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faerieslib's review against another edition
4.0
i too would want to have a talk with tokue, maybe a little chat with her would help me sort out my life :(( recommended to those who feel a bit lost, who feel like they no longer have purpose, and those who struggle with going on.
not quite satisfied with the where we left off with sentaro but oh boy, tokue already suffered a lot in isolation in her younger years and it feels right for her to rest after sharing her experiences and story to the outside world, to someone like sentaro who very much struggled like her, who continues to question his purpose in life :)))
side note: did not made me shed a tear until the part wakana gave her back the blouse her mother made her !! that part HITS T.T given what happened to tokue in her youth :((
tw: bits of graphic descriptions
not quite satisfied with the where we left off with sentaro but oh boy, tokue already suffered a lot in isolation in her younger years and it feels right for her to rest after sharing her experiences and story to the outside world, to someone like sentaro who very much struggled like her, who continues to question his purpose in life :)))
side note: did not made me shed a tear until the part wakana gave her back the blouse her mother made her !! that part HITS T.T given what happened to tokue in her youth :((
tw: bits of graphic descriptions
dhel13a's review against another edition
inspiring
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
paul_fiction's review against another edition
emotional
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
A heartwarming novel about dorayaki and life’s deeper meanings… but tbh I mostly just craved pancakes
Starts off sweet, but after a while, it’s like eating too much dorayaki… soft, repetitive, and a little tiring
The author’s note had more flavor than the actual story
A quiet read especially with classic Japanese themes of social isolation and societal usefulness
Starts off sweet, but after a while, it’s like eating too much dorayaki… soft, repetitive, and a little tiring
The author’s note had more flavor than the actual story
A quiet read especially with classic Japanese themes of social isolation and societal usefulness
celestialcattt's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
aparnell's review against another edition
4.0
“all experience adds up to a life lived as only you could”
“the only way for us to live, to be like the poets”
-beautiful & sad
“the only way for us to live, to be like the poets”
-beautiful & sad
quartzmaya's review against another edition
4.0
“I believed that a life has no value if a person is not a useful member of society. I was convinced that humans are born in order to be of service to the world and to others. But there became a time when that changed, because I changed.... I began to understand that we were born in order to see and listen to the world. And that's all this world wants of us. It doesn't matter that I was never a teacher or a member of the workforce, my life had meaning.”
This was a sweet novella, with a lot of emotion. Tokue just wants to connect with others, but because of the visible signs of her illness she is socially rejected. Sentaro's customers have no way of knowing that he has a criminal past; but still, he withdraws from the world and into his own shame. This was a simple slice of life story about their unexpected friendship, which explored deep issues like social stigma, societal value, and personal identity.
This was a sweet novella, with a lot of emotion. Tokue just wants to connect with others, but because of the visible signs of her illness she is socially rejected. Sentaro's customers have no way of knowing that he has a criminal past; but still, he withdraws from the world and into his own shame. This was a simple slice of life story about their unexpected friendship, which explored deep issues like social stigma, societal value, and personal identity.
strawberryujamm's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
sawsan's review against another edition
4.5
this book was oh so sweet, no spoilers but it did mention some heavy topics though so it wasn't all "a walk in the park with rainbows and butterflies" but it felt like great hug after so much hardship, it discussed of love, devastating loss, grief, prejudice and acceptance.
dnb13003's review against another edition
emotional
informative
inspiring
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
This book is one of the top books I have read this year. I loved the interactions between the Doryaki shop owner and the older lady. You could see him grow as a character as he made the bean paste with her. It was very impactful to learn that the old lady had Hanson’s diesesse/leprosy as a child and was put in a santatorium, unable to leave. And I was surprised that people were released and that Japan only apologized to the people in these sanatoriums in 1996. The length of time for which people lived in these sanatoriums made it so when people finally left, citizens of Japan were still biased believing they could catch it. And some of the people who lived in the sanatorium for a long time no longer had a place to go, and would continue to live in the sanatorium. That is only 28 years ago really.
It was also interesting how the author discussed listening to the sounds of beans with the culture values of Japan. “People are seen to have lived a good life based on their contribution to society”, but the authors idea was this does not embody children who have passed for example. So rather it’s the idea that people, animals etc. exist with their purpose to perceive life.
It was also interesting how the author discussed listening to the sounds of beans with the culture values of Japan. “People are seen to have lived a good life based on their contribution to society”, but the authors idea was this does not embody children who have passed for example. So rather it’s the idea that people, animals etc. exist with their purpose to perceive life.