this book is something that really shows specific aspects of the Japanese culture, both negative and positive ones.

there are the negative ones, clearly shown and mentioned quite a few times in the book: 
- that a neurodiverse person is being told to finally “be normal”, “be cured” as if her difference of how she sees the world compared to others is bad or sick and needs to be changed instead of accepted. 
- that women are very much still seen as “wives” of others and that if you are not interested in marriage or over a specific age, seen as old and strange as a woman. there is such a huge empathize on marriage as if that would fix any and all problems. 
- women are very much looked down upon in the way that they are expected to be all kinds of things, but also seen as having it so easy and as if nobody expect anything no from them (expect that they want them to find a husband and produce children, take care of the house and food and everything else that needs to be done)

the positive: 
- it shows the love for jobs that others (even in this book) look down on and see was a stepping stone or a punishment rather than a fulfillment. that nobody wants to understand how a person can just be happy working their  entire life in a store and not finding a different job that is seen was something more worthy by others. 
- it shows a woman that tried her entire life to fit in, find her place, make everyone happy and fill that role that everyone else wants her to be, while never feeling like herself or as if she fits because the world around her makes no sense to her. 
that there are people that want a manual for the world. that sometimes people want clear instructions of what’s okay, allowed and wish and what’s not. 
it was very nice to see that.

i really liked how this book ended too. 

i really enjoyed this. 
it’s a bit strangely written -it’s not a story for everyone. 

but if you like the first page? this book is for you. 

if you don’t like the first page? move on. the entire book is written like that.