Beautiful writing as Tsukiyama always does. A strong storyline and it does intertwine to your heart. Very strong and rich Japanese background, the Sumo and Noh theatre mask makers, which are very foreign to the outside world. Tsukiyama obviously did alot of research on these culture. One thing I found interesting is the trauma that WWII brought to Japan. And in the book, Tsukiyama said that she did want her readers to know the trauma brought by WWII into Japan. This challenged me when I read this book, as we always thought how evil the Japanese were at that time, and we totally overlooked their suffering in their very own soil. Overall, I do think that this is a book worth to wait for that long...

This movie shocked me; the book has done the same to me but from another angle. I guess, everyone of us has a little 'Christopher McCandless' in us. I can say for myself, I have one in me. But it's about whether we let it go to do something extraordinary. Christopher had that guts! I believe that his action has already caused a big conflicts of points of view... some see him brave and courage, some thinks that he was just stupid and not prepared. In the midst of all these debate, I want to know is it our place to judge his action? What sadden my heart the most is, when he truly understood what happiness was all about; it had become too late. He hadn't really tasted this new found happiness in his life time.
This book does have more details that the movie couldn't manage to tell. I'm pleased though the movie actually has done a good job in illustrate the book so well.