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george_tte's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
3.0
Graphic: Death of parent
Moderate: Homophobia and Racism
himangi'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
5.0
Graphic: Alcoholism, Body shaming, Cancer, Cursing, Homophobia, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexual content, Medical content, Grief, Alcohol, and Dysphoria
sakisreads's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
The Japanese food made throughout the story was a real comfort to me ✨ I also adored how Benito and Mitsuko started to cook together as their relationship progressed 🥰
What really made me fall in love with this book though was probably everyone’s ‘humanness’. Everyone had their flaws, everyone sometimes skirted around their flaws, everyone felt their flaws, etc. It was an insight into everyday human life and how we could push away the people we love, whether intentional or not. I felt Benito try to numb his flaws through conversations about work and about Ximena, whereas I felt Mike try to numb his flaws through escapism (going to see Eiju or Tan).
All in all, a fantastic book. I can’t wait to recommend it to more people 🏳️🌈
Moderate: Body shaming, Fatphobia, Homophobia, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, and Medical content
readingwithcoffee'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
3.5
Also one hand the two men the book is in the perspective of grew up in hostile environments and the main cast is their families so it could just be what they would find normalized but it was difficult to tell of the novel took domestic violence seriously especially violence involving throwing things?
Graphic: Alcoholism, Body shaming, Cancer, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Homophobia, Infidelity, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Terminal illness, Toxic relationship, Grief, Medical trauma, Death of parent, Abandonment, Alcohol, and Classism
emmelinelc'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
Graphic: Cancer, Terminal illness, Toxic relationship, Grief, and Death of parent
Moderate: Alcoholism, Homophobia, Racism, Sexual content, and Abandonment
kirani'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
4.0
Graphic: Alcoholism, Cancer, Cursing, Homophobia, Infidelity, Racism, Sexual content, Terminal illness, and Death of parent
Moderate: Domestic abuse, Fatphobia, and Abandonment
Minor: Body shaming, Racial slurs, and Classism
hmbk's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Cancer, Sexual content, and Alcohol
Moderate: Physical abuse, Racial slurs, and Racism
Minor: Body shaming, Torture, Violence, and Grief
armontheroad'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
5.0
CWs that I can't link below: death from cancer, gentrification, being HIV+.
Graphic: Alcoholism, Cancer, Chronic illness, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Fatphobia, Homophobia, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Toxic relationship, Grief, and Death of parent
Minor: Transphobia and Car accident
hollieadaw'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
3.25
Moderate: Cancer, Homophobia, Racism, and Death of parent
Minor: Abandonment
thewordsdevourer'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
3.5
the characters are deeply - some surprisingly - flawed and layered; there's no 'good' ppl here bc everyone's fcked up in one way or another. im a lil amazed at how washington handles the characterization and adeptly shows how everyone's been on both sides of being hurt and doing the hurting.
in addition to being quite funny - mike's and ben's parents are bemusingly acerbic and surprising - this book's also got a lot of heart, esp in regards to its theme of family, w/ mike and eiju's complex relationship being a particularly heartrending one. a sense of melancholy and bittersweetness permeates throughout the aforementioned second section, evoking the slice-of-life quality often found in jpn lit. i view this as a great accomplishment as it's sth so rarely achieved in western lit, let alone by a man from texas. the importance and prevalent presence of food in the story is also sth i rly like, calming while acting as a bridge between the characters, while also displaying washington's deep knowledge of jpn culinary culture.
i enjoy this book for its acerbic humor, messy characters, melancholic tone, and the exploration of its themes, particularly that in this life, everyone - even ur seemingly perfect parents - is just winging it.
Graphic: Cancer, Homophobia, Infidelity, Sexual content, and Terminal illness
Moderate: Chronic illness, Domestic abuse, Racism, and Death of parent
Minor: Alcoholism, Body shaming, and Abandonment