This is a book that doesn't seem to know what it wants to be. It's subtitled 'A Zen Novel', but the section of the protagonist's training as a Zen monk is a relatively small one. I've also seen it described as an LGBTQ+ novel (the protagonist is gay and in a loving relationship for a large part of the story), but then in the afterword by the author it is explained as being a story about the paternity of his aunt. And the whole story itself is written as an explanation from a father to a daughter he has never met - and probably never will. I may try to read it again to see if it becomes more focussed on re-reading, as it does have some interesting viewpoints on Japanese history in it's story line.