[DeepL Translation - needs review] The encounter with the Third Kitchen, a student cafeteria run by a diverse group of students, saved 19-year-old Naomi from her solitary life in the United States. ...... This coming-of-age novel is sure to bring tears of empathy as she grows up with the support of her friends!
(Translator: DeepL)
At the top level, a book based on a year in the life of Naomi, a 留学生 in 1998 America.
Starting with frustrations of language/culture barriers, isolation, but unfolding into the community life of college.
But in the background, there's also themes of discrimination, prejudice, and how to treat people, that flows throughout.
The start of the book is a bit glum, and feels a bit like the book could unfold as a simple coming-of-age book. However, it does develop into a nuanced story, touching Japan-Korean relations to the Iraq war.
Langauge wise:
There's a lot of familiar topics, given it's mostly daily America college life. However, the is also a reasonable amount of debates around discrimination, and a couple of harder sections on the Iraq War and newspaper clippings.