Strange Weather in Tokyo

The prose was relaxing and meditative, it's very readable. It was quite nice when they were in the forest foraging and cooking mushrooms as I was listening to this unfold in the audiobook while I was cooking mushrooms on my stove (I alternated between the audio and the paperback). I enjoyed the descriptions of the foods they were eating in general because I'm a foodie and Japanese cuisine is one of my favorites.

However, at the end of the book, my peace was disrupted when she confessed. Had they stayed platonic, it would have worked better for me as I can't buy it that they're a suitable romantic pairing since she sounds younger than 37 and he has grandad vibes being almost seventy in age and spirit. The fact that they used to be teacher and student gives me, even more, indigestion. On top of it all, he keeps bringing up his ex-wife like she's still a central part of the story for him. I understand why they would become friends as they're both strange and antisocial so they are quite lonely, however, the romance part felt out of nowhere and it transformed into an uncomfy dynamic.

At one point he mentions something like “what a lovely girl you are Tsukiko”, with emphasis on the girl. Why is he calling a grown woman a girl unless he somehow still sees her as his high school student? He does often remark on how she used to be in school so that the past is not too far in his mind. Our parents see us as still children even when we're old, at least my mother does and I'd argue it's not quite healthy, so to see this dynamic in a couple makes me uneasy.

I am a bit disappointed I didn't love it more because it's been quite hyped but I guess it is, what it is.