Five stars for the first half of this novel. I am eagerly (and impatiently) waiting for the publisher to send me the second half.

Don't be scared off by the page count. When I requested this book, I wasn't sure if I was up for almost 900 pages. But I flew threw the first half in 3 1/2 days, without rushing. I suspect when I get to the end I will want it to go on even longer. I will want to know more about Taro and Fumiko and Yusuke and the author, who inserts herself very cleverly into the novel.

The translation from Japanese is excellent. There's no awkwardness or lost meaning. Everything flows beautifully.