Reviews with content warning for Injury/Injury detail - Intimacies

I had high expectations for this book. The premise is exciting—a woman entangled in a relationship with a married man, her life intertwining with a violent crime victim, and interpreting for a war criminal. There is so much going on in this book just for nothing to happen. The court scenes feel like they take up most of the book and seem to drag on forever. Everything else fell flat to me. Her relationship with the married man was interesting but only really happened at the beginning and end of the book. The whole time I was just waiting for something to happen. I also didn't enjoy the writing style. The directness just wasn't for me.

however, I did appreciate the hopeful ending. I'm a sucker for ambiguous endings, and Kitamura did it in a way that felt satisfying, which I think is hard to do.

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hkburke2's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

This book felt tightly written and very layered. I love a book that seems to capture something actually TRUE - sometimes it feels like characters are observing and thinking about people in ways no one does in real life, but the narrator here was definitely observable and in her own head in a way that felt so... palpable. I don't know, I see why people feel frustrated with the way dialogue is presented (without quotation marks) and sometimes the long sentences were disorienting, but it all just felt so sharp, to me. And vibrant. And oof.

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thewordsdevourer's review against another edition

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reflective tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? Yes

3.5

this is a sparse, contemplative short novel. although much of the book was spent inside the main character's head and her ruminations, i liked it, and the subtleties of human interaction + constant lil revelations that peppered throughout as well. it's nothing grand, but its simplicity is grounded and real.

i also enjoyed how kitamura explored the titular theme of intimacies in different ways, esp through the paradoxical nature of interpretive work. however, the lack of quotations was confusing at times (although im aware that that might be precisely the point), and im not quite a fan of how the whole thing w/ adriaan turned out; he got off way too easy and i wouldve liked more clarity from his end.

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wordingitright's review against another edition

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dark reflective tense medium-paced

4.5

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