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3.34 AVERAGE
3.34 AVERAGE
How can a book where nothing happens can be so engaging?
emotional
lighthearted
reflective
relaxing
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
It's more of a short story collection surrounding Mr Nakano, the owner of a second hand shop, his sister Masayo, who is free spirited, Hitomi, our main character and Takeo, a young man.
hopeful
lighthearted
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
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..
There were times when I felt as if I were there, eating my noodles at the kotatsu in the back room of the shop, wandering around the streets until l end up getting home, or taking a bite of some pies from Posy.
I really loved the first half of the book for the charm of a simple budding love-not in the cheesy, over-the-top kind of way—but in the stillness of each other's company.
Things unfortunately became unexciting and somewhat lackluster toward the latter half of the book. While Kawakami did a wonderful job unwrapping this ordinariness in life, the earlier build up made me expect more. Things seemed to just move as they're told and my fondness for the narrative died down a bit.
I must say, the writer did such a great job writing all characters but one. Takeo, Mr. Nakano, and Masayo— couldn't help but smile at their little quirks and mannerisms. I felt I knew them enough as that boundary between friends and acquaintances. I definitely missed everyone at the shop the moment I closed this book.
I think that the protagonist, however, fell a bit flat. Hitomi's words and actions seemed random and misplaced to me—l couldn't figure out what she was supposed to be like beyond adopting Takeo's way of repeating words. Her personality: almost non-existent. In all honesty, there were some bits about her inner thoughts and frustrations that were relatable, which is why it took long for me to realize how much of a shell she remained in the 260 pages of the book. Hmm.. could she have intentionally been written as a one-size-fits-all character? The narration's in her voice after all.
Despite all the semi-let-downs, I really enjoyed this book. It would be fun to do a feminist reading on this book someday—especially on Mr. Nakano, who I see as that old man that has internalized and perpetuated sexist micro aggressions but is so hard to call out. Overall, I really enjoyed this book (and Strange Weather in Tokyo), so I'm excited to read more of this author's works!
emotional
lighthearted
reflective
relaxing
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
lighthearted
mysterious
reflective
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I'm not a huge fan of slice of life type of stories, but this one was above average for me. It never strayed too far from the main premise, it had interesting characters, and a good overall arching plot that expanded throughout the whole story. I was impressed mostly by the fact I wasn't bored at any point reading this, which tends to happen with stories that are written in a more serialized way. The ending was a little bittersweet, but I liked the way things went. It was a sweet, heartwarming story filled with amusing situations.
It's nice to read a different type of literature sometimes, as I'm used to reading American fiction. It feels different, and it's a nice way to break the monotony that American literature tends to bring.
It's nice to read a different type of literature sometimes, as I'm used to reading American fiction. It feels different, and it's a nice way to break the monotony that American literature tends to bring.
funny
lighthearted
relaxing
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes