What a book.
This book had left me with all sorts of feelings. It made me sad, it made me angry and it made me laugh, bust most of all, it left me with a feeling of guilt and also hope. A hope for something bigger to come, even if we are still far from it.

The prose of the book feels simple and straightforward. We follow the narration from a 15 year old Aoi, who had been sold as a prostitute by her family at a brothel. There we go through the lives of hers as she grew up, the female friendship that was formed, the betrayal from someone that was supposed to protect you and about freedom. I really liked that we went through this book from the lenses of a child. Its a reflection of the cruel society and how women were forced to sell their bodies even if its against their will.

Reading this reminded me a lot of the Indian Movie -Gangubai Kathiawadi - where the premise sets at a red light district in Mumbai. And the key to freedom, in both the movie and the book, is education. The privilege to have education and to even be educated - as without having learning to write, read and count, there will be no freedom for a person. I absolutely loved the solidarity of the women in this book and it made me feel thankful for the privilege that I had with my education.

I feel that if you are new to japanese literature and wants to try going into the genre without it being too heavy - I would definitely recommend this book. Not only that the proses are simple, I liked that the critics for the government and social class is subtly intertwined but it is prominent. And at the end of the day, since this story is based on true events and in par with our reality now - to make a change, there needs to be a resistance. The fight for human rights and equality is a never ending journey and this book will be one of the books that I will remember for a very very long time.

Highly recommended!

Personal Ratings : 4.5🌟

Thank you to Pansing for the gifted copy! I truly appreciate it.