Clarissa Goenawan

Ren Ishida is nearly finished with graduate school when he receives news of his sister, Keiko's, sudden death. She was viciously stabbed one rainy night on her way home, and there are no leads. Ren heads to Akakawa to conclude his sister's affairs, still failing to understand why she chose to abandon the family and Tokyo for this desolate town years ago. As he comes to know the figures in Akakawa, from the enigmatic politician to his fellow teachers and a rebellious, alluring student named Rio, Ren delves into his shared childhood with Keiko and what followed, trying to piece together what happened the night of her death. Haunted in his dreams by a young girl who is desperately trying to tell him something, Ren struggles to find solace in the void his sister has left behind.

Rainbirds

First things first: I love Clarissa Goenawan’s writing style. It’s not overly poetic, but still touching and she knows how to keep her readers’ attention. Goenawan knows how to make us feel like we’re on this journey with Ren, like we’re the one picking up the pieces of mystery. Almost like The Perfect World of Miwako Sumida, the story is centered around one woman but it’s mostly told from a male character’s perspective. While reading this book, I sometimes found myself wondering why Character A popped up and what’s the point of Character B’s appearance. But they all eventually falls into place in the most satisfying way. When all the puzzle pieces are complete, I cannot help but feel a bit sad because that means I was getting close to the end – even when midway through the story, I sped up my reading because I couldn’t wait to find out what actually happened to Keiko. Such a great, reflective read.

Sashi

"Clarissa Goenawan's dark, spellbinding literary debut opens with a murder and shines a spotlight onto life in fictional small-town Japan. Ren Ishida is nearly finished with graduate school when he receives news of his sister, Keiko's, sudden death. She was viciously stabbed one rainy night on her way home, and there are no leads. Ren heads to Akakawa to conclude his sister's affairs, still failing to understand why she chose to abandon the family and Tokyo for this desolate town years ago. But Ren soon finds himself picking up where Keiko left off, accepting both her teaching position at a local cram school and the bizarre arrangement of free lodging at a wealthy politician's mansion in exchange for reading to the man's catatonic wife. As he comes to know the figures in Akakawa, from the enigmatic politician to his fellow teachers and a rebellious, alluring student named Rio, Ren delves into his shared childhood with Keiko and what followed, trying to piece together what happened the night of her death. Haunted in his dreams by a young girl who is desperately trying to tell him something, Ren struggles to find solace in the void his sister has left behind"--

heather

** spoiler alert **
           So I found myself flipping the pages non-stop and that was because I was curious about Keiko's murderer and the reason behind their motives but the outcome wasn't all that satisfying. 

I dislike Ren so much I hope Nae dumps him :-) I personally think he's quite hypocritical. Yes, him getting mad at Mr Nakajima for whatever he (and his wife) had done to Keiko is valid but honestly, Ren himself wasn't any better considering he was out and about cheating behind Nae's back... hooking up with different girls and almost engaging in a teacher-student romantic relationship... I remembered he said something about how he dated a lot of girls but Nae was different and then Seven Stars appeared and he said she was different from Nae. He also mentioned how he slept with the class rep back in school and when that got exposed, he used it as a reason to break up with his then girlfriend because he couldn't find any other reason to break up with her despite being tired of her. 

"Back then, I'd been tired of my girlfriend, but I couldn't find a reason to dump her. I didn't have the courage to break up with someone who'd done nothing wrong... I would've preferred to break up after we'd make some better memories on that date..." Shut up Ren, you're a coward so just face it. No courage to break up with someone who'd done nothing wrong... pack it up you're literally just hurting her.

Ren: "I wanted to tell Jin he should have stopped when he said he would". 
Also Ren: Supporting Jin to go all out with other girls while he could despite knowing he was about to get married! 

I'm so lost for words because Ren is just so problematic like dude wake up? I literally do not care about his promiscuity but the least he could do was to be respectful? This book was just characters cheating on one another and basically the reason behind Keiko's death too. Also, these random girls he hooked up with didn't even add any value to the story, I just think they made him look even more like a problematic character.

Joana

I can't tell you why I liked this book. No, it's not because it's a spoiler. I can't tell you because I genuinely don't know why I liked it so much.

It has positive aspects and other parts I wish were more explored, like side characters and plot lines, but none of that is reason enough for me to enjoy this book this much. The moment I picked it up, I couldn't put it down. I was hypnotised or in a daze that kept me going along with the story.

The mystery unravels slowly and in a relaxed way. There's no suspense or thriller. The story is character-driven and keeps an even medium pace throughout. And these right here are words that usually don't follow a high rating from me.

No matter how much I try to understand what I liked about this book. I can't justify or give you reasons why you will also enjoy this book, because I don't even know myself. But I also don't want you not to read it.

Set in an imagined town outside Tokyo, Clarissa Goenawan's dark, spellbinding literary debut follows a young man's path to self-discovery in the wake of his sister's murder. Ren Ishida has nearly completed his graduate degree at Keio University when he receives news of his sister's violent death. Keiko was stabbed one rainy night on her way home, and there are no leads. Ren heads to Akakawa to conclude his sister's affairs, failing to understand why she chose to turn her back on the family and Tokyo for this desolate place years ago. But then Ren is offered Keiko's newly vacant teaching position at a prestigious local school and her bizarre former arrangement of free lodging at a wealthy politician's mansion, in exchange for reading to the man's ailing wife. He accepts both, abandoning Tokyo and his crumbling relationship there in order to better understand his sister's life and what took place the night of her death. As Ren comes to know the eccentric local figures, from the enigmatic politician who's boarding him to his fellow teachers and a rebellious, captivating young female student, he delves into his shared childhood with Keiko and what followed. Haunted in his dreams by a young girl who is desperately trying to tell him something, Ren realizes that Keiko Ishida kept many secrets, even from him. A Bustle Most Anticipated Book of 2018 amNY, "Must Read Books in 2018" The Huffington Post, "60 Books We Can't Wait to Read in 2018" BookBub, "25 Debut Novels We Can't Wait to Read in 2018" iBooks, "10 Debut Novels You Must Read"

Stefanie Sugia

"I didn't think anyone could hate her enough to kill her in such a gruesome way. Or was I wrong about her? If I had made an effort to understand my sister, could I have changed her fate?"This book came to my attention when I read that it was reviewed by Kirkus, and I was especially fascinated when I found out that it's written by an Indonesian-born Singaporean. Besides that, this book will also be translated and published by one of Indonesia's biggest publisher company, Gramedia Pustaka Utama. Since I cannot wait for the translation to published, I finally decide to read the original version first. I'd have to say, this book gripped me right from the start. Although it's quite a slow-paced read, the mystery that was being gradually revealed has a very eerie and haunting vibe to it. I think the author has successfully built the right atmosphere for this thrilling novel."Life was such a mystery to me. Who would have guessed that my sister, of all people, would have gone so early, and so tragically?"The story is written from the perspective of the main character, Ren, who told the story as he tries to uncover the truth behind his sister's death while reminiscing his memories with her. He was especially fond of his sister, Keiko, who took care of him when their parents didn't. That's why Ren was eager to resolve the mystery behind it all. Unfortunately, I have to say that none of the characters actually stood out for me. I don't really find Ren's character that interesting and I was struggling to relate to or sympathize with him.

The one person that intrigued me the most was Keiko, whose story is told through pieces of the puzzle that Ren found from her life in Akakawa. Keiko was very secretive for years ever since the incident with a teacher (not going to elaborate this to avoid spoilers), and her relationship with Ren grew quite distant over the years. So when Ren finally pieced the puzzle together with the clues that he discovered, I was utterly shocked by the revelation 😱😱. However, I do think it's overly convenient/coincidental that the clues came from the few people that Ren interacted with constantly—and that all of them have some sort of connection with Keiko. But then again, Akakawa is a small town, so I'll let it pass 😂"Perhaps she wanted to free herself. And like those birds, she ended up dying too soon."
  "The trouble with emotional pain is, you can't see the wound. But it's still there. It's real."
I don't always enjoy slow-paced narrative, but I was constantly intrigued and eager to know how it's going to end. (Thankfully it didn't end up being a horror story like I thought it would be at the start 😂😂) The writing itself feels simple yet elegant; sending chills down my spine whenever something eerily mysterious comes up. I think it's the perfect book to read during a rainy, gloomy day—because it certainly suits the tone of the story. There are many unexpected twists and turns that happened throughout the story which I find fascinating to read. To put it simply, despite the things that I didn't particularly like about this book, I definitely enjoyed it from start to finish. Kudos to Clarissa Goenawan for her amazing debut! Looking forward to her future works. 😊😊

Read my full review here:
http://www.thebookielooker.com/2018/0...

Nadine 

A book that somewhat resembles the slow picking apart of a scab. Ren goes to find out who killed his sister but then gets embroiled in different parts of her life with strands of various stories all being picked apart and unwoven.
Slow but worthwhile read.

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Ren has nearly completed his graduate degree at Keio University when he receives news of his sister's violent death. He heads to Akakawa to conclude her affairs, failing to understand why she chose to turn her back on the family and Tokyo for this desolate place years ago. But then Ren is offered Keiko's newly vacant teaching position at a prestigious local cram school and her bizarre former arrangement of free lodging at a wealthy politician's mansion in exchange for reading to the man's ailing wife. As Ren comes to know his sister's world he realises that she kept many secrets, even from him.

Rainbirds

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