A review by natasha29singh
A True Novel by Minae Mizumura

4.0

It’s not fair to call this just a ‘story inside a story’ – this is the Russian-nesting-doll of stories. I generally enjoy “plotless” stories where the journey of a person or household is traced over the years (think [b:The Waiting Years|177404|The Waiting Years|Fumiko Enchi|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1348939847l/177404._SX50_.jpg|535360] or [b:The Makioka Sisters|34449|The Makioka Sisters|Jun'ichirō Tanizaki|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1637632255l/34449._SY75_.jpg|841208]) so I didn’t mind the accounts of the characters’ lives so much, but I think the part for which there was so much build up – the life of Taro “Heathcliff” Azuma, a man as toxic as he is sexy – kind of failed to deliver. The entire arc with him simping and the other one happily getting cucked (over Yoko?? of all people? please be serious) just seems implausible. I did enjoy the ten-odd pages in the middle of the book which got unbelievably meta, and the [b:Wuthering Heights|6185|Wuthering Heights|Emily Brontë|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1388212715l/6185._SY75_.jpg|1565818] essence makes it a compelling read (you will never catch me disrespecting [a:Emily Brontë|4191|Emily Brontë|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1529578586p2/4191.jpg].) And the author added a little bonus twist at the end! Fantastic for such a long read, and an awesome job on the translation by [a:Juliet Winters Carpenter|666511|Juliet Winters Carpenter|https://s.gr-assets.com/assets/nophoto/user/u_50x66-632230dc9882b4352d753eedf9396530.png].