Negative Positive
Title: editing needed
Review: My main impression of this book is that it would have made an excellent (long) magazine article or series. It seriously needed some editing to hit the highlights instead of going on and on with details. For instance, the whole storyline of the trees being razed for a parking lot, and the way the author could never fully understand it, was quite tedious. That being said, I did read an advance copy of the book, so it may have improved before publication. (I still think it would have been better as an article)This book does provide a great peek into an ordinary life, and I've come away with a different view of certain aspects of Japan. I was surprised to learn of how the teenagers fight with their parents, and dismayed to see how much time the Japanese man spends at work instead of with his family (or anything else, for that matter).
Is the review positive or negative? 