¡°No divorce is a single event,¡± writes anthropologist Allison Alexy, an assistant professor at the University of Michigan. ¡°Divorces extend over time, shifting from a private thought to a spousal conversation, a legal status to a rearrangement of parental identities, with new freedoms that come with literal and emotional costs.¡±

This sentiment captures the scope of Alexy¡¯s new book, ¡°Intimate Disconnections: Divorce and the Romance of Independence in Contemporary Japan.¡± Often more satisfying than the topic suggests, it is a study of dissolving marriages, including reasons for separation, legal processes and custody arrangements, as well as financial and social implications.

Intimate Disconnections: Divorce and the Romance of Independence in Contemporary Japan, by Allison Alexy248 pagesUNIVERSITY OF CHICAGO PRESS