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melissa_charles's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
notflyspeck's review
challenging
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
"I can't see myself ever being able to give up everything, but that's what the baby is telling me to do - give up, give up."
Takiko's resilience has the reader wondering why parents should have to sacrifice so much, indeed for such a simple thing. Takiko is certain she will be able to go on as she was before pregnancy, to live her life and set goals for herself as a parent. Despite the stugma, Takiko refuses to let her responsibilities as a mother overwhelm her identity as a human being."
Takiko's resilience has the reader wondering why parents should have to sacrifice so much, indeed for such a simple thing. Takiko is certain she will be able to go on as she was before pregnancy, to live her life and set goals for herself as a parent. Despite the stugma, Takiko refuses to let her responsibilities as a mother overwhelm her identity as a human being."
strawberryjulius's review against another edition
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? N/A
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
stevienixit's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
5.0
A stunning character study that emerges from the mundane to reach an almost filmic conclusion. Despite its unsparing view of daily life, it finds a green thread of optimism in a river of melancholy.
kate_bunton's review against another edition
Just a bummer of a story. Too bleak... Didn't go where I thought it would go.
sorfina's review
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
beautiful book! if you’re not into slow-paced, slice-of-life kind of books, it might not be for you. but i felt the intimate nature of this book was the perfect way of highlighting the struggles of motherhood, especially for single mothers in a particularly unwelcoming environment.
something i did not like but don’t know if i should fault the book for (afterall, it is a product of its time) was what seems like the main character’s relationship with other women. it seems like her relationships with men were given much discussion while she seemed to disregard/look down on other women. it seems very odd, especially as a single mother to detach herself from the women around her. like girlstop sleeping with married men and get urself some women friends…. like it is probably meant to be a character flaw and she was probablyfinding a father in the men around her to make up for the lack of her own father figure but ….
but ultimately, i loved the way the author described her pregnancy and her relationship with her baby. it is beautiful yet painful and real. the author doesnt mask the ugly - the character’s flaws are there to be seen.
something i did not like but don’t know if i should fault the book for (afterall, it is a product of its time) was what seems like the main character’s relationship with other women. it seems like her relationships with men were given much discussion while she seemed to disregard/look down on other women. it seems very odd, especially as a single mother to detach herself from the women around her. like girl
but ultimately, i loved the way the author described her pregnancy and her relationship with her baby. it is beautiful yet painful and real. the author doesnt mask the ugly - the character’s flaws are there to be seen.
jademb's review
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
_cathedral_'s review against another edition
4.0
Tsushima's realist narrative is made all the more special by her juxtaposition of nonjudgmental observations and vivid, sumptuous fits of fancy. Takiko feels extremely young; she does not understand why she feels the way she does, often, and toils with her own emotions, unraveling them, projecting them, diminishing them. The vicious abuse of her father is rebelliously dulled, her romantic feelings are coiled up and bodily, and her evolving warmth for her son is steady. Tsushima's prose is psychological in a way I have rarely seen — her free indirect discourse feels infected with Takiko's own perspective, limited and burgeoning but yearning for something unspeakably beautiful.
taywls's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
reflective
relaxing
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
phenomenal!!!! total masterpiece
nocturama's review
4.5
i read territory of light (published in 1979) back in 2019 when i moved to pittsburgh for an mfa program, and enjoyed enough that i also read child of fortune--which unfortunately i don't remember liking as much. 5 years later, i'm back on the tsushima train and am happy to report that woman running in the mountains is fantastic. like territory, this novel (published one year later in 1980) is focused on the mechanics and logistics of single motherhood, set in the metropolitan sprawl of greater tokyo and deeply attuned to the rhythm of changing seasons.
i love stories where a lonely protagonist (in this case, 21-year-old takiko odaka) explores a big city and discovers worlds hidden within worlds: a private nursery deep in the woods behind a university hospital, the stately gated estates of the rich, a greenhouse that grows indoor plants for offices. it's this sort of density and richness that evokes what it actually feels like to be live in a city--to wonder what's going on behind apartment windows and storefronts--which murakami (of course) and shin kyung-sook and xu zechen evoke so well. like those authors' works, takiko takes on a series of menial jobs to try to stay afloat; unlike those authors, takiko's expenses mainly go towards her newborn son akira's childcare, with the added challenge of finding a job with flexible enough hours for her to drop him off and pick him up from daycare.
as takiko manages her day-to-day life, she also has to contend with her toxic home environment, living with her mostly well-meaning mother and her alcoholic, physically abusive father. there are many many scenes of her father beating takiko in a drunken rage, and i hoped against hope that she would be able to achieve her dream of getting her own apartment and raising akira on her own. while the ending leaves that possibility open, the novel concludes with takiko and her child one year older (like in territory) and more adept at navigating the challenges that lie ahead. of the now three books i've read this year about pregnancy and motherhood (the others being nataliya deleva's arrival and olga ravn's my work), this is prob my fave.
i love stories where a lonely protagonist (in this case, 21-year-old takiko odaka) explores a big city and discovers worlds hidden within worlds: a private nursery deep in the woods behind a university hospital, the stately gated estates of the rich, a greenhouse that grows indoor plants for offices. it's this sort of density and richness that evokes what it actually feels like to be live in a city--to wonder what's going on behind apartment windows and storefronts--which murakami (of course) and shin kyung-sook and xu zechen evoke so well. like those authors' works, takiko takes on a series of menial jobs to try to stay afloat; unlike those authors, takiko's expenses mainly go towards her newborn son akira's childcare, with the added challenge of finding a job with flexible enough hours for her to drop him off and pick him up from daycare.
as takiko manages her day-to-day life, she also has to contend with her toxic home environment, living with her mostly well-meaning mother and her alcoholic, physically abusive father. there are many many scenes of her father beating takiko in a drunken rage, and i hoped against hope that she would be able to achieve her dream of getting her own apartment and raising akira on her own. while the ending leaves that possibility open, the novel concludes with takiko and her child one year older (like in territory) and more adept at navigating the challenges that lie ahead. of the now three books i've read this year about pregnancy and motherhood (the others being nataliya deleva's arrival and olga ravn's my work), this is prob my fave.