My opinion is that this book has a lot of baggage, and the baggage is that the book is boring. Unfortunately I did not find it very compelling — neither in story nor language nor themes.
Perhaps there is something I missed. I find this likely. The story is most evocative of Sōseki’s Kokoro from nearly 90 years before. The writing is spare and light, like Kawabata but rooted in modernity.
2/5
Written 14 May 2025
Adapted from my review on Goodreads.