I have read almost all of Hiromi Kawakami books and some of them are not it for me, this one was quite enjoyable and I would probably re read it at some point.
Thank you to Netgalley for an arc in exchange for an honest review.

first love - toxic
second love - inappropriate
third love - unknown

Everything women were fighting decades to be acknowledged, independent, valued is in this book erased and set back in “medieval time”, where it’s completely normal that husbands have mistresses (because this is in their nature), that old men have relationships with young girls and daydreaming about unconditional love is healthy and existing.

I mean, what just happened here?

Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC!

I find Hiromi Kawakami a bit of a hit or miss author, and this was leaning towards the miss side unfortunately.

This story was a tad too long, and I found the story a bit muddled in place. I do love how this looks deeper into relationships, the writing is also beautiful.

A mixed bag for me!

An unusual novel of a woman who dreams to escape the mundane modern day life she lives with a 'cheating' husband and childhood sweetheart Naa-chan and has a chance re-encounter with her former elementary school janitor Mr Takoaka who opens a realm of dreams or re-birth memories through history that all seem to entwine with the 'tales of ise'. The various dream eras seem to coincide with Riko's unhappiness and love-hatred of her husband and her roles a housewife and mother.

Very different from Kawakami's other works, as the novel I feel tackles darker topics of love-hate.

I really loved the idea of this book - a woman seeking solace from her cheating husband by hiding away in her dreams, but sadly it didn't quite deliver. Initially the writing was beautiful, haunting and felt right, but then it went off the deep end and began to make no sense at all. I tried to read it a few times and just couldn't make sense of it. Maybe it's me? I don't know, but sadly I was very underwhelmed.

This was quite surreal. The book follows one woman and the people she has loved throughout her life - and other dreamed loves throughout history. It takes its time, and gives you a lot to think about on the themes of love, desire and gender equality (or lack of).

This should have been 50 pages shorter because the last third was boring and overly repetitive. The concept of the novel itself was well executed in my opinion and I'm really interested by this author's other novel now.

The concept and presentation of the book's story are quite new to me, but I liked it. I liked the parts of the book set in the Edo and Heian period. The description of the era was intricate and transported in the time and period. I struggled a bit with the subject of cheating, but I understand that it was a vital part of the book.

This book follows Riko, a loner from childhood who finds it hard to form relationships. She meets and marries her husband, a philanderer that leaves her broken hearted. To escape her lonely life, she begins to have vivid dreams. I found this book meandering and could not figure out why although desperately sad Riko was unable to leave her husband. Overall, an interesting look into relationship dynamics in different eras in Japan and would recommend to readers who would like to learn more about that topic. The translation by Ted Goossen was good.

Disclaimer: I received this ARC from NetGalley and Granta Publications in exchange for a free and honest review.

I was truly hoping to enjoy this book, but it felt like I encountered two completely different stories. The first half was beautifully written, delving into fantasies and love. However, the writing quality seemed to decline in the second half, leaving me feeling like the book didn't offer any significant takeaway.

I wasn’t a huge fan of this. I didn’t connect with the characters and the writing didn’t grab me at all so I found it difficult to follow the plot along. I liked that it focused a lot on Buddhism and the points it made about love but I found the book a bit of a slog to get through and I didn’t finish it feeling like I would read it again

This translation does A LOT. Riko is stagnant in her relationship and offered escape from the everyday through her dreams. She travels all across history exploring the past, whilst also herself and new friends and lovers along the way. While this is a gorgeous concept, it is slightly confusing at times; the flip between dream and reality is often paragraph to paragraph, with little to no explanation and the reader is left to figure out which version of Kiko they are reading about. However, it is also a tender story of love which perseveres through ages, places and remains despite the toughest of odds.

The Third Love is my favourite Hiromi Kawakami yet. The concept of being able to live through historical lives, transported in your dreams is so interesting and I thought the execution was excellent. I enjoyed learning the historical context of the Edo period, even if the setting was more of a backdrop for the emotions of the characters.

I loved this author's perspective on how infidelity can be so tough on a woman's mind.
The protagonist, Riko, finds out her husband has been unfaithful to her. By chance she runs into an old friend that shows her how to love inside her dreams. This becomes her escape and she lives different lives.
There's a lot about Japanese culture and tradition from the Heian period and the Edo period which was quite fascinating.
The writing was a bit slow so this one might not be for everyone.

An interesting exploration of the experiences of women throughout different historical periods of Japan and on the Buddhist ideas of rebirth and connection. I enjoyed the use of dreams in this book, which combined with the matter of fact writing style did help to create that unquestioned logic of dreams, which cease to make sense once you step back. However, I am not sure if it is the translation or if the same is true of the original, but the writing for the most part felt fairly bland, and while the sex workers in Edo Japan felt well realised, the older time period felt like it was coming from a text book written for children, and did not have much emotional impact. This coupled with info dumps from our dreamer's research made the whole book hang awkwardly, and so it was not the most pleasent read.

I loved this story of Riko and the use of her dreams to escape an unfulfilling marriage to her first love who is constantly unfaithful. It is a mix of magical realism and historical fiction taking us through the different Japanese eras. Perfect read to escape reality and I look forward to reading more from Kawakami.

I greatly admired 'Strange Weather in Tokyo' by Hiromi Kawakami but found 'The Third Love' somehow less satisfying. The exploration of historical periods through prior incarnations / dream-like sequences, a little reminiscent of Mishima's 'The Sea of Fertility', lacks the same depth. Nonetheless, Kawakami's ambition in chronicling the evolution of love and the place of women in society in Japan across time make this well worth reading. Her writing frequently shines, even if the novel overall does not fully coalesce. Special thank you to Granta Publications and NetGalley for a no obligation advance review digital copy.

I wanted to like this. But it starts slow, and never quite caught my interest. The falling and being in love is well written, but i struggled to finished the novel.

Surreal, dreamy, flighty... It's hard to hold this story in your hands. It feels ethereal somehow. I struggled to connect very strongly to the protagonist but it didn't dampen my enjoyment, not take away the spell of Kawakami's striking cast of characters. A great escapist read.

Riko is a strange child or, perhaps, it is Japanese culture which is strange. She meets her husband to be, Naa-Chan, when she is a toddler, her best friend in school is a caretaker, Mr Takaoka, and she has an odd relationship with her koto tutor, Michiko Sensei. Otherwise, she grows up as an isolated, rather solitary person.

That is until she starts to dream, and her dreams become more and more absorbing as they occupy a greater importance than waking life. This first dream is set in the Edo period of Japanese history and Riko is sold into the sex trade to be trained as a courtesan. Her dream explores this life and the separation of sexual desire and marital relationships. At the same time she is becoming aware that Naa-Chan is pursuing other women in her wakeful life and the book explores how that feels.

Then, there’s an interlude in real life where she has a child and then her dreams take her into the Heian period where she’s the lady in waiting to a princess. The dreams follow the princess’s courtship and marriage and Riko’s relationships in a world where both men and women transact sexual relationships on the simple basis of mutual desire.

All of her dreams are vaguely connected by the Tales of Ise, a classic of Japanese literature and, somehow, her dream worlds and her relationship with the caretaker echo elements of the stories in that work of literature in the context of her own life.

It sounds more complicated than it is, and it reads quite naturally but you can soon identify recurring characters and ideas. However, in many ways this is simply a vehicle for the discussion, within Riko’s character, of modern Japanese attitudes to sex, desire and fidelity and from where these have originated. It is fair to say that the Western courtly love tradition does not always come out on top, as it were!

It’s an excellent read, translated with a light touch, and employing a relaxed style which makes Riko emerge as a genuine and likeable character. It might make you think about your own relationships as well!