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3.8 AVERAGE
3.8 AVERAGE
lighthearted
relaxing
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
reflective
medium-paced
emotional
funny
inspiring
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
inspiring
lighthearted
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
hopeful
inspiring
relaxing
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
I really enjoyed this book. The setting of the convenience store, used to bring together such interesting characters and stories, was really beautiful. I loved getting to meet different people and the book felt really calming.
3,5*
honestly, i didn't even expect it to give 3,5 stars, i expected to give something lower when i started to read it. it is a book that you really have to push through with, as it only gets better towards the end. but it might be a personal preference as well, idk.
it was cute, kind and heartfelt.. but it took ages to get into it.
honestly, i didn't even expect it to give 3,5 stars, i expected to give something lower when i started to read it. it is a book that you really have to push through with, as it only gets better towards the end. but it might be a personal preference as well, idk.
it was cute, kind and heartfelt.. but it took ages to get into it.
lighthearted
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
hopeful
lighthearted
reflective
relaxing
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
funny
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
wholesome and heart warming story with cute characters. Felt like a warm hug. Made me smile quite a lot and lifted my mood when i felt sad or down.
Another Japanese heart-warming novel although this one didn’t grab me in the way that Before the Coffee and others in that ilk do. The setting is a convenience store called Tenderness that sells everything from late night snacks to thermometers. It is situated on the ground floor of a complex called Golden Villa which mainly houses elderly residents. There are meeting rooms and dining areas within the complex and one of the initiatives is for all residents to collect their lunch from Tenderness daily as a way of providing contact and a way of checking that all is ok. The ladies of Golden Villa seem to have become a little fan club for the store manager, Shibo, who is described as a kind of heart throb. When I read this I did wonder if the book was going to revolve around him but he seems to be a sort of background figure. In fact his brother, the Go To Guy plays a more instrumental part in some of the stories. Instead the interconnected stories focus upon those who visit the store and upon something significant that is happening to them. The themes cover bullying, fear of aging, reaching for your dream and even the ‘grey divorce’ which seems to be a thing in Japan and which I had no idea about. The stories I liked best were the story of a young girl trying to escape an almost toxic friendship and an elderly couple trying to manage their new life as retirees. This book seems to be about the value of community, looking out for one another, being kind to one another and the convenience store is the heart. It might not have had the emotional hit of other Japanese novels that I have read, but it was still a comforting and heart-warming read.