Four Seasons in Japan: An utterly mesmerising and transportive novel, the perfect gift for book lovers! Paperback – 13 Jun. 2024

I loved this book and characters were all insightful. At times I could hardly read through my tears but overall very well written, interesting story and information about Japan including history, monuments and the language.Overall a very good book and it includes cats so what’s not to like!

It’s a decent read with a calm, atmospheric style that transports you right into the heart of Japan. If you enjoy books that bring a place to life through rich descriptions, this is definitely worth picking up!

I loved the interplay of the characters of the translator and the main character, Kyo. The overlap in their emotions, experiences and their complex relations with those around them is stark.The main Japanese characters have all dealt with terrible losses which have affected their personalities and their relations with those around them.You really do get caught in the lives of the characters.It was interesting to learn about Japan and the contrasting cultures of the large cities and the rural areas. The depopulation and decline of the rural areas which is prevalent worldwide is dealt with very well.

Loved this book. Very easy to read. Short uplifting stories with a message for each one

Great book with many well crafted characters. The Hiroshima visits during the remembrance festival made me think about the devastation to an entire nation. Humanity is a self destructive monster fuelled by power crazed psychopathic freaks.Just saying the book makes you think!

Flo is an American translator living in her dream city of Tokyo but her life’s far from perfect, her career’s stalled and her girlfriend is leaving her. Then she finds a mysterious book set in the port city of Onomichi, and becomes obsessed with finding its author and producing a translation. Nick Bradley alternates between Flo in Tokyo and the Onomichi narrative. The Onomichi novel centres on the rocky relationship between café owner Ayako and her grandson Kyo who’s come to stay with her while he studies to retake exams. Ayako and Kyo's storyline focuses on the growing bond between them - as well as the various stumbling blocks constantly threatening to derail it - and the everyday of their local community. Kyo's supposed to be preparing for medical school so he can become a doctor like his mother but his real passion is drawing, partly inspired by his feelings about his father who died by suicide when Kyo was very young. And as time passes he's increasingly torn between following his own path or conforming to his mother's expectations.Bradley concentrates on storytelling here, building on his many years in Japan and his extensive background in Japanese fiction. The result is mostly fluid, accessible and undemanding. I enjoyed Bradley's more inventive flourishes and the attention to detail such as the inclusion of Kyo’s artwork, as well as the many references to Japanese culture, history and literature. But there were times when the writing felt slightly forced and flat, and the characters too stock – some of the ideas around generational divides, youth versus age, and their impact on Ayako’s sensibilities versus Kyo’s felt a little stereotypical, particularly Ayako’s as the forbidding, irascible older woman. I also found the contrast between the "found" novel and the episodes centred on Flo’s experiences an awkward one. It’s a very readable piece and there were numerous charming elements – particularly the street cats - and I can see it appealing to a number of readers but it didn’t entirely work for me: the resolution to both storylines was frustratingly abrupt; and Bradley’s story frequently strayed into the kind of life-lesson territory I tend to avoid.

This book is absolutely captivating. The people and places and history within are still living with me in my thoughts and dreams.

Grandmother and grandson collide, but both have such astrength of character, wrapped round by Japanese core traditions, the story flows fast and furiously with a range of raw emotions. The various locations depicted make the reader want to experience them all for themselves, but most of all, we become the characters in the book, until the story ends.