I don't know if something got lost in translation or what, but this should have been a book I loved. The story takes place during the pandemic in 2020. Just a note, I have no issues reading about COVID, and I've seen other reviewers describe this as strange or odd, and I have to agree. Tae is a school teacher in her 40s, and Shinobul is a handyman in his mid-30s, and they share a home during the isolation of the pandemic. During their stay, the entire community that they live in is angry, hostile and distrustful of everyone they don't know.

I think the author was going for the emotional side of things, but it fell short for me, and this was a missed opportunity to explore the power of connection during a difficult and scary time. The premise was a good one, and Kimura tries to show loneliness in a new light and how past mistakes haunt us. But it felt one-dimensional and superficial to me. I am trying to explain things as best I can without spoilers. Let me say it didn't seem enlightening or new. The pacing was a bit slow, and the story was drawn out on the smaller details that added nothing to the plot or moved the story forward. And then some parts felt rushed, so the emotional impact couldn't be felt.

Overall, the book tries to tug at the heartstrings and fails. It felt too forced to me. If you're looking for a truly profound story about the human condition (and connection), this one may leave you wanting more, as it did me. This just proves that a good premise isn't enough to pack an emotional punch. (Then again, it may be my small, cold robot heart.)

What a strange claustrophobic little novel. It did remind me about the pandemic, especially how psychologically tough it can be to be closed in a certain space and not have an opportunity to leave the house. The beginning is slow and the writing is simple and not overly complicated, but the plot is a little bit hard to get into. The characters are both quite unsuccessful outcasts and are accused of another person's death, but are they also victims of society? I found this book to be interesting in the way how the author explores paranoia and blame culture in small societies. The characters are complex and multilayered, and their trauma bonding was explained well. However, I couldn't make myself care about them. I feel like it's my type of book, but I just wasn't as invested as I would like to be. 

Thank you to Pushkin Press and NetGalley for providing this ARC. All opinions are my own.

3.5 stars

This novella was a quick read but it stuck with me long after I read the final sentence. Tae (teacher) and Shinobu (the security guard) form an unlikely bond through unconventional circumstances.

I felt a little sympathy for both characters because they are both seen as social outcasts, even with their questionable pasts. And returning home after not living up to what you hoped for in your future can be devastating mentally. This is not a feel-good story by any means.

Kimura’s writing is subtle, the story is simple to read but there’s the immediate sensation that something is not right and you don’t know what’s going to happen next.

Thank you netgalley and pushkinpress for the early copy!

I found this book to be an interesting story highlighting the need for human connection and the lengths individuals will go to feel less alone.
This was a thoughtful story with a melancholy theme throughout.
The ending left me wanting a little more, but I’m torn between it being due to the particular genre or the author’s style. I always appreciate exposing myself to works from other cultures as there is such a different style and much that can be appreciated from it.

It’s short enough that I would recommend to those curious about this piece. Especially for those who loved Before the Coffee gets Cold.

Thank you NetGalley for providing an advanced copy of this work in exchange for an honest review.

This was such a poignant read as we revert our minds back to this period of time and see how relationships developed between strangers that explores their haunted pasts and a unusual connection.

Thanks to NetGalley and Pushkin Press for the eARC.

This novella proves that it does not matter the length of the story if the author can pack a punch that will stick with you. The COVID-19 pandemic was so harrowing and this book really captured its essence.

I thank NetGalley, the author and the publisher for this ARC.
It is a haunting exploration of isolation, guilt, and human connection during the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic.
This short little story stays with you in unexpected ways. It is set in a remote Japanese village during the pandemic, with two strangers each carrying their own emotional baggage and end up sharing a house. The story is slow and sedate.

Kumi Kimura's writing style is subtle and atmospheric and captures a lot of emotions but the story is difficult to root for. This is a very straight laced story of emotions and nothing overly dramatic. about the quiet in-between spaces.

In a time of unthinkable social change and amid the claustrophobic early restrictions of the COVID pandemic in 2020, two troubled individuals find themselves in the unlikely position of sharing their lives at close quarters.

Tae and Shinobu seem to have little in common terms of age, career background, and social connections, but they both feel like outsiders in a small town having relocated from Tokyo, and each is hiding a shameful secret.

This Japanese novella packs a punch relative to its short length, and puts the pandemic and its many (non health-related) victims at the centre of its story telling. It gets 3.5 stars.

I seem to have been reading a slew of pandemic novels lately; some where it's incidental and others where it's central to the plot. This Japanese literary novella is definitely the latter, but it gave me something quite different to reflect on.

The two main characters, Tae a middle-aged former teacher and Shinobu a younger handyman, seem very different at first. But as we slowly get to know them we realise they have more in common than meets the eye. Both have moved away from Tokyo back to the smaller places where their families come from, and yet both are viewed with suspicion and treated as outsiders. They also each hide a big, dark secret that conflicts them, causing them feelings of shame/guilt and insecurity. Tae first meets Shinobu when she hires him for a simple plumbing job. Then when she becomes paranoid about someone lurking around her property, she hires him again to search and secure the yard.

He doesn't mind because he has literally nothing else going on, and it gets him away from his brother's house where he is barely tolerated and is expected to live in a storage shed. Eventually Tae's needs escalate to the point where Shinobu is invited to stay overnight, which turns into several nights, then a kind of ongoing informal arrangement. But because it's the early stages of the pandemic, there's a lot of suspicion of outsiders and elaborate disinfection rituals that need to occur. This odd couple resorts to communicating through doors and via notes, and even by the ringing of bells when even simple words are too much effort.

I was completely absorbed in this story and read it over just 2 days. The thing that I found set it apart from other Covid stories was the small(er) town Japanese perspective of shame associated with infection. There might have been a little bit of that where I live in the very early days, but not to the point of avoiding testing or treatment. It was eye-opening.

This novella is a surreal journey back to the pandemic. Two lonely characters intersect accidentally, but become too involved in each other's lives. Nonetheless, their loneliness is unabated, as the secrets in their past keep them trapped. Reading this novel took me so vividly back five years, and I think this author has written my favourite representation of that time, when life seemed dreamlike and fear lived around every corner. I'm not sure if that memory is a good thing, but it's an impressive authorial feat. Thank you NetGalley for this review copy.

A tense, mysterious and strange book, reflecting on isolation within the covid pandemic, as an unlikely pair are brought together. Someone to Watch Over You wasn’t what I was expecting, but I found it very intriguing, with an interesting narrative which showed the effects of guilt.

Both characters are blamed for causing accidental deaths, which leaves them isolated from family and friends—an isolation which is exacerbated by the pandemic. It’s a claustrophobic and disturbing novel, with the two characters haunted by their pasts and struggling to keep going in a virus-stricken world.

It was a little bit confusing at times, but overall I found it a compelling and thought-provoking read.

Thank you to Pushkin Press for the NetGalley arc.

I quite liked the last one third of the book where the two main characters actually had any interactions.
The beginning was slow and murky, and I was wondering for a long time if this is going anywhere at all. I find the story somewhat incomplete and pointless, yet I couldn't leave it unfinished.

This was a short read, so I don't have many things to say about it. I kind of enjoyed it, but it was also too short for my liking. My biggest impression was that it captured the loneliness and the paranoia resulting from Covid really well.

At what point do we draw the line between keeping ourselves safe and being compassionate towards those in need? Early in the story, we learnt that Tae's neighbour, who had just moved in to the area, was rejected by the community and ended up dying alone. Now I don't know how things were in Japan when the pandemic started, but there was a scene later on where Tae accidentally trespassed someone's property and she was physically assaulted for it. Like, okay? I get the paranoia, but as someone who has also lived through the pandemic, I felt that was rather extreme and strange.

But then again, this story left me with more questions than answer, so 'strange' is probably how I'd describe it.

Oh, by the way, if you're hoping that some sort of relationship develops between Tae and Shinobu, forget it. These two were ridiculously effective in keeping away from and avoiding one another, despite staying together under the same roof. I can almost admire that kind of dedication.

Do I recommend this? If you want an exploration of how people react in times of fear and paranoia, or the alienation and isolation during Covid, then try this. However, if you're the kind who needs stories to be 'complete', then you'll find this to be unsatisfactory.

Slice of life thriller I really enjoyed. Sad but well written, and a little odd in places in the best way

This was a strange book but I liked what it had to say about relationships and paranoia. The main woman in this refused to show kindness to one of her neighbours before he died and now she is being accused of being the cause of his death. She goes increasingly mad without realising it and forms a strange bond with another man who has been accused of murder. I thought the writing was really direct and it was a quick read, I didn’t blow me away but I liked how it explored the toxicity of communities and feeling uncanny inside your own home.

A GR friend told me that this was a bit of a odd story, and indeed it was. It's a story set in the pandemic in Japan, about two individuals, a middle aged schoolteacher living alone in her inherited house, and an out-of-work and homeless handyman, as they decide to share the home. Both individuals are seemingly outcasts in Japanese society - they have both tried and failed at making it in big city Tokyo, and they both have "blemishes" on their pasts, having been accused of causing another person's death. Complete garbage, actually, as we learn the true nature of the events, but these two people are haunted by these events. The school teacher's house and car are graffitied, and the handyman's own young niece is blackmailing him for money. More than anything, I think, the story critiques the culture and society of modern Japan, the judgmental attitudes of neighbors that exclude those who don't fit in. It's a sad story, but quite compelling written. I'm glad to have found it.

I had a hard time reading this, formatting wise, and with the translation as well, it was nearly impossible to get into it.

This book has an unsettling atmosphere yet somehow I'm finding it hard to put down. Talking about human connection in the face of pandemic. It's a comfort to have someone's presence near you and watch over you. Pretty entertaining read!

“Someone to Watch Over You” by Kumi Kimura is a cozy, quietly atmospheric read. It has this calming vibe that’s perfect for when you’re in the mood for something subtle and mysterious. The story moves at a slower pace, which I actually kind of liked, but it doesn’t really have any big surprises or moments that stand out. It’s not exceptional, but it’s still a peaceful, enjoyable read if you’re into quieter, more reflective books.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC. All thoughts and opinions expressed are my own.

It’s a gripping piece, a menacing variation on a slice-of-life story that sometimes reads like an off-kilter thriller. Kimura consciously builds on real-life incidents: her own past protesting military installations; a news piece about a man who mysteriously burned to death in early 2020. But her focus is very much on atmosphere and states of mind, as well as constructing a portrait of Japan as challenging and essentially alienating. A place comprised of tight-knit, judgemental communities, riddled with rigid conventions, a space where it’s relatively easy for anyone who doesn’t quite conform to be relegated to the periphery.