Fault Lines

This was such a unique book. I feel like I got a brief glimpse into Mizuki’s life. But it’s such an honor to see into that life.

Perhaps I feel that I can relate to Mizuki being that I’m also a “stay at home” parent. It’s a on-going inner battle within yourself. Some days I feel exhausted. Just the unbelievable feeling that I’m doing the same things again and again. I pick up the same toys multiple times a day. I do the dishes and the laundry and keep the house running – trying to keep things tidy more for my own sense of inner order than anything else. And it’s just so mundane sometimes. Throw in a pandemic and you really start to pull your hair out. I’m trying to teach my 4.5 year old how to write and basic math and I feel fully ill-equipped to become a preschool teacher to my own children.

I digress. So, Mizuki and her struggle over her purpose? I’m there, I feel her. I felt seen. The tug-of-war between wanting to be the perfect mother and not wanting to do it all is always present. Some days it’s harder than others. Add to that a marriage marred by disinterest and work addiction and you’ve got yourself quite the situation.

I can’t express how much I loved the ending to this novel. I don’t know it felt like such a sweet honor to glimpse into this time in her life. A time when she was remembering herself and her interests. A time when she allowed herself to have fun again; to care for her children but also grant herself permission to be Mizuki. It’s a story about her finding herself again. And I’m here for it.

I’d regret giving too much away, especially about the ending of this book, but I felt like Mizuki’s choices and the values she holds resonated with me. The act of parenthood is simultaneously selfish and selfless and that is so evident within Emily Itami’s book.

Happy Reading!
-Angela
@book.addicts.anonymous (Instagram)
https://www.goodreads.com/aaangelaaa (goodreads)