Fault Lines: Shortlisted for the 2021 Costa First Novel Award

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Set in Tokyo, the novel begins with housewife Mizuki debating jumping off the balcony of her highrise apartment where she lives with her husband and two children. Raghuram Rajan was one of the few economists who warned of the global financial crisis before it hit. Used books have different signs of use and might not include supplemental materials such as CDs, Dvds, Access Codes, charts or any other extra material. Once a vivacious young woman who sang in cabaret bars, she now struggles to meet the standard of motherly perfection and subtle elegance expected of Tokyo's housewives. Mizuki is a housewife in Tokyo, in the kind of marriage where she barely sees her constantly working husband and when she does, their conversations are either completely routine and surface level, or seething with resentment, at least on her end.

Emily Itami has written an incredible debut novel that works so well because although we may not always condone the choices that Mitzuki makes, we can understand why she does. Realizing she has always been a fixer and a rescuer to those around her, Merritt tests her wings when she meets the renegade caretaker of a property in Northern California's Santa Cruz Mountains. In Itami’s thoughtful debut, an affluent and disaffected Tokyo housewife and mother has an affair and reflects on her life choices. In him, she rediscovers freedom, friendship, a voice, and the neon, electric pulse of the city she has always loved.

Shrewd commentary on Japan's societal expectations of women - Washington Post You may also be interested in. The description of the scene when the cherry blossom comes out in Tokyo particularly stands out for this quality of writing. Fault Lines is another of Siddons' fine examples of a seamlessly crafted story, wherein palpably developed characters find themselves in a plausible predicament. Her relationship with Kiyoshi deepens, and as their relationship wanders into different territory, Mizuki begins to question everything she thought always kept her grounded and the choices that have left her in this predicament. I happened to be in close proximity to one after my sister wanted to go out one night, so we randomly decided to walk in and just take a look around.

On a clandestine trip to new volcanic island The Inch, to meet Tom, her lover and her boss, she finds his lifeless body, and makes the fatal decision to keep their affair, and her discovery, a secret. Itami captures the magic of Tokyo and makes it part of the couple's relationship, complete with cherry blossoms, tiny bars and excellent food. I thought the relationship between Mizuki and her distant husband, and the relationship between Mizuki and Kiyoshi were also really well-written. I loved visualising the city, which I could clearly because of the authors writing style, this is a beautiful debut, add it to your TBR!I don’t really know how right now, but somehow I feel when I need its message, it will be waiting for me. This started out as a four stars read for me, but I thought the ending was kind of weak, but a "safe" one.

Dust Jackets are not guaranteed and when still present, they will have various degrees of tear and damage. I carried this with me when we went to Seattle but was unable to read much at all as I was too worried and distracted. In Fault Lines, Rajan argues that serious flaws in the economy are also to blame, and warns that a potentially more devastating crisis awaits us if they aren’t fixed. I thought it was a bit melodramatic and at different times I wanted to slap a few characters upside the head but I really wanted to find out what happened to them, so I guess I liked it three stars worth!

At 16, Mizuki travels from her rural Japanese province to New York City to spend a year in an American high school, where she learns to be assertive and pursues an interest in music. I love the voice of the narrator, Lydia Wilson and, even though she has a British accent, the picture of a Japanese woman was clear in my mind. Despite the solemn subjects of adultery and suicide, there was a lightness to the main character’s self critique.