First thoughts: a sweet, kind of strange tale that made me want to visit Japan. I liked the setting and themes and supporting characters much more than the protagonist.Where I read: on the couch, in bed, instead of wasting time on the internet.This story made Japan more real to me as a place that I could see myself visiting. The "wherever you go, there you are" theme struck me, and I always like to see how others interpret it. This version adds in another layer with garbage/how you dispose of things working as a symbol for routine/structure/rules/putting "things" in their proper places.Favorite characters: Hiro and his shy yet direct way of communicating, Keiko for her genuine emotions.Recommended for: world travelers, people who are quick to run from problems, lovers and fighters.I connected with Marina, the protagonist, on some levels, but I also kind of hated her. She could be really dumb. And I spent most of the book not believing the relationship between her and Carolyn. It seemed too forced. The way both of their stories resolved at the end reinforced my disbelief.Final thoughts: If I had met this book at a different time in my life, I'm not sure if I would have finished it. I'm glad I found it when I did. I would read more by Watrous. I picked this book up mostly for its gorgeous cover and partly for its vaguely interesting synopsis. Fortunately, I enjoyed both! Marlena Watour's novel is about a freshly minted college grad named Marina and her first year as an English teacher in Japan. Marina chooses to become an exchange teacher for two main reasons: she wants to follow her girlfriend Carolyn and get away from her father's recent suicide. Now, I wanted to mention that a central point in this novel is "gomi" (garbage in Japanese). I saw that a few reviewers weren't big fans of this. However, when you're a foreigner in an unfamiliar country, you tend to subjectively fixate on the littlest things and build your narrative about that experience around those fixations. And for Watour's Marina, it was gomi and, personally, I thought that choice was especially conducive for her story. Plus, it isn't so much a fixation on garbage itself but rather on how carefully it is disposed of and how disposable much of everything is. Repeatedly, Marina's colleague refers to her life in Japan as "disposable," so the relationships she chooses to begin must be built carefully (kind of like how the gomi is sorted). And it's through this metaphor that the novel becomes something of a coming-of-age story for the 21st century, twenty-something stepping into a new culture. Other than that, this novel also lightly touches upon topics like queerness, intercultural dynamics, and gender roles in Japanese society. I only say that because I don't think this is the novel to read to gain unbiased and insightful knowledge on those topics (apart from the gomi, of course). Still, this novel was enjoyable and great read for a little afternoon (or anytime) in!
What do You think about If You Follow Me (2010)?
3.5, perhaps. an interesting story, but the tone veered into sentimentality far too often.
—1984jewel1984
