Hiromi Kawakami has written a tale of a common woman in the 21st century and cloaked in surrealism and magic. Riko married her childhood sweet heart and now years later finds herself in a souring relationship with infidelity thrown in. She runs into her old school Janitor Mr.Takaoka who gives her the power of living in a dream and so she finds herself live old interesting lives.

Pickled in Japanese culture, the author chooses two very different periods to be a woman in Japan. In the first part she lives the life of a high ranking courtesan in Edo period (guessing 17th century) with vivid imagery of the lifestyle. This part explores the physical intimacy and the role of a woman as an earning professional of the society and compares with the present. She finds love and heartbreak in this realm.

The next life in the dream is as a handmaid to a princess from Heian period of Japan - a very weird position, a ring side view into the life of a princess and a fabled husband who falls in love with another woman. The suggestions of interconnectedness are in your face and you wonder what the author hopes to cover. This part still holds the interest due to references to the oddities of the period.

As Riko ages, and so do her husband Nachaan, Mr.Takaoka and her son, she starts viewing her role differently and finds the third love. I did find the last parts of the second book go berserk very weird with Riko entering other women in throes of passion to find more about what it means to be a woman. She also compares the timelines often leading to probably romanticising of the past.

This is a decent book.

Thank you Netgalley for the ARC copy of the book

I really wanted to love this as I loved the author’s Strange Weather in Tokyo, but I am really sorry to say that this book wasn’t for me. It is easy to read, the writing flows nicely, but there was just a lot of talk about sex, unhappy marriage and infidelity. It wasn’t something I expected. As a result, I didn’t connect with the character and story at all.

I still like Kawakami’s minimalist writng style, so three stars from me!

With thanks to NetGalley who provided an advance copy for an honest review.

It is always difficult to judge a book that one hasn’t read in its original language -I don’t know how much has simply been lost in translation, but I can’t help but feel a real lack of depth throughout this novel. I was really attracted to the concept of travelling through different times, reflecting on love and relationships, and the influence of these on the MCs life.

Unfortunately, the execution leaves a lot lacking. The dream episodes/ other time periods frequently slip into what feels like historical academia, rather than personal stories (very descriptive/educational), and despite being narrated in first person I did not feel invested in any of the relationships. There is a lot of repetition, both of descriptions and of the MC ruminating the same thing over and over.

I also feel a bit icky about the obsession with (very) young girls forming relationships with much older men -this comes up in all the different time periods. This seems to be more of a thing that the author is into, rather than being relevant to the story itself.

Also -the blurb makes it seem like all three loves will be covered in the book; they’re not!

I did enjoy the reflections on life choices and the nature of love and marriage -perhaps because it reflects the time of life that I am currently in too.

2.5 stars rounded up to 3

I immediately got immersed in The Third Love. The concept was interesting and I found it to be very complex with all the jumps between dreams and reality and past and present. Sometimes I was confused as to why Shungetsu referred to herself in third person and another time as herself. Actually, a lot confused me ;)
The dreams were very informative on different eras of Japan, like Edu and Heian. I learned a lot from it, for example the differences in the gender norms and sexuality between a few hundreds years ago and today.
Around the middle, it tired me a little and there could have been a more thrilling story in the second dream.

3.5 ☆ stars

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC in exchange for an honest review :)

The Third Love follows Riko through her journey from child to a married adult. Her story is one about unfaithfulness and finding connections with other women throughout historical Japan.

I really enjoyed the historical aspect we see in Riko's dreams. Kawakami uses dreams as a way to process Riko's situation, as well as give a historical context to women's role in the marriage in Heian-, Edo-, and current day Japan.

I'm not a huge fan of the age gap situations in the book, but they don't feel very looming while reading. There were also times I got frustrated because Riko didn't do what I wanted her to, but both of those are personal complaints.

Overall, it was a good book I had fun reading, but it probably won't be a book that ends up becoming a part of me.

This was my first Japanese book ever and I'm glad it was because I learnt so much. The Yoshiwara system, Heian times, it was so educational for me,

This book reels you in from the very start which I really appreciated. It's been hard warming up to books lately and this was a refreshing read.

I felt so many emotions while reading this piece. From anger, disbelief, to understanding and even empathy. What I did like was how no character was exactly a villain. There was no malice in any of the relationships even though there was borderline resentment. Each person was painted as a person with strengths and weaknesses. Flaws that make them human so, whether you choose to love them inspite of that is up to you. Lord knows I wanted to punch Michiko Sensei and the Princess so bad but that's just me.

I'm not someone who reads fantasy. In fact, its one genre I don't enjoy but this changed that narrative. At first, I wondered if it was a mental illness like split personalities or something but it was just living via dreams. So I enjoyed that discovery.

The transition was beautiful. All the subplots of characters she lived as, the affairs, love, friendship...oh it was beautiful. Men in this book pissed me off a bit cause they were all so fickle. So easily tossed and thrown because of their emotions no matter how fleeting.

As for the end, it was glorious. It tied the book together so perfectly. Her self-actualization, discovery and just being able to breathe at the end. I especially how the love with Mr. Takaoka ended. No unnecessary sex sprinkled to make it adulterous - just pure love they know would come to an end. Also I like how Riko admitted that they were keeping parts of themselves hidden from each other. So acknowledging that she was only in love with his good side.

Not a fan of Naanchan at all so I refuse to comment on his character. It was an excellent piece of work. I am really looking forward to the debut.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for this eARC of 'The Third Love' by Hiromi Kawakami.

It's always hard to review translated novels because you feel like: Is it the novel? Or did I miss the nuance because this isn't in its original language?
'The Third Love' is what it says on the tin, it details a woman and her three lovers. Infidelity and flat characters, the book really is a marmite book that you'll either fall in love with and base your whole personality on it or you will just never want to read it again. I learn towards the never read it again.

The novel centres around Riko, a contemporary Japanese woman who is obsessed by an older male friend from a very young age and eventually marries him. Another key character is the school janitor, whom she befriends and who joins her story at various times in her life.

At heart this is an exploration of love and how notions and types of love change through the ages and through an individual life. Riko is completely in love with her husband, even when she finds he has numerous affairs, but she begins to have dream lives which are as vivid if not more vivid than her 21st century reality. Living these different lives and from different viewpoints allows her to see that there are many different ways of loving in part dependent on current social mores and the roles women play at any particular time in Japanese society. The school janitor, who appears as a devout Buddhist monk at one point, is a significant figure - albeit in different guises - within these dream lives, as are men who resemble her charismatic but unfaithful husband.

The narrative carried me along and it was fascinating to learn about the different ways in which women have lived in Japan. But although some female character did have affairs themselves they are essentially passive characters, submissive to men in many ways even when having an apparent degree of freedom, which Riko celebrates. This made it a frustrating read in many ways. But did welcome being able to learn more about Japanese society.

Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for a review copy.

this book explores the 3 main loves of a woman’s life.

her marriage is filled with infidelity and mistrust so she develops a friends up with another man. whilst finding comfort in learning about japanese history.

this story is filled with a woman not coping in her marriage, so she learns to dissociate through it in her dreams, which connect to historical figures.

although the writing is beautiful, the main characters dreams fell flat to me. the constant mention of infidelity, on both sides of the marriage, is hard to read about too.