Cold Enough for Snow (2022) is set in Tokyo, Japan. The narrator is visiting Tokyo on holiday with her mother who lives in Hong Kong. She hadn’t seen her mother in a long time, and it was time to reconnect. Mother and daughter visit cultural sites, such as museums and art galleries, food halls and restaurants, shops and department stores, and parks and gardens. Even a cemetery with bare cherry trees. They talk about the architecture and iconic Japanese images. They talk about the narrator’s husband Laurie and that they are considering having children. Her mother thinks they should. The cold is not only a reference to the weather, but to the relationship of the two women. They talk of events and art, but not feelings and emotions. They are polite in their conversations, but not warm in their hearts. A question her mother asks the narrator is whether it is cold enough for snow. The first thing I noticed about the nov...