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4.07 AVERAGE
4.07 AVERAGE
At first it seems banal. But I really don‘t think it is. The last few chapters make the whole idea of the book palpable: life. a way of seeing life from a beautiful point of view.
This book wasn‘t surprising or exciting, but its simplicity was a good and well understandable frame to think about life in a non-overwhelming, calm way.
This book wasn‘t surprising or exciting, but its simplicity was a good and well understandable frame to think about life in a non-overwhelming, calm way.
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
sad
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
emotional
hopeful
reflective
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
emotional
inspiring
reflective
medium-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
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
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
2021 - 4.25 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️💫
What an anxious year for me, I sobbed so much reading this book back then!
What an anxious year for me, I sobbed so much reading this book back then!
hopeful
reflective
relaxing
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
emotional
sad
medium-paced
a cozy read about the journey of finding the meaning in life and the history of Hansen's Disease (leprosy) in Japan. Sentaro works in a dorayaki shop to pay off debts to his boss. he bulk buys the sweet bean paste that goes between the pancakes and is just trying to get through the next day. that is until Tokue, an old lady, comes by and asks to be hired there so she can make the sweet bean paste better. at first he is hesitant about hiring her, feeling like he is taking advantage of the old lady because she is asking for such a low wage (and his boss wouldn't really approve) but her sweet bean paste helps business pick up. he is mildly concerned about her crooked fingers but business is up so he brushes it off. one of the regulars, Wakana, a middle schooler that visits on her way home from school, becomes friends with Tokue. one day she asks Tokue about her messed up hands and Tokue explains that she was sick and her hands suffered, then Wakana disappears from the shop for a bit. eventually Sentaro's boss hears about this employee he hires and comes to scope it out.
once she is there, she is concerned that the patrons will think that they will catch leprosy from eating the food there and tells Sentaro to fire Tokue. He holds off on it because she is good with customers and he hasnt learned how to make bean paste like her yet but eventually she quits herself. Sentaro's boss wants to switch to a different food and this breaks Sentaro's heart. he visits Tokue at her house which turns out to be a sanitarium for those with Hansen's Disease. this is where the book gets more sad when we learn about the mistreatment of those with Hansen's by the government and society. the last quarter of the book is just sad. especially when Tokue passes from pneumonia.
slice of life book that was short and emotional. i didnt really connect with the characters and i wasnt really motivated to finish the book. i thought it was just a bit flat and simple.
"She said that was the only way for us to live, to be like the poets. That's what she said. Id all you ever see is reality, you just want to die. The only way to get over barriers, she said, is to live in the spirit of already being over them."
once she is there, she is concerned that the patrons will think that they will catch leprosy from eating the food there and tells Sentaro to fire Tokue. He holds off on it because she is good with customers and he hasnt learned how to make bean paste like her yet but eventually she quits herself. Sentaro's boss wants to switch to a different food and this breaks Sentaro's heart. he visits Tokue at her house which turns out to be a sanitarium for those with Hansen's Disease. this is where the book gets more sad when we learn about the mistreatment of those with Hansen's by the government and society. the last quarter of the book is just sad. especially when Tokue passes from pneumonia.
slice of life book that was short and emotional. i didnt really connect with the characters and i wasnt really motivated to finish the book. i thought it was just a bit flat and simple.
"She said that was the only way for us to live, to be like the poets. That's what she said. Id all you ever see is reality, you just want to die. The only way to get over barriers, she said, is to live in the spirit of already being over them."
emotional
inspiring
lighthearted
reflective
sad
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated