Scan barcode
steve_32's review against another edition
4.0
What’s Left of me is Yours is based on a true crime story that involved the ‘marriage breakup’ industry in Japan. Something that, if you don’t know about already, you will after reading this excellent novel.
Sumiko discovers her mother Rina didn’t die in a car accident which was what her grandfather had told her and so she delves into the past to discover what really happened to her mother. This is not a thriller (although it is a page turner) or a simple crime novel (although a murder is committed) this is a novel which gives an in depth analysis of love, relationships and betrayal. The book is wonderfully paced slowly revealing its secrets and along the way we get to understand the Japanese justice system (and it’s shortcomings).
Sumiko discovers her mother Rina didn’t die in a car accident which was what her grandfather had told her and so she delves into the past to discover what really happened to her mother. This is not a thriller (although it is a page turner) or a simple crime novel (although a murder is committed) this is a novel which gives an in depth analysis of love, relationships and betrayal. The book is wonderfully paced slowly revealing its secrets and along the way we get to understand the Japanese justice system (and it’s shortcomings).
steve_32's review against another edition
4.0
What’s Left of me is Yours is based on a true crime story that involved the ‘marriage breakup’ industry in Japan. Something that, if you don’t know about already, you will after reading this excellent novel.
Sumiko discovers her mother Rina didn’t die in a car accident which was what her grandfather had told her and so she delves into the past to discover what really happened to her mother. This is not a thriller (although it is a page turner) or a simple crime novel (although a murder is committed) this is a novel which gives an in depth analysis of love, relationships and betrayal. The book is wonderfully paced slowly revealing its secrets and along the way we get to understand the Japanese justice system (and it’s shortcomings).
Sumiko discovers her mother Rina didn’t die in a car accident which was what her grandfather had told her and so she delves into the past to discover what really happened to her mother. This is not a thriller (although it is a page turner) or a simple crime novel (although a murder is committed) this is a novel which gives an in depth analysis of love, relationships and betrayal. The book is wonderfully paced slowly revealing its secrets and along the way we get to understand the Japanese justice system (and it’s shortcomings).
jordysbookclub's review against another edition
3.0
QUICK TAKE: i really enjoyed this quiet slow-burn murder mystery about a woman who falls for a "wakaresaseya" (a professional paid to break up couples). I was extremely interested in the idea of a wakaresaseya and could read an entire book on that topic, but felt it was not fully explored here. That being said, I found Scott's writing to be beautiful and ethereal, was invested in the character relationships, and thought the use of time jumps was effective.
nastja943's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
livres_de_bloss's review against another edition
3.0
3.5
This book had fascinating insight into the Japanese legal system and the writing was quite lovely.
I think what made this a 3.5 for me was it suffered from a very slow pace in parts. There was quite a bit of filler and overly-done descriptions. My other major quarrel with the book was the rapid jumps in time. While the story was divided into sections based on which characters’ perspective we were seeing things from, it didn’t define the time period. So, sometimes we would jump from younger Rina to present day Sumi and it made things a bit confusing. I think the addition of dates to the character breaks would have helped.
I wasn’t wild about Rina as a character. She seemed kind of thick and unsympathetic. I don’t really know what the draw to her was. The dynamic between Rina and Kaitarō was a bit weird from the onset. I didn’t feel this so-called romance at all but instead felt a sense of creepiness and foreboding (maybe that was the point). I did like Sumi and Yoshi’s character was interesting too.
Objectively, this is a strong debut. I will be interested to see what Stephanie Scott does next.
This book had fascinating insight into the Japanese legal system and the writing was quite lovely.
I think what made this a 3.5 for me was it suffered from a very slow pace in parts. There was quite a bit of filler and overly-done descriptions. My other major quarrel with the book was the rapid jumps in time. While the story was divided into sections based on which characters’ perspective we were seeing things from, it didn’t define the time period. So, sometimes we would jump from younger Rina to present day Sumi and it made things a bit confusing. I think the addition of dates to the character breaks would have helped.
I wasn’t wild about Rina as a character. She seemed kind of thick and unsympathetic. I don’t really know what the draw to her was. The dynamic between Rina and Kaitarō was a bit weird from the onset. I didn’t feel this so-called romance at all but instead felt a sense of creepiness and foreboding (maybe that was the point). I did like Sumi and Yoshi’s character was interesting too.
Objectively, this is a strong debut. I will be interested to see what Stephanie Scott does next.
billcbentley's review against another edition
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
2.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Murder
sacimaci's review against another edition
emotional
informative
mysterious
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
miisjess's review against another edition
mysterious
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
catastrojb's review
dark
emotional
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? It's complicated
4.0