Although the story and style grabbed me from the beginning, I started the book a little slow. I think I was not in the right mindset - I was reading it through the lenses of my current reality, and I couldn't help to consider some of the comments on one of the characters (Eriko, a transgender woman who takes the protagonist under her wing when her grandmother dies) to be insensitive.

After taking a step back and reminding myself of the context in which it was written (1988, a time when people called each other from phone booths and not cellphones), I managed to take a step back and see that this is a forward-looking book for its time, including in how it deals with a variety of gender-related issues.

Short, heartbreaking, hopeful, and romantic. Great little read.