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A review by pixiebix
Fault Lines by Emily Itami
3.0
It is always an odd experience to be reading a book you know you’re going to ultimately forget. Fault Lines was a middle of the road, engaging and harmless read, but nothing that will keep me up at night.
Mikuzi is a housewife in Tokyo who is feeling dissatisfied with her lot—chiefly, with her emotionally distant (neglectful, even) husband, and also generally, with her place in society. This means when she meets Kiyoshi (who, in the grand scheme of things, is actually probably quite average in every way) and sparks fly (I.e., he actually gives her eye contact), she soon finds herself leading a double life (with precisely zero repercussions except her occasional guilt, and zero moments of suspicion from her self-absorbed husband).
This was a-okay. The narrative was engaging enough, and I quite enjoyed the exposure to Japanese culture; the endless list of mandatory niceties that must be upheld at all times, lest the world as we know it comes to an end. The writing fell prey to a LOT of cliches many a time, though (especially in its descriptions of the city), and I didn’t buy into the romance much. The ending also felt a tad naive and anticlimactic.
Gewd but not great.
Mikuzi is a housewife in Tokyo who is feeling dissatisfied with her lot—chiefly, with her emotionally distant (neglectful, even) husband, and also generally, with her place in society. This means when she meets Kiyoshi (who, in the grand scheme of things, is actually probably quite average in every way) and sparks fly (I.e., he actually gives her eye contact), she soon finds herself leading a double life (with precisely zero repercussions except her occasional guilt, and zero moments of suspicion from her self-absorbed husband).
This was a-okay. The narrative was engaging enough, and I quite enjoyed the exposure to Japanese culture; the endless list of mandatory niceties that must be upheld at all times, lest the world as we know it comes to an end. The writing fell prey to a LOT of cliches many a time, though (especially in its descriptions of the city), and I didn’t buy into the romance much. The ending also felt a tad naive and anticlimactic.
Gewd but not great.