I think I'm missing some cultural context that would've made this review higher, but that being said the main topics addressed are homelessness and family tragedy which are, unfortunately, universal, so I do still consider it worth a read whether or not you live in or grew up in Japan. Overall I do feel like maybe I missed or didn't understand some of the motivations for decisions of the characters and also the ending in general (largely, I think, because this is a translated work writing in depth from a cultural perspective that I have no familiarity with). What really drew me into this book in the end was the use of non linear storytelling. I think it does a really good job of leaving the reader wondering at points if the narrator is "invisible" because he is dead and a ghost or because he is alive and homeless. The sections of the narrator observing other people as they go about their days as an unobtrusive observer are the parts that ended up interesting me the most, but every section/time period was fascinating to read in different ways.