I just finished this book - and I absolutely adored it! We all need a Sayuri in our lives. I marked so many passages that made me think, and that I plan to return to - much like the retired character who starts his own anthology. One that really stuck out for me was when the author said that we all envy others' lives - singles envy marrieds, marrieds without children envy those with children, and marrieds with children envy singles and those without children; the grass isn't always greener, so it's better to figure out how you can be satisfied within the life you have. I also loved that you can see the back of Sayuri in the illustration for the 4th chapter and all of the connections that kept popping up between the characters throughout the book. I have been loving the Japanese series on Netflix that are episodic in nature like this book - "The Midnight Diner" and "Would You Like a Cup of Coffee" are a few that come to mind.
i've been waiting for a review on this book ever since my local bookstore posted about it!! I was definitely attracted to the cover art too lol, thanks for sharing your review! can't wait to pick up a copy once it is in stock :)
I'm so happy to see more of that litterature being translated in english! It's very popular in french speaking countries so we have those translation very early and very often and it's always a whole story for me to ask my mom to send them every time hahahaha The book she wrote after this one is also AMAZING !!! Hope there's also a translation coming!
omg willow thanks for this lovely recommendation, so excited to read it now, but also you reading that passage in that voice at 9:41 made my day 😂 hilarious
I picked this up solely because of you and had the best time ever, Thank you soo much Willow for introducing me to this book, it was exactly what I needed, sooooo comforting and wholesome!!!
Still over a week before this book becomes available in the US so I had to content myself with going back and listening to your review a second time. Don't know when I've felt so eager for a release! Thanks for covering it so beautifully....
I loved this book. As soon as I finished it I started it again and reread it quickly. I borrowed it from the library and am thinking about buying it. Plan to recommend it to my book club.
Had no idea that the German translation of this book (by Sabine Mangold, who also translates Y. Ogawa and H. Murakami) had been published already. It's now on top of my TBR. Thanks so much for the recommendation!
Lately I really hate how fixated we are with who's considered a loser or a winner. But that's just my problem, lol Anyway, this sounds like a wonderful book and it is in my wishlist. :)
exactly the kind of lightweight book I'm looking for right now, I needed a break from my grimdark marathon. thank you and excellent review as always, Willow!
Argh! Not available in the US for another month. I went and ordered a Canadian copy of it from Ebay which will probably have the better cover art anyway! Thanks for another good recommendation--this sounds exactly like what I need at the moment! 😁
Stop, please! My TBR is getting bigger and bigger because of your amazing and exciting insigth on books, the way you talk about them is just aaaaaaaaaaa :)
I would too, but as someone who doesn’t speak any other languages fluently, and isn’t a translator, I don’t have the confidence. I made a short video about publishing just yesterday, and I’m currently being ripped apart over on TikTok. Can’t imagine how a video about translation would go lol
I’ll definitely add this to read list. Have you read Days at the Morisaki Bookshop by Satoshi Yagisawa yet? If not, I highly recommend: it’s brilliant.
Hey, I enjoy my trashy palette cleansers! 😂 This sounds like a wonderful option as well, so thank you. Loved that excerpt read too, and your anecdote towards the end about time.🖤
once again, another great video about a book that I otherwise wouldn't have run across. Adding this to my list I think its just what I need right now! And thanks also for the tik-tok guy impression.... I have a feeling that now I'll be reading that character in the same voice as well!
Hey Willow, I usually really like your book reviews! But I was a bit dissapointed by your take on the librarians treatment, struck me as kind of fatphobic tbh? Don´t get me wrong, it´s great to see female characters, who don´t just exist to be conventionally attractive. However, it seems as though she is only percieved as "ugly" because she is fat and that every character seems to make a big deal out of it. They only respect her after she has proven herself useful to them and, as you said, remains the most underdeveloped character in the book. Seems like a pretty tropey way of depicting a fat woman as a character that exists to support others, who has to be very smart (and of course kind) to counterbalance her "ugly" appereance, so that she can "earn" the respect that others are freely given. And after happily doing other peoples emotional labour she fades into the backround again, lest we have to see her as a full person with needs and desires of her own. Or god forbid as someone, who could be seen as attractive for more than just the emotional support she provides for others. I just think describing a character as fat to imply ugliness is a lazy and fatphobic shorthand, which is why I don´t care for it much. Of course fat characters can be unattractive but being fat isn´t inherently ugly. Anyway, sorry for the long comment, just wanted to get that off my chest.
I actually agree with every word you said, and immediately regret not being harsher in my interpretation of her. You made a very good point! Sorry for disappointing you.
@@WillowTalksBooks Oh, no worries! We all have occasional blindspots. I used to write book reviews myself (though just as a hobby, so not comparable to what you do) and after publishing my opinions I'd sometimes think of something else, or change my views on what I'd written, or noticed that I overlooked something that seemed so obvious in hindsight. But at that point it was already published, so no going back. Reviewing art of any kind is such a multilayered, complex balancing act, so I totally understand that it's not an easy task, I hope I didn't come off as too harsh... I really enjoy your listening to your takes, keep up the good work!
I love your channel, but I was a bit baffled by your comments in the beginning about YA and romance. Implying that authors who write in these genres don't care as much about the craft as much as those in other genres just seems needlessly judgemental in a way that I don't usually see from you. And while I know from following your channel that you didn't intend it this way, I think it's relevant that romance (and to a lesser extent YA) are genres that are for the most part written and read by women, and these are the genres that we're collectively comfortable calling "trash."
😮💨 good, I was thinking about cat and books and I could not read that book. Talking about bookshops and libraries: Have you read Days at the Morisaki Bookshop? I just found it the other day. The chapter 1 has a good start.
I just wanted to pop in and say that as a new person to your channel some of the vibes here were a little iffy when you started talking about 'trashy YA and Romance', making fun of 'twee' books, etc. I haven't gotten the 'judge haughty book tuber' vibe from any other vids of yours yet, so I hope this was just a fluke. Even when I agree, I just hate when book tubers yuck other people's yum you know? That being said, just bought this book from your rec :)
@@WillowTalksBooks seriously? That light of a suggestion and you just say ‘there’s the door’? Literally said that I’m new and have enjoyed your other videos, and took your recommendation here. But the gentlest suggestion that you might have given off an air of haughtiness by putting down what others like instead of focusing on promoting what you like warrants that response? Is calling what other people like “trash” really SO core to your approach to literature that it should be a dealbreaker for people interested in your channel? That would certainly be a disappointment when the rest of what I’ve seen from your content seemed to champion diverse opinions, engaging with hard topics, understanding others even when they’re flawed, etc.
I don’t know what to say. It’s very draining being told that my vibes are iffy and that I’ve got a “judge haughty booktuber” vibe. You don’t get to tell me how offended I should be. If your comment frustrated me, I’m entitled to that feeling of frustration. Like, I’m angry and now I’m also being gaslit into thinking that my anger is unwarranted? Yeah, I’m not feeling great. I hope that’s okay?
@@WillowTalksBooks Okay fair enough. I apologize for adding stress or negativity to your day. To be honest I only commented because I really DO like your channel and this is the first time I’ve felt put off at all. So I was worried that this “awesome RU-vidr I found” might have that mean streak or something and I wanted to check in and honestly see if it was just my perception being wonky. Of course your feelings are valid, regardless of whether I meant my comment to be negative or not. I definitely don’t want to unsub, particularly since I’m working through Our Share of Night from your recommendation and so far it’s one of my favorite books of all time. So thank you for that. I earnestly hope you feel better soon. It’s a rough time out here.
Fatphobes are nasty bullies who don’t care about other people’s lives and circumstances, and just want to stand on higher ground, looking down their noses at vulnerable people with complicated lives and disabilities. You.
