I had never read a Japanese novel before this one. The writing here is truly fantastic and a very in-depth examination of womanhood and motherhood. 

I love how the main character will get lost in her thoughts and then examine them, how she finds imagery and meaning in small things.

I love the use of color in this story, the colors blue and white standing out the most. 

There is challenging subject matter here, strong emotions (so much so that I needed to take a break for a few days), but the read is so worth it. I'm recommending this book to a ton of people. 

Truly phenomenal.