A review by em_harring
Last Winter We Parted by Fuminori Nakamura

3.0

2.5 stars rounded up.

Unsure of the execution of this great premise. It's a rocky novel that's a bit uneven in plotting and pacing, though it's short so it's easy to get through.

While I liked the audiobook and would overall recommend it, I was pretty unsure what was happening for the first 3/4 of the novel because the POVs sounded so similar. I liked the last hour or so when everything is revealed and you find out what actually happened. I thought it was an interesting take on a premise we've seen before (
SpoilerI'm thinking, here, of The Collector by John Fowles, though I think that's a stronger novel
). I also liked the use of archival material and interviews that were throughout the book.

I did hate the way women were portrayed and written in this, though. It was very male gazey and made me uncomfortable at times.

A mixed bag, this one. I would probably check out another book by Nakamura.