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leasummer's review against another edition
3.0
3.5 stars - the blurb on the back lead me to believe I would reading something much different than what I experienced.
The daughter is driving the story and it had me wondering more than once if the mother was even there. So the premise that they talked…the mother was a shadow of a human and there was no conversation. Random flashbacks to the stories the mother told but later claimed she didn’t, stories of the boyfriend and his father.
It was interesting. A quiet novella where nothing really happens and we’re supposed to just know - or wonder about - more than we’re told. And then it just ends.
The daughter is driving the story and it had me wondering more than once if the mother was even there. So the premise that they talked…the mother was a shadow of a human and there was no conversation. Random flashbacks to the stories the mother told but later claimed she didn’t, stories of the boyfriend and his father.
It was interesting. A quiet novella where nothing really happens and we’re supposed to just know - or wonder about - more than we’re told. And then it just ends.
ashleighjadereads's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
melkhb's review against another edition
reflective
relaxing
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
menagerie_of's review against another edition
reflective
relaxing
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Stalking
Minor: Death
jangleresse's review against another edition
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.75
A beautifully written, deeply meditative book. Very much like a crater lake described in the book, it seems to skim the surface of things but the possible immensity of hidden and unknown depths looms ever as a presence. A book of longings and memories and the ways in which however hard we try to embrace the ones we love, some part of them will always elude our grasp. A book to sip and savour, one I know I will come back to again.
3iii8v's review against another edition
5.0
This book is one of those types of stories that doesn't necessarily follow through to a defined end, but it's enjoyable to go through anyway. A very soft kind of story. Nothing much happens in the book - in fact, nothing happens at all - the mc is just describing every detail of her trip to Japan with her mother, but in a really beautiful and ethereal way. I felt like I was with them the whole time between the cherry trees and the red torii gates... It was a such an exquisite experience. I've never read anything like this before!
bri_steers's review against another edition
lighthearted
reflective
fast-paced
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
4.25
lindsayashworth21478's review against another edition
challenging
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.75
healnotslay's review against another edition
3.0
I think this was trying to say something that I couldn't get but it was an enjoyable read regardless kind of like sitting alone in a foreign cafe with a book and a coffee on a rainy day near the door so you feel the breeze on your exposed legs everytime someone walks in