I truly did not like this book. The characters were shallow and hard to relate to. The plot was both confusing and boring. The love between Hideo and Takiko was the second worst thing in the book. No development, no real interaction, and an unsatisfactory end made the love story (which was made out to be one of the main themes of the book)a mere side note worthy of only a handful of pages. However, the worst part was the ending when Takiko married Goro, her stepfather. First of all, despite being historically feasible, the whole situation was gross. Second, there was no precedent for the relationship! The relationship went: Takiko being frightened of Goro because of his looks ---> Takiko thinking of Goro as a father figure ---> Goro hating Takiko (for not abandoning a sick little boy to go to her perfectly fine and healthy mother which inadvertently led to the Mother and stepbrother dying from the plague) ---> Goro and Takiko living and acting like a father and daughter would ---> Takiko having Goro's baby. Does anyone else feel like there is something out of place? The change in dynamic was too abrupt and not in keeping with what we had already seen earlier in the book to be plausible. This book had a lot of potential! It could have been a rousing love story, a story about change and self-discovery, a story about loyalty and commitment, or even a story about familial love and duty. But, in the end, this book was none of these. It failed to live up to its potential.