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A review by tonihu_97
Four Seasons in Japan by Nick Bradley
4.0
4.5 stars. I really enjoyed how the author managed to really incorporate Japanese culture. It was an easy and, even though it was 324 pages long, quick read. Sometimes I laughed while reading and sometimes I cried.
Flo, the translator of the book “Sound of Water”, struggles in life. She is deeply passionate about translating and therefore, translated the book of her then-girlfriend. (In the middle of the book the reader gets the information that Flo somehow pushed her then-girlfriend to write this book) However, the translated book never gets published. After all this, the relationship seems to go downhill. When her then-girlfriend moves to America, Flo is left behind (or either stays behind) with her cat and stumbles over a small book without any clear declaration of the author or the publisher. After finding this book, her life suddenly has a meaning again. She translates the book with incredible passion. As the book leads you through all four seasons if a year, Flo and the reader of the book, gets to know the grandmother Ayako and her grandson Kyo. As the story of the book and the translation progresses, one can see that Kyo’s and Flo’s struggles are incredibly similar. Both struggle with their mental health and the question, what they want from their life.
I especially loved the how one gets an inside look at the life of a translator and all the thoughts behind it. Flo and Kyo and Ayako are really likeable and somewhat complex characters.
Flo, the translator of the book “Sound of Water”, struggles in life. She is deeply passionate about translating and therefore, translated the book of her then-girlfriend. (In the middle of the book the reader gets the information that Flo somehow pushed her then-girlfriend to write this book) However, the translated book never gets published. After all this, the relationship seems to go downhill. When her then-girlfriend moves to America, Flo is left behind (or either stays behind) with her cat and stumbles over a small book without any clear declaration of the author or the publisher. After finding this book, her life suddenly has a meaning again. She translates the book with incredible passion. As the book leads you through all four seasons if a year, Flo and the reader of the book, gets to know the grandmother Ayako and her grandson Kyo. As the story of the book and the translation progresses, one can see that Kyo’s and Flo’s struggles are incredibly similar. Both struggle with their mental health and the question, what they want from their life.
I especially loved the how one gets an inside look at the life of a translator and all the thoughts behind it. Flo and Kyo and Ayako are really likeable and somewhat complex characters.