title: Intimacies by: Kitamura, Katie published: 2021-07-20 read: 2021-09 preview

The book is a relatively simple story about a, perhaps, 30-ish woman who got a job offer as French translator in the international court in Den Haag. She accepts, moving there from New York (which her mother just left for Singapore) to accept her one-year appointment.

The reader learns a few idiosyncrasies of the court, as well as of the translator’s job there, as she moves between less and more high-profile cases. And interacts with several, rather shallow, relationships or friendships with several locals.

The book itself I found rather shallow. The title baffles, as there seem not to be many intimacies. The protagonist’s relationship with a married man, who’s in separation, is cold and confusing – also for her – and her there-partner’s character does not develop in the story. Just like the female friend she has earlier in the book, who slowly disappears.

The quietness of the novel can be enjoyed. Still, I failed to understand the depth.