my rating is a 3.5. i wanted to give it a 4 but the book left me wanting. it's a charming enough premise of a select group of commuters on a train line. there is overlap between these characters and it's creative and often poignant. as is true of other japanese novels i have read recently, there are always subtle and powerful messages threaded throughout, about finding ones way in the world through honesty and integrity and also standing up to bullies and unlovely people. perhaps essentially how to respect oneself and others. but i found the book a bit disjointed at times and i also cringed at some of the nastiness. it's an interesting adventure and very much details japanese culture, which i found very fascinating.

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