Here as in the film, the emphasis is on characterization, not action, and while Enda Walsh, who wrote the book, has spelled out much of what was implied in John Carney's screenplay, he's done so in a way that is anything but heavy-handed.

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"If so, it is too heavy a price to pay, " he said.

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Like so many of the people in this part of Japan, he is immediately welcoming, calling down in his heavy Aomori dialect.

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