An innovative hybrid of memoir and fiction, Noboku is kind of like Call Me By Your Name, but the two main characters are women, and it's set in Japan.

Nobuko is based on author Trisha Ready's experiences teaching English in the 1980s in Japan, where she fell for a woman who lived in a rustic cabin and made dentures for a living. A twisting maze of subplots involve the yakuza, the Japanese organized crime syndicate -- as well as food, art, adventure, samurai swords, and marriage.

At its core, this is a true-life love story in which Ready reflects on what she's learned and what might have been.