5.78k reviews for:

Sweet Bean Paste

Durian Sukegawa

4.07 AVERAGE

reflective sad slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven: Character
Strong character development: Yes
Loveable characters: Yes
Diverse cast of characters: Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus: Complicated
emotional reflective slow-paced
emotional lighthearted reflective relaxing sad 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

It is so beautifully written. And I love all the characters, they have wonderful background to strengthen the story. But, I don't quite like the ending. I hope the ending can be a little more satisfying, with all the plot solved up. But it does not lessen the incredible plot within this book.
emotional hopeful mysterious sad medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven: Plot
Strong character development: Yes
Loveable characters: Yes
Diverse cast of characters: Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

 
This was a strange but wholesome book that left me pleasantly surprised. The book centres on Sentaro, a character who has had a difficult life and is trying to make amends. His dreams of becoming a writer have been buried and he now works at a food stall selling dorayaki (a type of Japanese pancake filled with sweet bean paste). 

One day, Tokue shuffles along and insists on being part of Sentaro’s life. Reluctantly on his part, even after finding out she makes the best sweet bean paste, they become friends. Together, they make dorayaki and try to fix the problems of their pasts. 

Sweet Bean Paste is the perfect story for lovers of Japanese fiction with a little bit of darkness mixed in. 
emotional hopeful inspiring reflective slow-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
emotional inspiring reflective medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven: Character
Strong character development: Yes
Loveable characters: No
Diverse cast of characters: Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes
emotional inspiring reflective fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven: Character
Strong character development: Yes
Loveable characters: Yes
Diverse cast of characters: N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes
dark emotional funny hopeful informative inspiring lighthearted reflective relaxing sad 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

now THIS is a 5 star read. holy shit.

It’s the 25th of March and I finally have the words.
This book is something extremely special. It shows you the importance of connection between people, of community. It shows you loneliness, it shows you regret. It tells the story of the deeply ableist history of the treatment of leprosy patients. This book is anti-capitalist and anti-ableist without mentioning the terms at all. These values speak loud and clear, they scream at you from the page, scream to wake you up. There is a beautiful scene in the book where capitalism is criticised in such a way that it intertwines with the meaning of life. I will look back on this scene for the rest of my life. Being disabled myself I hold it dear to my heart. The meaning of life isn’t being a productive member of society, it’s being alive on this Earth.