Reviews with content warning for War - Intimacies

Short and yet deeply contemplative, I was really fascinated by the deep level of observance and perception Kitamura extends to her main character and by extension, the reader. A book about the language and behavior of others, it also speaks about being at a crossroads so powerfully, even if the ending wasn't what I was expecting or maybe hoped for. I really found myself immersed in this person's mind and experiences, and if you're looking for something short to sink into, this is perfect.

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jkatey's review

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emotional hopeful mysterious reflective sad medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes

5.0

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lianne_rooney's review against another edition

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dark reflective tense fast-paced

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? No

4.25

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milliebrierley's review against another edition

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reflective medium-paced

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

2.0

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lj03's review against another edition

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reflective

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

3.0

such pretty writing but the ending ruined it

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bjorksbutterfly's review

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challenging dark emotional reflective tense medium-paced

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

4.5

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parton4proletariat's review

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slow-paced

3.0

I had high expectations for this book. The premise is exciting—a woman entangled in a relationship with a married man, her life intertwining with a violent crime victim, and interpreting for a war criminal. There is so much going on in this book just for nothing to happen. The court scenes feel like they take up most of the book and seem to drag on forever. Everything else fell flat to me. Her relationship with the married man was interesting but only really happened at the beginning and end of the book. The whole time I was just waiting for something to happen. I also didn't enjoy the writing style. The directness just wasn't for me.

Spoiler

however, I did appreciate the hopeful ending. I'm a sucker for ambiguous endings, and Kitamura did it in a way that felt satisfying, which I think is hard to do.

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hkburke2's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective tense medium-paced

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

4.5

This book felt tightly written and very layered. I love a book that seems to capture something actually TRUE - sometimes it feels like characters are observing and thinking about people in ways no one does in real life, but the narrator here was definitely observable and in her own head in a way that felt so... palpable. I don't know, I see why people feel frustrated with the way dialogue is presented (without quotation marks) and sometimes the long sentences were disorienting, but it all just felt so sharp, to me. And vibrant. And oof.

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