Bullet Train

If you have knowledge of Japanese culture and literature, this is probably an enjoyable book. Unfortunately, I am not all too familiar with these things and found myself lost throughout most of the story.

The plot itself is fairly simple — five assassins on a train and a briefcase. I really couldn't tell you much more than that. The characters all blended together for me and I could never remember who was who (and I wasn't invested enough to put a great effort into doing so).

I got more of a heist vibe from this story than a thriller. I think I would have enjoyed the book a lot more if I was better acquainted with Japanese literature. It felt slow yet hectic which was an odd combination, and the names were confusing to me as well. Definitely a situation where the problem is my personal preference rather than the book itself (although I have nothing to compare it to in this genre). If not for this being a book club read, I wouldn't have bothered to finish it.