On the Shelf – Naomi Hirahara’s “Summer of the Big Bachi”
Summer of the Big Bachi by Naomi Hirahara
My review
Okay, so this isn’t about bocci the game but rather the Japanese concept of Bachi – something akin to kharma. I think this (mis)understanding would change the entire reading experience. But then, I’m all about expectation management.
This wasn’t quite what I expected. Kind of like my (fairly regular) misadventures in the kitchen, I came to this book thinking it was far lighter than it turned out to be. Because I grew up in the area, it had many nice references to places I knew well, but I found the Japanese terms casually thrown into the text to be distracting.
My library classified it as a mystery, so I’ve tagged it that way here as well, but I think the term is a bit misapplied. It’s less of a whodunnit than a “what’s the motive” kind of book.
I’m really careful not to include spoilers, so I’ll leave it at this – not a light read but a good first novel (although it’s not Hirahara’s first published book by any means). I have the next of her novels on my bedside table to read, but I feel like I need a bit of a break before tackling it.
rating: 3 of 5 stars