nikitaaaart's reviews
48 reviews

Days at the Morisaki Bookshop by Satoshi Yagisawa

emotional hopeful lighthearted relaxing fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

Takako moves in with her uncle whom she hasn't met in 10 years (and doesn't think well of him) after a bad breakup which led her to quit her job. Her uncle, Satoru owns a second hand bookshop named 'Morisaki Bookshop' in Jimbocho where she helps out during the day (she doesn't like reading either).

The first part of the book develops a relationship between Takako and his uncle, and a relationship with herself as well. It's a journey of a heartbroken and sad 25 year old Takako into a person who now finds the joy in little things in life and reading. This journey is accompanied by the friends she encounters over the period of her stay. 

“Things were still knotted up inside me, but it felt like the more I walked, the more they loosened up.” 

In the second section of the book, Momoko enters, Satoru's wife who left him 5 years without saying a word with a note asking him not to look for her. Confused and at a loss of words, Satoru accepts her like nothing ever happened. He sends Takako to find out why she's back in his life.

This is a sweet, feel-good, cosy story set in the lanes of a booktown and a cafe situated in Tokyo, Japan. The writing is quite simple as most Japanese translated fictions I've come across.

Scattered All Over the Earth by Yōko Tawada

funny hopeful informative slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.5

I was quite caught up by the description of the book initially. A culmination of people brought together by their shared desire for longing and to explore the lost languages in a newfound dystopian world. 

It's a story about a found-family of 6 strangers who travel to find people who are from Japan (named land of sushi in the book) which no longer exists. The story blends the themes of linguistics, environment and climate change, refugees, migrants and human rights all into one.

I really looked forward to reading this but it was a letdown for me. The story is a slow burn. In the last 50-100 pages, the pace is picked up only to be let down again by a disruptive ending. Turns out it is Part 1 of a trilogy so the story is left hanging. The other 2 books haven't been translated yet either. All in all it was an annoying experience, especially when you just started connecting with the story - it ends.

Would recommend reading it once all 3 parts are available altogether.

The Nonbinary Bunny by Maia Kobabe

hopeful informative lighthearted relaxing fast-paced

• Loveable characters? Yes

4.0

Heaven by Mieko Kawakami

dark emotional sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

*Trigger warning: These conversations and discourse need to happen. Not all triggers are bad for you. Some triggers are a way of introspecting one's own actions and thoughts to rectify them. Yes, they're discomforting but true change begins there. Yet I'm mentioning the following triggers for those who actually need it: mention of abuse, violence, bullying.*

Words ceased to exist in my head after I turned over the last page. How I'm even writing this is beyond me. But I'm making an attempt to make sense of the swirl of emotions this book left. 

Heaven is not just a book, not just a mere story of bullying. Kawakami portrays the raw, the real side of bullying and abuse the survivor experiences. It is not easy to read the violence, the indifference shown towards the protagonist, "Eyes" and Kojima, two 14 year old adolescent classmates in Japan who bond over the shared experience of their lives being brought down to only one thing — their pain.

While "Eyes", whose name we do not know experiences his life in a depressive state of feeling nothingness, of being nothingness, wishing he never existed for all this to begin with. Finding out meaning from all this pain, the survival, the acceptance that this is her reality is what Kojima believes in. That is her innocence. 

As you progress page by page the intensity, the heartbreak, the anger, the sadness, the empathy keep on increasing. It was honestly extremely disheartening to read the justification given by one of the characters for bullying. But that's reality. That is how they reason with themselves for a good night's sleep.

When we talk about the shared bond between the teens, with that also comes the trauma bonding between the two. Mieko has intricately described each and every crux of abuse, even the absence of parents or teachers from the whole scenario stands true to reality. 

While people will never not say that they should have stood up for themselves, or to be brave, or have some courage; the truth is people should never have bullied. It is not only about the victim. Even the classmates are all bystanders and supporters because they know they could be next. What about their courage? Their bravery?

I'm shattered with the story yet in awe of how well Mieko Kawakami, Sam Bett & David Boyd (translators) have articulated every emotion, every pain, and the distinct individual experience of being victimized. 

This goes beyond saying, you should read this to know the intricacies of abuse that exist in schools.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Physical abuse, Violence, Sexual harassment

Moderate: Suicidal thoughts

Conversations with Friends by Sally Rooney
Did not finish book. Stopped at 9%.

The Cat Who Saved Books by Sōsuke Natsukawa

adventurous funny hopeful lighthearted relaxing fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini

emotional reflective fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

Do you think Amir's actions have been redeemed by the end?
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I'm confused if I genuinely like the novel or not. There are parts which made me emotional but not enough to cover up for the cliched writing and predictable plot.

A lot of the coincidences felt forced and pretentious. I don't understand how this came to be such a highly acclaimed novel. Have times changed? Do readers expect more than before?

However, the class and community conflict depicted is very well relevant in today's era - in Afghanistan, in India and beyond.

It's a sad story, but one not for me. I couldn't connect emotionally throughout (legit read this with a straight face, unaffected).

A Tale for the Time Being by Ruth Ozeki

4.0

The Travelling Cat Chronicles by Hiro Arikawa

emotional funny lighthearted reflective sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0

Yellowface by R.F. Kuang
Did not finish book. Stopped at 35%.