Reviews - The Nakano Thrift Shop

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The Nakano Thrift Shop by Hiromi Kawakami

922 reviews for:

As a fan of Strange Weather in Tokyo I knew to expect something slow to bloom here but this book started SLOW. Each chapter is named after a thrift shop item and really there is not much that happens BUT you end up so involved in these characters lives - you will start to love it as I did. It’s the subtly that’s so beautiful here!

shannonritchie's review against another edition

3.0

emotional reflective slow-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: No

Loveable characters: No

Diverse cast of characters: N/A

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

mark_kivimaki's review against another edition

3.5

emotional funny mysterious reflective fast-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Complicated

Diverse cast of characters: No

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

this is a book about nostalgia, which makes sense as this central theme doesn’t become clear until the very end of the book when everything that happened before crystallizes into a different light. i thought i was not really enjoying this book but it was one of those books where you need to get through the whole thing. the characters are strange and almost one dimensional at points, and the story is told through almost dissonant anecdotes and happenings where you need to squint at it through the right angle for it to make sense. but that’s kind of the point. it’s a memory of a time in your life when you are doing nothing at all but everything is so important and when you are pushed out of it suddenly you only then realize how much you’ve changed.