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kyriannaj's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.75
Graphic: Dementia and Grief
Moderate: Chronic illness, Pregnancy, and Abandonment
Minor: Death, Medical content, Car accident, Abortion, Death of parent, and Fire/Fire injury
kyrstin_p1989's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Graphic: Death, Medical content, Dementia, Grief, Car accident, Pregnancy, and Abandonment
sarahb919's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.75
Graphic: Mental illness, Suicidal thoughts, Terminal illness, Blood, Dementia, Grief, Car accident, Pregnancy, Abandonment, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Death, Death of parent, and Sexual harassment
liesthemoontells's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
The book was adapted from a play the author wrote, and the structure and format of the play is still evident in the way the chapters form separate vignettes, the small cast of characters, the single set, and the use of (sometimes redundant) repetition to set the scene.
The cafe is lovingly described, down to the tiny details, and is the most fully fleshed out character in the novel. In contrast, the human characters that inhabit seem transient and lack dimension. To me they felt like undeveloped archetypes who existed only to explore conceit of the novel.
If the concept of the story interests you, I think it is explored well enough (and the length of the book is brief enough) that it's worth picking up. However, I don't feel the need to pick up any of the sequels.
Graphic: Chronic illness, Confinement, Death, Terminal illness, Dementia, Grief, Death of parent, and Abandonment
mmarquis1158's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Graphic: Death, Terminal illness, Dementia, and Grief
Moderate: Chronic illness, Car accident, and Abandonment
Minor: Pregnancy
xoemax's review against another edition
- 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? Yes
2.5
Graphic: Chronic illness, Death, Terminal illness, Dementia, Grief, Death of parent, and Pregnancy
Moderate: Car accident, Abortion, and Abandonment
Minor: Fatphobia, Gun violence, Misogyny, Suicidal thoughts, Medical content, Medical trauma, and Alcohol
_david_'s review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Something that's a more personal clash is that the tone of the book is very conservative. Not in a very explicit "women should do x" way, but the women are described in a very different way than the men. The most clear example is that one chapter is very pro-life and that women's outfits are constantly described in great detail, even when not relevant.
Graphic: Dementia, Grief, and Pregnancy
Moderate: Death, Sexism, Abortion, and Abandonment
Minor: Death of parent
geekmom's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
4.0
Moderate: Ableism, Death, and Abandonment
vaykay's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Chronic illness, Death, Medical content, Dementia, Grief, Death of parent, and Pregnancy
Moderate: Car accident and Abandonment
Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Vomit, Abortion, and Alcohol
kjm19's review against another edition
- 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
1.75
Characters were, unfortunately, pretty one dimensional and stereotypical. Also no cat???
The plot would start moving somewhere and then the author would jump into a deep dive about something vaguely relating to the current focus character. These deep dives would take you out of the natural flow of the story and was frustrating at times. E.g. when Kei, the pregnant owner of the restaurant, is about to go to the future to meet her unborn child there is a deep dive into Kazu, the current waitress, and her university art course.
I love the part where the woman in the white dress closes her book after the first section when a woman goes to the past to see her ex partner and it’s named ‘the lovers’. But this sort of thing is never replicated for future time travellers.
I wonder how much of an impact the translation has made on my impression of the book. I feel that it’s been clumsily written and oversimplified in its vocabulary and descriptions. Is it totally true to the original? Is it translated more to show a word for word meaning instead of implied meanings? I am intrigued.
Graphic: Chronic illness, Death, Dementia, Car accident, Death of parent, and Abandonment