The Girl Who Played Go

There is a lot going on under the surface of this novel that I know I missed, because I don't know anything about the game of go or Chinese and Japanese history and literature. Themes of violence, battle and war, honor, and the constricted lives of women are present in this story of a Japanese soldier and a young Chinese girl meeting in a Manchurian town over a game of go. Although the book is almost 300 pages, chapters are short, spare and quick to read. I finished it in 2 days. This solemn story will stay with me for a while.