I loved most of this. Part 1 was brilliant as you follow Natsu and her older sister Makiko navigating life as single, thirty year old plus women. Makiko as an aging single mother to Midoriko concerned with her looks and Natsu as a childless aspiring author. Part 2 set 10’years later felt a little jumpy and could have done with its focus narrowed a bit. It’s in this half that Kawakami really examines Japanese society and norms around womanhood, motherhood, body image, ambition, poverty and how unnecessary men are to women’s happiness.