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90% angsty stream of consciousness
I was excited for a thoughtful exploration of the value of a single day of life. I was looking forward to satisfying character growth as the main character saw the implications of his choices unfold for the rest of the world. But I was disappointed.
Probably 90% of this book consists of the main character just thinking. Lots of philosophizing, some narrative as he recalls past events. If you're hearing this much of someone's thoughts, you want to like them or at least find them interesting. Unfortunately, I didn't find the main character very likeable. He seems pretty self-centered and emotionally unintelligent, and his philosophical rambles don't strike me as being as deep as he thinks they are. There's a little bit of character growth, but by the end of the book he's about where I expected him to be in the beginning.
In terms of language learning, there are a handful of difficult kanji used and a teensy bit of samurai-speak, but in general the vocabulary seems fairly common. I definitely picked up a few useful idioms and expressions while reading.