even with nougat, you can have a perfect moment

I can't decide on a star rating for this. I loved Nao's segments so much - they were quirky in the best possible sense of the word. The tale of her losing and finding herself (and her family) will stay with me for a long time.

However, while I understand the function of the author self-insert chapters, I didn't think their execution was all that brilliant. It comes across as a self-indulgence on the part of Ozeki, when the same effect could have been created by a greatly reduced presence of the reader character in the book, as well as perhaps not having the reader and the author be the same person. I can see the argument that perhaps it is the author herself because she's examining the relationship between reader and writer - that is, while she's the reader in the novel and Nao is the writer, in "real" life she's the writer and you are the reader. I get that idea - but I don't think it made for particularly enjoyable or thought-provoking reading, as these sections were much less strong than the Nao sections; in particular, I could have done without all of the interjections from Oliver and the residents of the island because they strongly detracted from the narrative.

Definitely worth a read though! I really did enjoy most of my time with this book.