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Yuki Chan in Brontë Country
The new novel from Mick Jackson, Booker Prize - shortlisted author of The Underground Man and Ten Sorry Tales 'They both stop and stare for a moment. Yuki feels she's spent about half her adult life thinking about snow, but when it starts, even now, it's always arresting, bewildering. Each snowflake skating along some invisible plane. Always circuitous, as if looking for the best place to land...' Yukiko tragically lost her mother ten years ago. After visiting her sister in London, she goes on the run, and heads for Haworth, West Yorkshire, the last place her mother visited before her death. Against a cold, winter, Yorkshire landscape, Yuki has to tackle the mystery of her mother's death, her burgeoning friendship with a local girl, the allure of the Brontes and her own sister's wrath.
240 pages, Hardcover
First published April 12, 2016
9 people are currently reading
686 people want to read
About the author
Mick Jackson
32 books72 followersMick Jackson (born 1960) is a British writer from England, best known for his novel The Underground Man (1997). The book, based on the life of William Cavendish-Scott-Bentinck, 5th Duke of Portland, was shortlisted for the Man Booker Prize and for the 1997 Whitbread Award for best first novel.
Mick Jackson was born in 1960, in Great Harwood, Lancashire, and educated at Queen Elizabeth's Grammar School, Blackburn.
Jackson worked in local theatre, studied theatre arts at Dartington College of Arts, and played in a rock band called The Screaming Abdabs. In 1990, he enrolled in a creative writing course at the University of East Anglia, and began working on The Underground Man. He has been a full-time writer since 1995.
Jackson's other works are the novels Five Boys (2002) and The Widow's Tale (2010), and the short story collections Ten Sorry Tales (2006) and The Bears of England (2009). Under the pseudonym Kirkham Jackson, he wrote the screenplay for the 2004 television film Roman Road. He lives in Brighton.
Mick Jackson was born in 1960, in Great Harwood, Lancashire, and educated at Queen Elizabeth's Grammar School, Blackburn.
Jackson worked in local theatre, studied theatre arts at Dartington College of Arts, and played in a rock band called The Screaming Abdabs. In 1990, he enrolled in a creative writing course at the University of East Anglia, and began working on The Underground Man. He has been a full-time writer since 1995.
Jackson's other works are the novels Five Boys (2002) and The Widow's Tale (2010), and the short story collections Ten Sorry Tales (2006) and The Bears of England (2009). Under the pseudonym Kirkham Jackson, he wrote the screenplay for the 2004 television film Roman Road. He lives in Brighton.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 72 reviews
February 18, 2016
I got suckered into trying this small book by the Brontë connection mentioned in the title.
Literally within the first few pages there were three basic errors about the Brontë family -
There were FIVE daughters, not three
They did NOT die 'when they were barely out of school'. The first two died when schoolchildren, Anne died aged 29, Emily at 30 and Charlotte at 38.
The dress that Patrick Brontë cut up belonged to his WIFE, not his daughter.
Maybe I sound pedantic, but if you are going to write a book based around one of the most famous literary families ever, do at least get your facts right.
The errors were bad enough, but the childish writing was awful. Surely this was written for a teenage reading audience?
I hate giving a book a one star review but this one pushed me too far. Abandoned before my blood pressure got any higher.
Literally within the first few pages there were three basic errors about the Brontë family -
There were FIVE daughters, not three
They did NOT die 'when they were barely out of school'. The first two died when schoolchildren, Anne died aged 29, Emily at 30 and Charlotte at 38.
The dress that Patrick Brontë cut up belonged to his WIFE, not his daughter.
Maybe I sound pedantic, but if you are going to write a book based around one of the most famous literary families ever, do at least get your facts right.
The errors were bad enough, but the childish writing was awful. Surely this was written for a teenage reading audience?
I hate giving a book a one star review but this one pushed me too far. Abandoned before my blood pressure got any higher.
February 8, 2016
(DNF @ 26%) The premise for this one – young Japanese woman visits the Brontë sites in Yorkshire as a way of reconnecting with her departed mother – sounded so interesting, but the third-person narration is very flat and detached. It makes Yuki and all the other characters seem like stereotypes: the fashion-obsessed Asian girl, the horde of Japanese tourists. I also noticed that far too many sentences and paragraphs start with “She.” I couldn’t be bothered to see how it would turn out.
June 5, 2017
How can one decide to write a book of this sort, about a Japanese girl's discovery of Haworth and the magic of the Brontes, and make it so boring? Mick Jackson has definitely achieved just this. The novel had so much promise which it didn't live up to. I wasn't at all interested in Yuki as a character, as Jackson's depiction of her made her come across as somewhat of a dullard. Highly disappointing.
June 3, 2017
I'm a Mick Jackson fan as well as a Bronte fan so reading this novel was doubly satisfying. This quirky novel follows Yuki Chan to Haworth, home of the Bronte sisters where she tries to solve the how and why of her mother's death ten years earlier. It's a charming story about grief, love, and friendship and the realization that no matter how close we are to another person there always remains that aura of mystery about their lives that we will never decipher. Beautiful, absolutely beautiful.
April 5, 2016
Yuki Chan in Bronte Country is a small and tender book. I think Mick Jackson, the author, took several risks to write the story of Yukiko and her strange and haunting search for her mother in England’s Brontë country. After all, the standard advice is “write what you know.” What does Jackson, a middle-aged white man from England know about being a young woman from Japan who is just out of school?
Quite a bit if you stop thinking about “what you know” as a set of characteristics, landmarks and skills and instead remember that “what you know” can be the emotions of loss, grief, confusion, and longing. Yuki has come to Brontë country to understand her mother better, to find a way to deal with her loss and understand her past. Jackson does not have to be who he writes, he only has to understand his character’s heart and he surely does that.
I have a strong preference for books that do not lay everything out for the reader, the books that make us work, to understand and contextualize the story. For that reason, I enjoyed Yuki Chan in Brontë Country very much. If you want a linear, coherent narrative that feeds you everything in consecutive, easily digested morsels, you will probably dislike this book very much.
Yuki thinks of herself a “psychic detective” on the trail of her mother who died ten years ago. Haworth was the last place her mother visited. Her explorations are guided by five photos her mother took while she was there. The narrative is a bit like the playfield of a pinball machine, with Yukiko banking off the places in the photos like a ball off the bumpers, rails and flippers of the game. Sometimes we drop with her into a kickout hole of memory, a visit to a library to look at “spirit photographs” that fascinated her late mother or into another little hole while she wonders about the mystery and science of snow crystals. It’s all to advance the story, to draw together the haunting elements of mourning, but while we sit there with her in that hole, waiting to pop back into the narrative, we can perhaps fall out of the story. It did make it easy to put down, but also easy to pick right back up and get back in.
Her initial exploration, including a bit of trespass, are witnessed by Denny, a strange and mysterious young local girl from Haworth who makes it possible for Yuki to see all the places her mother saw. Yuki, and probably most readers, wonders why Denny befriends her, though perhaps she is just a kind, open-hearted young woman who is excited to know someone who is not from around here. Didn’t we all want to be friends with the foreign exchange student?
I enjoyed Yuki Chan in Brontë Country and I think perhaps more than most people might. In the course of a day, my mind may jump from thinking about Antarctic exploration, the poetry of Gabriela Mistral, cats and their inscrutable ways, the finer points of grapefruit and how many ways I can use vagile in a sentence. And actually, that’s just from the last few hours and does not count the topics kicked off by Yukio’s active mind. While I think the psychic visions and spirit photos are bunkum and have no belief in communication with spirits whether it’s with Ouija or Kokkuri-San, I enjoyed he meandering ways of Yuki’s mind, her funny ideas of futuristic circling cafes, her fascination for snow crystals, her open curiosity about the world.
I liked her quite a lot in if she is overly fond of hoodoo. I liked the way we slowly understood the truth about her mother, piece by piece and bit by bit and how, in the end, our questions were answered. I liked that this is a fresh and different story, unlike any other. I liked its discipline and brevity. Yuki’s mind meandered and wandered all over, but always to a purpose however oblique in the moment. Mostly, though, I loved the compassion, the simple and true understanding how deeply grief is rooted right down into your bones and sinew, how debilitating and shattering it can be. This is a novel with heart, a heart as big as Brontë Country and then some.
I was provided a copy of Yuki Chan in Brontë Country by the publisher via NetGalley.
https://tonstantweaderreviews.wordpre...
Quite a bit if you stop thinking about “what you know” as a set of characteristics, landmarks and skills and instead remember that “what you know” can be the emotions of loss, grief, confusion, and longing. Yuki has come to Brontë country to understand her mother better, to find a way to deal with her loss and understand her past. Jackson does not have to be who he writes, he only has to understand his character’s heart and he surely does that.
I have a strong preference for books that do not lay everything out for the reader, the books that make us work, to understand and contextualize the story. For that reason, I enjoyed Yuki Chan in Brontë Country very much. If you want a linear, coherent narrative that feeds you everything in consecutive, easily digested morsels, you will probably dislike this book very much.
Yuki thinks of herself a “psychic detective” on the trail of her mother who died ten years ago. Haworth was the last place her mother visited. Her explorations are guided by five photos her mother took while she was there. The narrative is a bit like the playfield of a pinball machine, with Yukiko banking off the places in the photos like a ball off the bumpers, rails and flippers of the game. Sometimes we drop with her into a kickout hole of memory, a visit to a library to look at “spirit photographs” that fascinated her late mother or into another little hole while she wonders about the mystery and science of snow crystals. It’s all to advance the story, to draw together the haunting elements of mourning, but while we sit there with her in that hole, waiting to pop back into the narrative, we can perhaps fall out of the story. It did make it easy to put down, but also easy to pick right back up and get back in.
Her initial exploration, including a bit of trespass, are witnessed by Denny, a strange and mysterious young local girl from Haworth who makes it possible for Yuki to see all the places her mother saw. Yuki, and probably most readers, wonders why Denny befriends her, though perhaps she is just a kind, open-hearted young woman who is excited to know someone who is not from around here. Didn’t we all want to be friends with the foreign exchange student?
I enjoyed Yuki Chan in Brontë Country and I think perhaps more than most people might. In the course of a day, my mind may jump from thinking about Antarctic exploration, the poetry of Gabriela Mistral, cats and their inscrutable ways, the finer points of grapefruit and how many ways I can use vagile in a sentence. And actually, that’s just from the last few hours and does not count the topics kicked off by Yukio’s active mind. While I think the psychic visions and spirit photos are bunkum and have no belief in communication with spirits whether it’s with Ouija or Kokkuri-San, I enjoyed he meandering ways of Yuki’s mind, her funny ideas of futuristic circling cafes, her fascination for snow crystals, her open curiosity about the world.
I liked her quite a lot in if she is overly fond of hoodoo. I liked the way we slowly understood the truth about her mother, piece by piece and bit by bit and how, in the end, our questions were answered. I liked that this is a fresh and different story, unlike any other. I liked its discipline and brevity. Yuki’s mind meandered and wandered all over, but always to a purpose however oblique in the moment. Mostly, though, I loved the compassion, the simple and true understanding how deeply grief is rooted right down into your bones and sinew, how debilitating and shattering it can be. This is a novel with heart, a heart as big as Brontë Country and then some.
I was provided a copy of Yuki Chan in Brontë Country by the publisher via NetGalley.
https://tonstantweaderreviews.wordpre...
January 22, 2016
Ever since I read Jane Eyre and then devoured Wuthering Heights and Agnes Grey I've been a Brontë (but especially an Emily) fan. The whole concept of the three sisters itself is beautiful in and of itself but the impact they have had on English literature is nothing to scoff at either. So when I saw Yuki Chan in Brontë Country I knew I'd want to read it. And I'm most certainly glad I did! Thanks for Faber & Faber and Netgalley for providing me with a copy of the book in exchange for an honest review.
As a verified Brontë fan I couldn't have passed this book and not been intrigued. What makes Yuki Chan in Brontë Country stand out from a lot of other Brontë-inspired literature is that it is inspired and not derivative. This is no adaptation of a Brontë novel or a slight spin on the sisters' own lives. There are no winks to the books, cheeky mentions to Mr. Rochester or women in attics. Rather, Jackson seems to have recognised the mood that suffuses all of their novels and recreates that in his own. There is something intensely Gothic and out of the ordinary about Yuki Chan. Jackson's willingness to let Yuki explore everything from snow flakes to ghosts means that there is an atmosphere of the uncanny and random about the whole book which keeps the reader a little bit unsettled throughout.
I really enjoyed reading Yuki Chan in Brontë Country. There was something dark and engrossing about it which made it feel like an indirect tribute to that recognizable Brontë style. At times the book seems to lose focus a bit, but I'd recommend it to anyone who is up for an engrossing and unconventional read.
For full review: http://universeinwords.blogspot.co.uk...
As a verified Brontë fan I couldn't have passed this book and not been intrigued. What makes Yuki Chan in Brontë Country stand out from a lot of other Brontë-inspired literature is that it is inspired and not derivative. This is no adaptation of a Brontë novel or a slight spin on the sisters' own lives. There are no winks to the books, cheeky mentions to Mr. Rochester or women in attics. Rather, Jackson seems to have recognised the mood that suffuses all of their novels and recreates that in his own. There is something intensely Gothic and out of the ordinary about Yuki Chan. Jackson's willingness to let Yuki explore everything from snow flakes to ghosts means that there is an atmosphere of the uncanny and random about the whole book which keeps the reader a little bit unsettled throughout.
I really enjoyed reading Yuki Chan in Brontë Country. There was something dark and engrossing about it which made it feel like an indirect tribute to that recognizable Brontë style. At times the book seems to lose focus a bit, but I'd recommend it to anyone who is up for an engrossing and unconventional read.
For full review: http://universeinwords.blogspot.co.uk...
January 13, 2016
After the loss of her mother years before, Yuki finally decides to visit the famous British sights mentioned in all the Bronte novels. Her mother has been there, too, and left her pictures of which Yuki tries to find the origins to feel closer to her. Yet, already the beginning of trip announces masses of problems when her luggage goes missing and the rest of her group, a bunch of elderly ladies with whom she scarcely has something in common, are a very poor company. But after caking friends with a local girl, the trip promises to fill some of her expectations.
I had expected a book with close links to the famous novels, but soon I had to find out that the protagonist hardly knows anything about the famous sisters. Nevertheless, I was not disappointed at all because I read a book with an underlying melancholy which I really enjoyed. Yuki’s expatriation in Great Britain where she hardly understands something and where the feeling of loss becomes more and more pestering really gets under your skin. There are funny episodes, a lot of them actually, but it is a kind of fun that makes you laugh and stop immediately because it is at the cost of the poor young women whom you come to like immediately. She is a bit strange, but it’s a lovely strangeness which makes her adorable at once.
Mick Jackson’s style of writing convinced me at once, he really manages to combine comical aspects with melancholical ones which creates a very unique feeling. Apart from this the story, the search for traces of the beloved mother, was convincingly constructed and interesting to read. What I liked especially were the precise observation when it came to cultural differences or manners, the clash of the British and Japanese was to me an absolute plus while reading.
I had expected a book with close links to the famous novels, but soon I had to find out that the protagonist hardly knows anything about the famous sisters. Nevertheless, I was not disappointed at all because I read a book with an underlying melancholy which I really enjoyed. Yuki’s expatriation in Great Britain where she hardly understands something and where the feeling of loss becomes more and more pestering really gets under your skin. There are funny episodes, a lot of them actually, but it is a kind of fun that makes you laugh and stop immediately because it is at the cost of the poor young women whom you come to like immediately. She is a bit strange, but it’s a lovely strangeness which makes her adorable at once.
Mick Jackson’s style of writing convinced me at once, he really manages to combine comical aspects with melancholical ones which creates a very unique feeling. Apart from this the story, the search for traces of the beloved mother, was convincingly constructed and interesting to read. What I liked especially were the precise observation when it came to cultural differences or manners, the clash of the British and Japanese was to me an absolute plus while reading.
September 4, 2023
MY #1 DNF
I'm very sorry (and seriously very disappointed) to say that this book is not really for me. I'm quite intrigued when I first buy it because the synopsis seemed interesting. But when I started reading, I became more and more confused as ever. I forced myself to read until page 100, hoping for it to get better, but it's not. So, I skimmed the pages until the end just to read the ending (and to end my agony as well). What I can say is that this book is heavily lacking in punctuation marks like the commas, quotation marks and many others. It felt like I was reading the sentences in one huge paragraph and there's no excitement in the story at all. I also can't quite differentiate which one is Yuki's monologues and which one is her dialogues because everything just look the same.
Besides, the way everything was just bundled in one huge paragraph was just too much for me. I can't follow the story plot either. I don't even know what this Yuki person was searching and trying to achieve. I'm sorry again, this book is just not for me.
I'm very sorry (and seriously very disappointed) to say that this book is not really for me. I'm quite intrigued when I first buy it because the synopsis seemed interesting. But when I started reading, I became more and more confused as ever. I forced myself to read until page 100, hoping for it to get better, but it's not. So, I skimmed the pages until the end just to read the ending (and to end my agony as well). What I can say is that this book is heavily lacking in punctuation marks like the commas, quotation marks and many others. It felt like I was reading the sentences in one huge paragraph and there's no excitement in the story at all. I also can't quite differentiate which one is Yuki's monologues and which one is her dialogues because everything just look the same.
Besides, the way everything was just bundled in one huge paragraph was just too much for me. I can't follow the story plot either. I don't even know what this Yuki person was searching and trying to achieve. I'm sorry again, this book is just not for me.
March 31, 2016
Ever start watching a movie, say on television or one of the older airplanes where they show everyone in the cabin the same thing rather than let you choose your own show on the seat back television, part way through: it's sort of engrossing but also frustrating. If so, then you're well set for Yuki Chan in Brontë Country by Mick Jackson, which starts right in the middle of a musing on revolving restaurants. Okay. Revolving restaurants. Wacky and retro. Then the Brontës. Some snow. Visiting seniors prior to appropriate visiting hours. Who pays for Yuki's visit to the NHS? Some flashbacks about how Yuki has fainted, two entire times, in the past. Dogs. Pellet guns. Snow. Does it just seem like I'm listing off random things here? I guess it's because I didn't really see the point of this book. In one way, it's like those nineteenth century Russian naturalist novels where everything is detailed, no matter how tiny, like a perfect, little portrait on a tiny piece of scroll work. But in another way, so what?
The fundamental issue here is that the idea of the book, that Yuki is a psychic detective investigating her mother's earlier, psychic detective, journeys around London and the English countryside, is far more intriguing than the actual book itself. When nothing comes of the book, the disappointment of a good idea wasted is too much. All the snow, the atmosphere, it's very The Little Match Girl by Hans Christian Andersen, except at least the little match girl dies at the end. Yuki, I guess she learns one fact about her mother she didn't know before. Of course, it isn't really anything she was looking to find out.
And why exactly is Denny so interested in following Yuki around in the first place?
Too many questions. Too little resolution. Sure, just like life, but frustrating nonetheless.
Yuki Chan in Brontë Country by Mick Jackson went on sale January 21, 2016.
I received a copy free from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.
The fundamental issue here is that the idea of the book, that Yuki is a psychic detective investigating her mother's earlier, psychic detective, journeys around London and the English countryside, is far more intriguing than the actual book itself. When nothing comes of the book, the disappointment of a good idea wasted is too much. All the snow, the atmosphere, it's very The Little Match Girl by Hans Christian Andersen, except at least the little match girl dies at the end. Yuki, I guess she learns one fact about her mother she didn't know before. Of course, it isn't really anything she was looking to find out.
And why exactly is Denny so interested in following Yuki around in the first place?
Too many questions. Too little resolution. Sure, just like life, but frustrating nonetheless.
Yuki Chan in Brontë Country by Mick Jackson went on sale January 21, 2016.
I received a copy free from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.
August 5, 2016
This was an unexpected novel. Unusual, charming, offbeat. A young Japanese tourist visits Haworth, birthplace of the Bronte sisters, though she has not read their novels. Why is she there amongst a busload of pensioners? And why, when it’s time to leave, does she do a runner and ignore phone calls from her sister?
This is a novel about grief, acceptance and friendship. There are other things going on too - the science of snow, spirit photography – but basically it is a road novel. Yukiko Chan leaves Japan for England to follow in the footsteps of her mother, who died ten years previously. ‘She is like Columbo, gathering evidence.’ But, in the way of road novels, Yuki finds answers to questions about herself she had not considered, and friendship and help from unexpected quarters.
The reasons for the road trip are drip-fed, this is a slow, thoughtful book, so read it with patience. I loved it. It is touching and quirky, as is Yuki herself, from her thoughts on how airports should be designed, to plans for more revolving restaurants. And why, she puzzles, are the biscuits in the Bronte gift tins not shaped liked the three sisters?
Read more of my book reviews at http://www.sandradanby.com/book-revie...
This is a novel about grief, acceptance and friendship. There are other things going on too - the science of snow, spirit photography – but basically it is a road novel. Yukiko Chan leaves Japan for England to follow in the footsteps of her mother, who died ten years previously. ‘She is like Columbo, gathering evidence.’ But, in the way of road novels, Yuki finds answers to questions about herself she had not considered, and friendship and help from unexpected quarters.
The reasons for the road trip are drip-fed, this is a slow, thoughtful book, so read it with patience. I loved it. It is touching and quirky, as is Yuki herself, from her thoughts on how airports should be designed, to plans for more revolving restaurants. And why, she puzzles, are the biscuits in the Bronte gift tins not shaped liked the three sisters?
Read more of my book reviews at http://www.sandradanby.com/book-revie...
February 14, 2019
I was searching for books by Yukio Mishima on a discount book site and was surprised to see this title pop up! I don't usually come across my name on books in English, what a hoot. I was excited to preview the sample pages available to see if it would at least make a fun gag gift. Oy..the voice of this Japanese student makes little sense -- I doubt she would even think "goddamned" as an adjective. "Bugbear"? I've never heard any of my British friends say this word. Why not "pet peeve"?
Some background info: I'm American, I've been to England several times (including Yorkshire), and was not a true Bronte fan until I read Anne Brontë's The Tenant of Wildfell Hall.. My parents are originally from Japan, and I taught English in Japan for two years after uni. Which century was Mr Jackson born in? I can tell you Japanese people refer to themselves as "Japanese" not as "Japs," youjackass TWIT!
"Yuki noticed the barman glance over on a couple of occasions, and how other guests would stroll into the bar and briefly freeze before this great mass of jabbering elderly Japs."
Some background info: I'm American, I've been to England several times (including Yorkshire), and was not a true Bronte fan until I read Anne Brontë's The Tenant of Wildfell Hall.. My parents are originally from Japan, and I taught English in Japan for two years after uni. Which century was Mr Jackson born in? I can tell you Japanese people refer to themselves as "Japanese" not as "Japs," you
"Yuki noticed the barman glance over on a couple of occasions, and how other guests would stroll into the bar and briefly freeze before this great mass of jabbering elderly Japs."
December 23, 2015
A strange story, with lots to like but ultimately too limited in scope to make the reader feel as if something significant had been said or achieved. I liked the forays into Bronte country, the friendship between Yuki and Denny and the history of spiritualist photography; but was left feeling that something important was missing and that Yuki Chan's story was left in a murky swirl of snow and muddle.
December 20, 2020
I did not finish this. I wanted to, a lot, and tried but I never quite connected with it. I understand the impact of telling this in third person here and the intent of it, but it left very little for me to connect with as a reader. As much as I wanted to love it, I simply couldn't. I may come back to it in the future, but right now I just don't have any interest in persevering.
December 4, 2015
Review to follow (Netgalley prepublication)
October 1, 2022
Simple, slight and heartbreaking
February 20, 2025
Strange, interesting, unsettling. Yuki, a young Japanese woman visits Haworth in order to retrace her dead mother’s footsteps, hoping to find meanings and answers to her mother’s life and death. A sad, sometimes very emotional read.
January 21, 2016
3.5 stars. This review also appears on my blog Reading with Jenna.
I received an electronic copy of this book from the publisher via NetGalley. All thought and opinions are my own.
Yuki Chan in Brontë Country was a little bit of a strange read for me. I had no idea what to expect going into this book but it surprised me and disappointed me at the same time. It was an incredibly insightful book with a lot of wonderful elements but it wasn’t as emotional as I would’ve liked it to be.
This book starts off with our main character Yukiko travelling to Haworth, which is a place that’s associated with the Brontë sisters. The story is ostensibly about a young Japanese tourist visiting notable Brontë landmarks, but we soon realise that Yuki is no avid Brontë fan. She quickly escapes from the tour she’s joined and sets off on her own journey around Haworth. We get to see Yuki’s true agenda as she walks around searching for places that her mother visited a decade ago, hoping for some clue or insight into her mother’s mysterious death. Along the way she meets some interesting characters, forms a new friendship and uncovers what really happened to her mother 10 years ago.
My favourite aspect of this book were definitely the characters. I can count the number of characters in this book on one hand, but I really appreciated that we got to see so much of Yuki. I could feel the loneliness yet wonder of travelling alone in a foreign country and I thought this book really captured the tone beautifully. Yuki is a very intelligent and independent character and I thoroughly enjoyed following her around on her quest to uncover the secrets of her mother's death. I liked her focus and her tenacity, and the fact that she wasn’t afraid to find ways to get what she wanted. Her character was complex and completely relatable, and I just wanted to be her friend because she was so smart and funny. She’s a character that is likeable from the very first chapter and I couldn’t help but be sucked into her story.
The pace of this book was slow for the most part, but I enjoyed how much the pace and the writing of the book added to the atmosphere of the story. The slow pace really complemented the mysterious and the slightly eerie paranormal elements in the book. The writing was extremely calming and soothing and had wonderful flow throughout the book. The mix of humour with melancholy worked beautifully in this book, and I felt like I was there with Yuki as she navigated the snowy winter days and nights in Haworth.
I have to admit that I didn’t always know what was going on in the book, but it almost didn’t matter because everything was wrapped up so nicely at the end of the book. The building sense of discomfort and melancholy ended with such a cathartic release that I felt very satisfied with what I read. Of course, I wished that the book could have been a little bit longer and more fleshed out, in order for me to connect even more with Yuki’s story and the emotion behind her loss, but overall I thought this was a wonderful and charming story.
I received an electronic copy of this book from the publisher via NetGalley. All thought and opinions are my own.
Yuki Chan in Brontë Country was a little bit of a strange read for me. I had no idea what to expect going into this book but it surprised me and disappointed me at the same time. It was an incredibly insightful book with a lot of wonderful elements but it wasn’t as emotional as I would’ve liked it to be.
This book starts off with our main character Yukiko travelling to Haworth, which is a place that’s associated with the Brontë sisters. The story is ostensibly about a young Japanese tourist visiting notable Brontë landmarks, but we soon realise that Yuki is no avid Brontë fan. She quickly escapes from the tour she’s joined and sets off on her own journey around Haworth. We get to see Yuki’s true agenda as she walks around searching for places that her mother visited a decade ago, hoping for some clue or insight into her mother’s mysterious death. Along the way she meets some interesting characters, forms a new friendship and uncovers what really happened to her mother 10 years ago.
My favourite aspect of this book were definitely the characters. I can count the number of characters in this book on one hand, but I really appreciated that we got to see so much of Yuki. I could feel the loneliness yet wonder of travelling alone in a foreign country and I thought this book really captured the tone beautifully. Yuki is a very intelligent and independent character and I thoroughly enjoyed following her around on her quest to uncover the secrets of her mother's death. I liked her focus and her tenacity, and the fact that she wasn’t afraid to find ways to get what she wanted. Her character was complex and completely relatable, and I just wanted to be her friend because she was so smart and funny. She’s a character that is likeable from the very first chapter and I couldn’t help but be sucked into her story.
The pace of this book was slow for the most part, but I enjoyed how much the pace and the writing of the book added to the atmosphere of the story. The slow pace really complemented the mysterious and the slightly eerie paranormal elements in the book. The writing was extremely calming and soothing and had wonderful flow throughout the book. The mix of humour with melancholy worked beautifully in this book, and I felt like I was there with Yuki as she navigated the snowy winter days and nights in Haworth.
I have to admit that I didn’t always know what was going on in the book, but it almost didn’t matter because everything was wrapped up so nicely at the end of the book. The building sense of discomfort and melancholy ended with such a cathartic release that I felt very satisfied with what I read. Of course, I wished that the book could have been a little bit longer and more fleshed out, in order for me to connect even more with Yuki’s story and the emotion behind her loss, but overall I thought this was a wonderful and charming story.
June 26, 2016
I think this book repays re-reading as I suspect it is one of those books which you get more out of on every reading. Yuki Chan is Japanese and on a trip to England. Her sister - much more practical and organised already lives in London and is always telling her off. Yuki's luggage goes astray on the flight to England which sets the tone for the book. She goes on a trip to Haworth - Bronte country - even though she has never read the books.
Gradually it becomes clear that she is on a pilgrimage to recreate her mother's journey to the same place. She carries photographs with her of her mother taken in various locations and she wants to recreate those pictures herself. She contrives to be stranded in Haworth when the coach leaves.
Yuki is one of those characters who grows on you throughout the book. She reminisces about all sorts of subjects including snow, science fictions, fashions in space and fashion in general and her childhood in Japan. I liked the way the UK is seen through Yuki's eyes and it gave me a new perspective on the Brontes.
This is an intriguing book though there is very little plot. Yuki really came alive for me and I think I shall be re-reading this book again before very long. I received a free copy of this book from NetGalley for review.
Gradually it becomes clear that she is on a pilgrimage to recreate her mother's journey to the same place. She carries photographs with her of her mother taken in various locations and she wants to recreate those pictures herself. She contrives to be stranded in Haworth when the coach leaves.
Yuki is one of those characters who grows on you throughout the book. She reminisces about all sorts of subjects including snow, science fictions, fashions in space and fashion in general and her childhood in Japan. I liked the way the UK is seen through Yuki's eyes and it gave me a new perspective on the Brontes.
This is an intriguing book though there is very little plot. Yuki really came alive for me and I think I shall be re-reading this book again before very long. I received a free copy of this book from NetGalley for review.
January 27, 2016
This was one strange story but I kept reading till the very end where it all came together in the last 30 pages.
Yukiko travels to England to try and make sense of her mother's death. She leaves behind the tour group she was on in Haworth, the town her mother visited 10 years ago. She befriends a teenage girl Denny and between them, they try and uncover the mystery of why her mother was there.
I really didn't enjoy the narration for the most part as it kept changing tenses between the first and third person, making it very disjointed. But I kept reading and little by little things started to make sense and at the end I really felt for Yuki and her acceptance of her mothers death.
If this hadn't been a book to review, I would probably have put it aside but I'm glad I persisted till the end.
Yukiko travels to England to try and make sense of her mother's death. She leaves behind the tour group she was on in Haworth, the town her mother visited 10 years ago. She befriends a teenage girl Denny and between them, they try and uncover the mystery of why her mother was there.
I really didn't enjoy the narration for the most part as it kept changing tenses between the first and third person, making it very disjointed. But I kept reading and little by little things started to make sense and at the end I really felt for Yuki and her acceptance of her mothers death.
If this hadn't been a book to review, I would probably have put it aside but I'm glad I persisted till the end.
June 9, 2025
Don’t mistake this for a story about a young Japanese woman discovering the magic of the Brontës. It’s definitely not that, which becomes quite clear there more you read. (So many low star DNF reviews for a short novel complaining about that point, so it’s important to point it out. Unlike Yuki, these readers aren’t looking for answers, but rather if their mistaken expectations are being met.)
The titular woman is trying to understand and connect with her deceased mother by visiting the last place she traveled to, and that’s a story which unfolds slowly in revealing, seemingly unrelated pieces that make sense as the book closes. The Brontës are incidental but not unimportant. The truth and emotional heart lie elsewhere and that becomes very clear the further you read on.
I’ll admit that it took a while for me to get into the story’s groove, and did consider putting it aside. But when Yuki plans a break in of the Brontë parsonage, I started to wonder why and what she was doing. The answers veer in unexpected directions, and the story becomes something unexpected. I found the ending more emotionally impactful than I would have guessed, but that made it a rewarding read.
It’s why I read Mick Jackson’s stories. They hit me where I don’t expect them to, and take me on an unusual journey to get to somewhere I didn’t expect.
The titular woman is trying to understand and connect with her deceased mother by visiting the last place she traveled to, and that’s a story which unfolds slowly in revealing, seemingly unrelated pieces that make sense as the book closes. The Brontës are incidental but not unimportant. The truth and emotional heart lie elsewhere and that becomes very clear the further you read on.
I’ll admit that it took a while for me to get into the story’s groove, and did consider putting it aside. But when Yuki plans a break in of the Brontë parsonage, I started to wonder why and what she was doing. The answers veer in unexpected directions, and the story becomes something unexpected. I found the ending more emotionally impactful than I would have guessed, but that made it a rewarding read.
It’s why I read Mick Jackson’s stories. They hit me where I don’t expect them to, and take me on an unusual journey to get to somewhere I didn’t expect.
March 12, 2017
I don't think I've ever read a novel quite like this one. Parts of it I found unlikely and lacking any form of explanation / resolution: I never really believed that one young woman would approach another - a complete stranger - and that they'd spend time together immediately, and immediately trust and confide in each other.
But parts of the novel were so atmospherically haunting, beautiful and strange that I kept reading. Yuki's imagined weirdly wonderful inventions were both funny and not-entirely impossible. And the wit about the elderly Japanese female tourists' obsession with all things Bronte and Haworth is ... well, very witty.
This is the second in my Heywood Hill subscription surprise year of books and I'm looking forward to whatever they surprise me with next. And although I'm not sure Yuki chan in Bronte Country held together narratively-speaking, I have a feeling its atmosphere and many scenes from it will haunt me for some time to come.
But parts of the novel were so atmospherically haunting, beautiful and strange that I kept reading. Yuki's imagined weirdly wonderful inventions were both funny and not-entirely impossible. And the wit about the elderly Japanese female tourists' obsession with all things Bronte and Haworth is ... well, very witty.
This is the second in my Heywood Hill subscription surprise year of books and I'm looking forward to whatever they surprise me with next. And although I'm not sure Yuki chan in Bronte Country held together narratively-speaking, I have a feeling its atmosphere and many scenes from it will haunt me for some time to come.
December 6, 2018
Offbeat and eerie little book about a young girl lost in life, who tries to solve the puzzle of her mother leaving her.
Quirky and imaginative Yuki is lost in life, haunted by the question of why has her beloved mother decided to take her own life. So, armed with the photo of her mother visiting Haworth, the birthplace of the Brontë family, she tries to find some answers. And, after all, she finds some answers and some questions.
Ths book is all about atmosphere. Not yet magical realism (too melancholy in the snow for that), but one can hear a little echo from the works of Haruki Murakami and other Japanese authors (and maybe the author´s admiration for the things Japanese is the reason for the Japanese heroine? Or is it to contrast the English traditional culture with the different one? You decide).
Not for the common reader, but if you like little unusual things all about feelings and atmosphere, this one might be for you.
Quirky and imaginative Yuki is lost in life, haunted by the question of why has her beloved mother decided to take her own life. So, armed with the photo of her mother visiting Haworth, the birthplace of the Brontë family, she tries to find some answers. And, after all, she finds some answers and some questions.
Ths book is all about atmosphere. Not yet magical realism (too melancholy in the snow for that), but one can hear a little echo from the works of Haruki Murakami and other Japanese authors (and maybe the author´s admiration for the things Japanese is the reason for the Japanese heroine? Or is it to contrast the English traditional culture with the different one? You decide).
Not for the common reader, but if you like little unusual things all about feelings and atmosphere, this one might be for you.
April 18, 2022
Yuki Chan in Brontë country by mick Jackson
⭐️⭐️
This is my book clubs book this month and I was really excited to read it going by the description but I must admit I’m a little disappointed.
Yes it is an easy to read book and there are some moments which are quite touching but I just could not connect with this book.
The narration felt childlike at times and it seemed to amble around without a sense of direction. It just didn’t have a focus. The plot had all the ingredients to be fantastic but instead felt lacking and I was immediately frustrated that a book with Brontë at the heart had some key facts wrong such as it being the mothers dress cut up and not the Brontë sisters.
Unfortunately it had all the setup of a great book but just didn’t really deliver , it just felt a bit bland.
Have you read this book and if so what did you think?
⭐️⭐️
This is my book clubs book this month and I was really excited to read it going by the description but I must admit I’m a little disappointed.
Yes it is an easy to read book and there are some moments which are quite touching but I just could not connect with this book.
The narration felt childlike at times and it seemed to amble around without a sense of direction. It just didn’t have a focus. The plot had all the ingredients to be fantastic but instead felt lacking and I was immediately frustrated that a book with Brontë at the heart had some key facts wrong such as it being the mothers dress cut up and not the Brontë sisters.
Unfortunately it had all the setup of a great book but just didn’t really deliver , it just felt a bit bland.
Have you read this book and if so what did you think?
December 1, 2022
I was lured in by the mention of Brontë, having just visited Haworth on a cold and wintry day recently, but the book is in fact not really connected with the Brontës at all. It is a young woman's quest to try and find out what happened to her mother, with some brief mentions of the parsonage, but otherwise it centres on Yuki and her steadfast belief that she will find something new about her mother by hunting down the spots where she took photos around Haworth. It is very quirky and very sad all at the same time. The handling of grief and trauma is pretty unique in this book - it really conjures up a tangible sense of loss that is difficult to shake off. Some of it is bizarre, but it's fun to not know exactly what's going to happen next.
February 16, 2020
This is a lovely book. Yuki is a wonderfully devised and presented central character. Her Japanese-ness, her young womanhood and her unique mind are all rendered well - convincingly and subtly. She’s a fascinating, sympathetic person to spend time with.
The setting is described really well, too. I’ve only been to Haworth in the summer, so I was struck both by what was familiar and by the ways in which the winter changed it.
It’s a great story, too. There is physical travel, but it’s mostly a psychological (possibly also psychic?) journey.
I can’t fault it. Why not 5 stars then? I’m not sure. Perhaps it’s just a little too slight for that. What this novel does, though, it does perfectly.
The setting is described really well, too. I’ve only been to Haworth in the summer, so I was struck both by what was familiar and by the ways in which the winter changed it.
It’s a great story, too. There is physical travel, but it’s mostly a psychological (possibly also psychic?) journey.
I can’t fault it. Why not 5 stars then? I’m not sure. Perhaps it’s just a little too slight for that. What this novel does, though, it does perfectly.
March 19, 2019
Mick Jackson does not disappoint, even with a title as off-putting as this. The name is misleading and does not correlate with its contents in a way that would bring readers to this that would enjoy it. Especially given the marginal role of the Brontës. But as always it is an in-depth story that has a slow pace and no real climax but manages to capture and keep interest and fascination as Jackson's other books do. He has a very consisted and special way of writing and I find myself admiring it more and more with every book of his that I read.
August 30, 2020
Purchase Yuki Chan in Brontë Country here for just $8!
10 years after Yuki's mother dies, Yuki visits Yorkshire (the Bronte Country of the title) to uncover the secrets of her mother's death. A haunting novel, full of fun for fans of the Bronte sisters. Jackson writes delicately, with a touch of melancholy, about all the things in life that matter.
Elisa - The Book Grocer
10 years after Yuki's mother dies, Yuki visits Yorkshire (the Bronte Country of the title) to uncover the secrets of her mother's death. A haunting novel, full of fun for fans of the Bronte sisters. Jackson writes delicately, with a touch of melancholy, about all the things in life that matter.
Elisa - The Book Grocer
February 8, 2025
I did not finish this book.
It had a weird stilted style, which I assumed was because it hadn't been translated very well.
And then I looked again at the author's name. And realised, nope it was written in English by a man who is apparently quite a good author of other books. But he is a bit useless at pretending he is a Japanese teenage girl.
Quite a bit. A lot useless really. It makes me wonder if he even knows any teenage girls, let along Japanese ones.
It had a weird stilted style, which I assumed was because it hadn't been translated very well.
And then I looked again at the author's name. And realised, nope it was written in English by a man who is apparently quite a good author of other books. But he is a bit useless at pretending he is a Japanese teenage girl.
Quite a bit. A lot useless really. It makes me wonder if he even knows any teenage girls, let along Japanese ones.
February 24, 2018
I saw this book in a bookstore in London and the topic intrigued me – a Japanese girl in Brontë land.
It was a simple read of a girl in search of her mother, not many Brontë references except for the start of the novel and the title.
The author does capture the young lady's angst well though.
Just a quick easy read that I took too long to finish.
It was a simple read of a girl in search of her mother, not many Brontë references except for the start of the novel and the title.
The author does capture the young lady's angst well though.
Just a quick easy read that I took too long to finish.
October 20, 2018
I think you'd call this novel 'quirky'. I've read several novels which could be labelled thus. They're generally unusual enough to keep you engaged, but ultimately not wholly successful. So it was with this one. I would have liked the character of Yuki to be fleshed out more. I would also have found it interesting if more could have been made of the Bronte theme.
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