“Is a good book always a good read?” Yes, why not? That is what I would expect from books. Why are we even asking this question? “… badly written sentences often obscure a strong voice.” Indeed, I do want to recognise the strong voice without having to try very hard to find it and I wish it had come through in this book. It was tiring waiting for something significant to happen. Yeong-ju is teary when she opens the bookshop. Then Yeong-ju is more settled when she finally decides on the bookshop. That was it! There is even an Author’s Note to tell us that this story is about “change”. I’m not sure why she felt she needed to tell us this – it was obvious that all the characters change in some way by the end of the story. I’m not sure why there is so much telling – rather than showing – in the book. I’m also not sure if this is because of the translation or if the original is...