A review by ellaroshea
Strange Weather in Tokyo by Hiromi Kawakami

3.0

Beautifully written, with the soothing, cool and lonely tone so much translated Japanese literature has. The feel of this book is what I loved most about it; it paints everyday life in dark, gentle language, as well as being incredibly influenced by nature and the simplicity of day-to-day activities, like eating. Tsukiko and Sensei's relationship was quiet, witty and tentative, and I found it very interesting how connectedness and loneliness intertwined. I will say that the age difference between them, as well as the way Sensei sometimes addressed Tsukiko as a woman, made me a bit resistant to liking their partnership wholly- if you bear that in mind, I think this book definitely still merits reading for the beautiful literary style.