Take a photo of a barcode or cover
3.34 AVERAGE
3.34 AVERAGE
reflective
medium-paced
lighthearted
reflective
relaxing
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I've been reading this book off and on for a few weeks now and decided that finishing it during my Japan trip was the perfect time to wrap it up. This was a quaint story where not much happens, but instead you spend a lovely bit of time with the owner of a thrift shop, his sister, his employees. Everyday stories about love and living.
lighthearted
reflective
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
This was a weird book. It made me realize that not using quotation marks is not for me.
This was a slice of life novel that just didn’t really do it for me. I couldn’t understand the characters and why they acted the way they did, and the whole story just felt a little disjointed and choppy to me.
This was a slice of life novel that just didn’t really do it for me. I couldn’t understand the characters and why they acted the way they did, and the whole story just felt a little disjointed and choppy to me.
Un relato tranquilo sobre la cotidianidad en una tienda de artículos de segunda mano de Tokio y las extrañas relaciones entre los personajes.
hopeful
reflective
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
This was just all right for me... I wanted to like it more than I did.
While I appreciate the slowness in this novel, it commits the crime of being boring. Elements in this novel are too loosely connected with each other that I don't feel invested in them.
The Nakano Thrift Shop by Hiromi Kawakami translated by Allison Markin Powell
This was a fun charming read. Getting into the world of Japanese literature its mostly concentrating on the subtleties of behavior and dissecting the conversations and mannerisms.
Nakano the shop owner is quirky, middle aged and has his own whims and fancies. His sister Masayo equally amusing has a knack of selling objects. The shop itself is a microcosm of objects- some valuable some discarded some to be forgotten.. an eclectic collection of sorts.
The workers, young Hitomi and Takeo work there assisting shopkeepers on selling as well as pickups. This sounds like a dry job..
But the way the stories are narrated are full of little details, snippets of conversations, day to day idiosyncracies and mostly sweet shows of love..
Peppered with lot of japanese food and green tea(insert hot bowls of Soba).. we see each story somehow separate but forming a piece of a puzzle that encompasses Nakano Thrift shop. The author does not introduce the characters conventionally.. but takes a certain incident or interaction with a certain customer and slowly makes us understand each character. Mind you the personality development is not full and keeps you hanging for more..
Sometimes its the nude photographs on sale, or the awkward love between Hitomi and Takeo, the whimsical Masayo who prefers her cupcakes or its Nakano himself a polyamorous character .. Theses stories are free of judgment and explanation, they are just written how they are supposed to have happened..
"It was as if everyone doled themselves out in such small portions. Never completely open, not all at once"
Another great Japanese fiction book read..
This was a fun charming read. Getting into the world of Japanese literature its mostly concentrating on the subtleties of behavior and dissecting the conversations and mannerisms.
Nakano the shop owner is quirky, middle aged and has his own whims and fancies. His sister Masayo equally amusing has a knack of selling objects. The shop itself is a microcosm of objects- some valuable some discarded some to be forgotten.. an eclectic collection of sorts.
The workers, young Hitomi and Takeo work there assisting shopkeepers on selling as well as pickups. This sounds like a dry job..
But the way the stories are narrated are full of little details, snippets of conversations, day to day idiosyncracies and mostly sweet shows of love..
Peppered with lot of japanese food and green tea(insert hot bowls of Soba).. we see each story somehow separate but forming a piece of a puzzle that encompasses Nakano Thrift shop. The author does not introduce the characters conventionally.. but takes a certain incident or interaction with a certain customer and slowly makes us understand each character. Mind you the personality development is not full and keeps you hanging for more..
Sometimes its the nude photographs on sale, or the awkward love between Hitomi and Takeo, the whimsical Masayo who prefers her cupcakes or its Nakano himself a polyamorous character .. Theses stories are free of judgment and explanation, they are just written how they are supposed to have happened..
"It was as if everyone doled themselves out in such small portions. Never completely open, not all at once"
Another great Japanese fiction book read..
This book would definitely appeal to some people - there's a certain charm to the neurotic conversations and perhaps the sex lives and shopping habits of suburbanites could be of interest. If you're a fan of strong characters, an active and arcing plot, and sparkling conversation, though, this probably isn't the book for you. The chapter names are great, though.