Miri's Tokyo Ueno Station follows the spirit of Kazu, a man experiencing homelessness who spends his final days in the park outside of the popular commuter station of Ueno. Kazu reflects on his life, his luck, and his destiny while revisiting moments of Japan's recent history. Miri's use of space as both a character and a connector between Japan's powerful and the powerless makes for a thoughtful look into modern day Japan.

I found this short novel lyrical and heartbreaking - perhaps too much so with the many tragedies that touch the life of the narrator, a recently deceased homeless man who lived his final years in Ueno Park. An interesting look at the isolation and economic divisions in Japan, but a bit of a difficult read.