A review by liberrydude
The Favorites: A Novel by Mary Yukari Waters

3.0

Not the type of book I would normally read. A very powerful and moving book about three generations of Japanese and Japanese-American women. Four snapshots in time capture them interacting in Kyoto, Japan. The writer is a master of vivid imagery of time and place. I found myself reflecting on childhood memories of similar incidents as I came into contact with the adult world. A great book for a mother daughter storytime. This book can be a little exasperating to a Westerner with its indirectness and non-confrontational incidents. There is however, a lot of love in this book. Some interesting plot points: family secrets that are not so secret; families living as neighbors but loving in silence; and the mentoring of children coming of age by mothers and grandmothers and aunties. A very intimate glimpse into a family that though uniquely Japanese could very well be a family anywhere. And just who were the favorites? You'll have to read it and find out.