this wasn't quite for me, i'm afraid! i loved the premise, but it just wasn't as exciting as i was expecting. the writing (or translation, i'm not sure) seemed a little clunky at times, and i wish they had been living together in the house for longer, or perhaps from the start of the book. it came to a sudden end, too, that i wasn't expecting -- i thought that it was building up to something bigger. i wish more had happened!

[i received a free copy in exchange for an honest review. thank you to netgalley and pushkin press.]

Someone to Watch Over You is a novella about two people who end up in an unusual arrangement during the pandemic. In a small town in Japan, a woman lives alone in what was her parents' house, avoiding people whilst haunted by the fact she might've caused the death of a student. When she hires a former security guard who knocked down a protester as a handyman, they find themselves needing each other amongst the claustrophobic atmosphere of the pandemic.

This is a tense book that confronts readers with many ways in which humans can be bad to one another, actively or passively, through a story of fear and paranoia. The narrative moves between the two characters' perspectives and you never quite know what is meant to have happened and what hasn't. As with similar books in this genre of Japanese literature, there aren't really any answers by the end, but instead it concludes with ongoing ambiguity, with readers knowing more about the connection between these characters than the characters seem to themselves. It is a short, gripping read, but not one for people who want to unravel what actually happened in the narrative's mysteries.

the author allows us to grasp the story through the two main characters. however, she refuses to hold our hand, just like how society during COVID-19 avoided touch.

we follow two characters and their journey to keep on surviving despite dealing with loss, guilt, and isolation. as i started reading the story, initially i felt like there was this distance between me and the characters - although they carry their past with them and try to actively move on from it, i felt like i could only work with the few and vague details given. the pacing of the story felt slow at first, but it went by so fast towards the end. i found myself wanting for more answers, clues, and context - even yearning for a sequel! however, i believe that i can only interpret the situation with the given artefacts and hope for the best.

a few more things that i love about this story:
* food and routines are thoroughly described. the writing style felt to me as if i were in close proximity to the characters. i often found myself craving for different meals while i was reading the story.
* COVID-19 prevention ‘rituals’ that were normalized back then in society were narrated realistically. i’ve noticed how the character (the FMC, specifically) would bring up the current thing in their hometown and compare it to how it was back then before the pandemic.
* emotions are subtly written, they are not imposed.

some of the things i didn’t like that much:
* the MMC (im sorry :p) - it’s a personal opinion that i felt the ick whenever his parts came up. while that felt to me like good and effective writing, i couldn’t bring myself to empathize with him.
* the motives of the side characters and characters in the past felt unclear. while they contributed a lot to the current emotions of the main characters, i just wish the author paid attention to them more.

im glad i had the chance to read this story. im looking forward to reading more of the author’s work - to my knowledge, this is her first story that has been translated into english.

Book Review: Someone to Watch Over You by Kumi Kimura
⭐️⭐️⭐️/5

First off, thank you to NetGalley for the free copy in exchange for an honest review!

So, Someone to Watch Over You had such an interesting premise, and I was really excited going into it. The idea of a mysterious guardian watching over someone, mixed with suspense and some emotional depth, totally caught my attention. The writing itself was really immersive, and I liked how the author built this eerie, almost dreamlike atmosphere.

That being said, I had a hard time fully connecting with the characters. There were moments where I felt like I was almost getting invested, but then the pacing would slow down or the dialogue would feel a little stiff. I also wish some of the plot points had been developed more, certain twists felt rushed, while other parts dragged a bit.

Overall, I think this book had a lot of potential, and there were definitely moments that kept me hooked. If you like slow burn mysteries with a surreal touch, you might enjoy this one! But for me, it was just okay, good, but not great.

Someone to Watch Over you is a story that follows two characters, neither of which are protagonists of zeal or that demand admiration but a man and a woman both flawed and repressed during the pandemic.

Tae echoes the fears and paranoia of society during COVID 19 in a way many people, especially older people, felt experiencing the unknown.

Shinobu, a down and out man is a failure and can't find his way in a world that is also finding its feet in a crisis.

The distance between us, and the importance of connection are challenged in this novel. If you're a fan of The Convience Store Woman or other Japanese fiction I think you will enjoy this.

Someone To Watch Over You offers a dip into the lives of two complex and deeply troubled characters. The story lives in a fog of paranoia, suffocating and isolating; a well-suited atmosphere for the circumstances these two find themselves in.
The start was a bit confusing to me and feels slightly disjointed, diving straight into their mental worries and anxiety-ridden thoughts with very little grounding, but ultimately pays off by unsettling the reader from the start.
The story felt real, though frustrating. I could personally not empathise with either of the two but I did feel a sort of pity/worry for both of them.
Worth the read, short, but no less gripping.
Thank you to NetGalley and publisher Pushkin Press for the opportunity to read this ARC.

A subtle but thought-provoking novella about alienation, belonging and the weight of the past.

This is the story of Tae, a former school teacher who has moved back home after a death and Shinobu, an out-of-work security guard whose past looms over him, and their unexpected connection throughout COVID-dominated 2020. There’s very little plot, though - while I found this engaging and eerie some readers will definitely find it dull.

For me the strength of the book is were the themes - it covered the value of connection, exclusion in small town Japan and the way people’s pasts linger with them really effectively: very much by showing rather than lecturing. The setting was another strength - the anxieties of lockdown were clear in an understated way.

This is the kind of book where you’re left to ponder what really happened and how much of what you’re shown is true. While I found that worked really well for the character’s pasts, I liked it a bit less when it came to the time the characters spent together as it all felt quite vague as things progressed.

All in all an enjoyable novella that was both thought-provoking and easy to read. Great for those who like books with themes and enjoy being allowed to reach your own views, less so for those who want plenty of plotting.

Thank you to Kumi Kimura, Pushkin Press and NetGalley providing an ARC of Someone to Watch Over You in return for an honest review.

Someone to Watch Over You by Kumi Kimura (translated by Asa Yoneda)

Tae is a former teacher in her 40s and lives alone during the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic in Japan. She is frugal, lonely, and scared when the people in the town she moved to starts to assault and intimidate her. She moved to escape her past, which she will not speak of to anyone.

Shinobu is in his 30s, a recently homeless handyman & former security guard who gets dealt with the bad cards in life again & again. He and Tae are strangers until one day he gets a call from her looking for a handyman to clear her bathroom drain.

In a brooding, somewhat eerie and sombre town where a recent mysterious murder at the cleaners happened, the two find an unlikely platonic, safe, symbiotic housemate in each other for a while, but Tae’s past catches up with her. Someone is lurking around her house, someone is watching. And slowly, Shinobu strangely seems to need less and less from her.

The ending is abit of a cliffhanger and… HAD MY BLOOD RUN COLD. I don’t entirely sure I know what it means, but if it’s what I think… 😱😱😱

This novella is about 112 pages long, a fast read, but one I had to go through slowly because of the details. It embodies the Japanese strict attitude towards hygiene, order, peace and quiet, and the loneliness we never know what to do with, of living in a society yet being an outcast. As humans, we can be really, really unkind to one another, and this is a story of the connections we put up with when community is scarce. The writing is more atmospheric than plot-driven, but it still does tell the characters’ story with abit of back & forth between time and different focuses in the chapters.

Sometimes, we just need someone to watch over us.

Content advisory: self-harm, death, assault, references to pornography, infectious diseases.

I’d give this a 3.5/5

Thank you @pushkinpress and @netgalley for an advanced copy of this.

Someone to Watch Over You publishes on 3rd June 2025!

#bbbreviews #SomeoneToWatchOverYou #KumiKimura #netgalley #pushkinpress #ARCreader #ARCreviews #japaneseliteraryfiction #storiesOnCovid #translatedfictions

I adore Japanese fiction for its simplicity, whilst capturing the food culture and a special eerieness. The MCs are unconventional, real humans facing isolation, loneliness, and deteriorating mental and physical states. I read it in one sitting, feeling unease, an elegant claustrophobic atmosphere, inviting to reflections and speculations.

I can see this on the shelf next to Nanae Aoyama's 'A Perfect Day to Be Alone' and Atsuhiro Yoshida's 'Goodnight Tokyo'.

I have always been drawn to Japanese fiction for its simplicity and its ability to evoke visceral human emotions in unexpected ways.

This novella is a deep dive into the beauty of solitude that tells the story of two lonely individuals who have been unjustly abandoned by society due to certain circumstances. They are dealing with their own problems and trying to navigate their existence in this world during the pandemic. Unbeknownst to them, they are drawn to each other because of their similarities, and they gradually begin to care for one another, finding hope in isolation. The way this story represents the development of genuine human emotions and connections through a journey of isolation and love felt incredibly realistic and believable.

I found myself longing for more of their moments together. This is a story that will leave you wanting to know more about their journey, and I truly adore it.

I got this book from NetGalley via Pushkin Press. I am grateful to them for providing me with an advanced reader copy prior to its release.

A very curious little novella. Two lonely people, both accused of murder, find meaning in helping to keep the other person alive. "Someone to Watch Over You" is a perfect title for this; it highlights how having a connection with another person, no matter how slight, can change your life. The writing and atmosphere are both strong.

Ultimately, though, I felt like there was so much description of things I didn't care about, like meals and sleeping arrangements, and so little about what I actually cared about, which were Tae and Shinobu's inner lives and their growing relationship with each other. Tae also felt like a less developed character than Shinobu; I wish we had really delved more into her feelings from her own perspective.

Still, I think the voice and exploration of themes of loneliness, regret, and human connection are strong.

Thank you to Pushkin Press and NetGalley for the advanced copy.

AGH.
Bummer.
This one just wasn't for me.
I am still really thankful to Pushkin Press, Kumi Kimura, and Netgalley for granting me an advanced digital copy to this book before it hits shelves on June 3, 2025.

This is quite a strange book, one that starts well, and is gripping, but then loses its way somewhat, I feel.

We meet a character, Tae, who is living in her parents' house (they have died) after moving back to her small town from Tokyo. She is, clearly, damaged - and it turns out that she has been accused of causing the death of one of her students in her class. He drowned - and she, allegedly, didn't do anything about the bullying he experienced, therefore the family blame her for what happened to him. Seemingly, Tae is lonely - her town is deserted - this is taking place in 2020, in the pandemic. I do find it hard to believe, though, that the town would be quite so empty - it seems somewhat unrealistic. Tae calls a handyman to help her with some jobs, ostensibly for house maintenance but it's more a case of reaching out to someone to ease her loneliness. Shinobu comes into her life living a miserable existence, too - one that is tantamount to abuse, getting by by living in his brother's shed. He is, oddly, bullied by his niece who sends him the most awful text messages, black-mailing him and requesting that he gives her money to help pay for a friend's sick dog. It is all quite odd in that she accuses him of acting in gay porn and doing other things that she hopes will make him cough up.

Tae and Shinobu spend longer together - she allows him to 'live' in her house but not see her. Essentially, she wants him to keep guard as she gets death threats and do other things, such as clean obscene graffiti off her house and car. It is all quite bizarre, and all the while, a strange, neglected landscape continues to feel quite alien as they 'exist' in their odd worlds.

This feels very Japenese in its outlook and construction - and as it is a translation, there are a few bits which, I feel, don't quite work. It leaves me feeling somewhat indifferent about this read but pleased that I read it - it is short which I think goes in its favour.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for this ARC.

i really enjoyed this book. i definitely recommend it. thank you so much pushkin press for giving me a galley!

A short novel about two strangers who meet during the pandemic in a Japanese neighborhood. I had high hopes but it left me unsatisfied and disconnected. It may be a hard read for anyone not familiar with the Japanese language, several words are not explained or translated (I'm Japanese so it was okay for me). Thanks to #netgalley for this ARC in exchange for my honest review.

This is a short and fast read. I however did not care much for the characters much or the plot in this book. I just didn’t connect with it and the characters as much as i was hoping but that’s no fault of the anyone. I did feel empathy for some situations in the book but I just didn’t connect to the writing style I feel. I would probably read something else from the author in future I just did not connect to this story.

'Someone to Watch Over You' is a novella that offers a tense and paranoid atmosphere to its readers while telling a story about two individuals who are forced to connect during a period of crisis, both internal and external. It will resonate with the readers of our time due to our shared experience of lockdown during the recent times of pandemic and also due to its exploration of a society that's turning progressively intrusive, forcing its participants more and more into isolation.

This was an interesting read for me. This was my first time reading a Japanese (translated) novella. While the story was intriguing and wonderfully written, I had a hard time with it. It could be the style in which these novellas are written. That is in no way a reflection of the author as they wrote superbly.

Having said that, with the story taking place during the pandemic, the reader will surely connect with certain feelings throughout. I certainly did . Connection is needed even when we don’t think it necessary. Having someone along for a ride is needed, especially someone who can relate even the slightest. I will say I did appreciate getting a sense of the pandemic from another point of view, another culture/country.

Overall this was a decent read but an unfamiliar style to me. I am definitely going to go back and give it a reread. It is beautifully written. I am thankful to NetGalley, Pushkin Press, & Kumi Kimura for providing me with an ARC of Someone to Watch Over You for my honest feedback.

What a weird and wonderful story. I was approved to read this as an ARC from NetGalley and Pushkin Press, which I'm very grateful for as I love Japanese stories.

Set during a pandemic (the description says COVID but that isn't mentioned in the story), two people end up crossing paths. Both are lonely, accused of doing something horrible and struggling with their current situations having moved back from Tokyo. The community are suspicious of any outsiders, making things even more difficult for the pair of them.

I warmed to Tae, in a weird way. She lives life according to her own rules and no one else's, whereas Shinobu has no choice but to rely on others. The two of them develop an odd dependency on each other, despite mostly communicating through notes or bell-rings. I'd love to know what happens next, but I also think this novella is perfect as it is.

The translation was wonderful as well.

This novella captures the atmospheric claustrophobia of quarantine life and slowly peels back the histories and transformations of two characters unknowable to themselves. An interesting concept and quick read.