A bored, frustrated Japanese housewife begins living two lives when she meets a successful restaurateur and rediscovers the freedom and the electric pulse of her beloved Tokyo and realizes that she has to make a choice.
Motherhood is often described as the greatest sacrifice. In what other "profession" do you give so much of yourself to others? Throw in being a wife to boot, and it's enough to drive any woman mad. Just kidding, of course, we know you love your family, but have you ever dreamed about what your life might have been had you not married and had kids? Enter Emily Itami with her candid and affirming debut novel, Fault Lines, which tells the tale of an under-stimulated Tokyo housewife who catches a glimpse of her former self through a relationship with a local restauranteur.
Don't get Mizuki wrong - she loves her kids. Her husband? Well, that's up for debate. He seems to love his job more than he loves her these days. But she DOES love her kids ... it is just sometimes they drive her a bit up the wall. Stuck in a high-rise Tokyo apartment day in and day out, Mizuki dreams of a different life. When she makes the acquaintance of a successful restauranteur, Kiyoshi, he reminds her of the girl she once was before motherhood and marriage took over her life. Is the magic she experiences with Kiyoshi enough to make her leave her family behind though? And would she really want to?
Although the friendship turned romantic relationship in Fault Lines is often mentioned as a focal point of the novel, this is actually more of a story of the inner musings of a mother and wife. Mizuki is hilariously refreshing, and although I am not a wife and mother myself, I found her portrayal of the "job" to be frank, honest, and highly relatable. Itami has a beautiful way of writing the mind and I so enjoyed reading all of the varied ways she described Mizuki's innermost thoughts and feelings. Mizuki and Kiyoshi's relationship wasn't the most interesting or compelling part of this novel to me - Mizuki herself is what had me hooked.
You will enjoy Fault Lines if you are looking for a book about flawed characters who dream of something more, especially if you enjoy reading books about motherhood and marriage. Those who love literary fiction or novels that feel just a little bit different, while still being fairly mainstream will also like this story.
Availability: eBook in cloudLibrary Rating: **** Stars (I really liked it) Reviewer: Brooke, Public Relations Librarian
ARE YOU AND THIS BOOK A GOOD MATCH? DISCOVER MORE WITH NOVELIST APPEALS! Fault Lines
GENRE: Mainstream Fiction CHARACTER: Culturally Divers TONE: Thought-Provoking WRITING STYLE: Candid; Thoughtful SUBJECT: Extramarital Affairs; Friendship; Homemakers; Identity; Loneliness; Marriage; Married Women; Motherhood; Options, Alternatives, Choices; Restauranteurs; Tokyo, Japan
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