Overall a really good book. Touches a lot on the social standards women face. Specifically, women in Japan. However I feel as though the struggles showcased regarding loneliness, body image, and patriarchy within the writing can apply to women of all cultures. I do feel this was less of a thriller than it was a feminist novel. Overall, a good book with good messages.

Where this book may be a bit rough for people is the length. While I enjoyed the tie ins of food, it happened a bit more often than I would have liked. I’m aware of why and it being a core theme of the book, it just sometimes felt a bit out of place or clunky (which could 100% just be due to the translation). While the themes it represented at the end was nice, it just went on a bit too long and the details seemed a bit mind numbing. And this is prevalent throughout the book, with some scenes lasting a little longer than necessary in my opinion. If I hadn’t been listening to the audiobook along side this, I could see myself losing interest from those sections.

However, sometimes that very issue of seeming to go too in depth causes scenes to shine in ways that I really enjoyed. Specifically when it was used to go in depth on the main “antagonist”’s, Manako Kajii’s, background. Or when we’re in the thoughts of the main “protagonist” Rika Machida.

This book, overall, didn’t play how I thought it would. I expected it to be the sort of “She fell in love with/became the killer” sort of book and it wasn’t. It’ll be a hard read for those who are more of a “mind off” reader for sure, but if you are able to give it the time it requires, it’s worth it.