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3.8 AVERAGE
3.8 AVERAGE
challenging
emotional
informative
reflective
relaxing
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
reflective
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
"it was strange at once to be so familiar and yet so separated. i wondered how i could feel so at home in a place that was not mine."
➵ 3.5 stars
➵ 3.5 stars
4.5 stars.
Sublime writing, insights and perspectives. It’s a beautiful read and invites reflection beyond the page into our everyday lives & our individual experience of both the world and our relationships. So thoughtful and considered.. This book will stay with me for a long whioe.
Sublime writing, insights and perspectives. It’s a beautiful read and invites reflection beyond the page into our everyday lives & our individual experience of both the world and our relationships. So thoughtful and considered.. This book will stay with me for a long whioe.
reflective
relaxing
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
mysterious
reflective
relaxing
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
I found a couple hours break from daily life in 'Cold Enough for Snow'. Not only was it a transportation into a fictional world, but it was a contemplative journey, where I felt like I travelled into my own mind as I was reading the book. While many themes were different from my own experiences, some were eerily similar: my mum and I have had different experiences growing up between communism and capitalism, in many ways my becoming my own person happened abroad being exposed to diverse perspectives whereas her entirely life has been spent in one place. And, I have also been with my mum to Tokyo ha! So as much as I was following the narrative, I also got lost in my own mind by drawing parallels.
The protagonist chooses Japan as a place to travel with her mum as a way to put them on equal footing and make sure that they are both comfortable. She has created an elaborate itinerary for the two of them, a combination of Tokyo, Kyoto and rural areas, staying in ryokans and tall hotels too. She thought of what might be appealing to her mum, the kind of museums she might like, what landmarks she'd find interesting, and continues to check in with her throughout, make sure she feels safe and happy to be there. She just wants to connect with her.
And as much as the book documents their travel through Japan, a lot of it is quite ghostly and blurry, lacking specificity. For example sightseeing places are mostly unnamed, they go for a walk around a canal in Tokyo without offering further detail, she describes buildings visually without identifying them. The fact that at some point one of the accommodation staff doesn't even remember seeing her mother did make me wonder what this meant. Was it a dream? Is she actually there on her own? Is her mother only a vision to her? This is never clarified.
The other thread that runs through the story are various meditations of the main characters. She recalls discussions with her mum after her brother in Hong Kong, who was in love with a wealthy girl whose family moved to the US, and how he was never with anyone else since. She wonders what impression that left on her child mother, it being the first time she gets to observe dating and flirtation. She thinks about children, weighing up whether to have a child with her partner. Her mother treasures her grandchildren from her sister, they play together, shop together, and just spend time together, her even putting up with their first tantrums.
There are so many little pieces of stream of consciousness, these are just a few examples. But to summarise, they mostly relate to human connection, particularly between family members.
I really enjoyed this and I appreciated the beautiful prose, which flowed smoothly, it wasn't too flowery, yet I thought it shared so much which such few words. It made me think about my own relationship with my mum, but it also brought me joy through the protagonist's connection with nature and her surroundings, the balm that they offer us when we're down, when we have trouble using words to express ourselves. I feel at peace after reading it.
The protagonist chooses Japan as a place to travel with her mum as a way to put them on equal footing and make sure that they are both comfortable. She has created an elaborate itinerary for the two of them, a combination of Tokyo, Kyoto and rural areas, staying in ryokans and tall hotels too. She thought of what might be appealing to her mum, the kind of museums she might like, what landmarks she'd find interesting, and continues to check in with her throughout, make sure she feels safe and happy to be there. She just wants to connect with her.
And as much as the book documents their travel through Japan, a lot of it is quite ghostly and blurry, lacking specificity. For example sightseeing places are mostly unnamed, they go for a walk around a canal in Tokyo without offering further detail, she describes buildings visually without identifying them. The fact that at some point one of the accommodation staff doesn't even remember seeing her mother did make me wonder what this meant. Was it a dream? Is she actually there on her own? Is her mother only a vision to her? This is never clarified.
The other thread that runs through the story are various meditations of the main characters. She recalls discussions with her mum after her brother in Hong Kong, who was in love with a wealthy girl whose family moved to the US, and how he was never with anyone else since. She wonders what impression that left on her child mother, it being the first time she gets to observe dating and flirtation. She thinks about children, weighing up whether to have a child with her partner. Her mother treasures her grandchildren from her sister, they play together, shop together, and just spend time together, her even putting up with their first tantrums.
There are so many little pieces of stream of consciousness, these are just a few examples. But to summarise, they mostly relate to human connection, particularly between family members.
I really enjoyed this and I appreciated the beautiful prose, which flowed smoothly, it wasn't too flowery, yet I thought it shared so much which such few words. It made me think about my own relationship with my mum, but it also brought me joy through the protagonist's connection with nature and her surroundings, the balm that they offer us when we're down, when we have trouble using words to express ourselves. I feel at peace after reading it.
reflective
slow-paced
reflective
slow-paced
relaxing
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
challenging
reflective
relaxing
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes