The Elegance of the Hedgehog

Some books I enjoy tearing apart, this isn't one of those. Mainly because I imagine anyone who likes this book is probably quite sweet and I don't want to take it away from them.

But there were quite a few issues: paper thin characters who are far too similar, random name dropping (and unbelievably smug) philosophical rants which no one will remember a few pages later because of how disconnected it all is, a rather old-school Japanese culture fetish and, probably the most understated but egregious in my books, a concerning portrayal of the uncultured poor as unfeeling unthinking mules who are as much animal as human.

This book basically says “any farmers who don't want to move to the city and become cultured are mindless, soulless nonhumans.”