.0

challenging dark emotional hopeful reflective sad tense medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: Complicated

Loveable characters: Complicated

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: Complicated

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I took my sweet time with this book... exactly three months to the day, to be exact. Despite the fact that I was enjoying it, I kept allowing myself to get pulled away from it, and I'm not sure why. Luckily, this book was written in a way that allowed me to revisit it every now and then without too much trouble... a perfect nightstand book. 

This historical novel follows the main character, Noriko, from childhood into her twenties. It is told through multiple perspectives of only female characters who come in and out of her life, and one of the themes it circles around is that of the innumerable sacrifices women make throughout their lives and throughout history, often going against their own character for the "greater good". 

As a debut novel, this book is strong. Lemmie's use of literary writing is impressive and only serves to add to the story. Her choices are concise and intentional. She doesn't belabor the reader with unnecessary details. 

On the other hand, none of the characters seem fully developed. I found myself confused about each of them, unsure of who they truly were and what they represented, with the exception of Noriko (who I thought I understood but who went on to completely shock me at the end). Perhaps the author did this intentionally.  For the female characters, this intrigue eventually seemed to build on the theme. The author gave me the opportunity to psycho-analyze the characters myself... all the way to the very end. (Fun for me, but I'm not sure others will agree.) However the character of Akira, Noriko's half-brother, was so central to the story and such an important contributor to the development of Noriko's character, yet I felt so confused by him throughout the entire book. I just didn't get him. 

I'll be pondering these themes and characters for a while, but I guess that's what great writing does, keeps you considering alternatives. 

I will be looking forward to reading more of Lemmie's work in the future.