5.76k reviews for:

Sweet Bean Paste

Durian Sukegawa

4.07 AVERAGE

jessica_livier's review against another edition

3.75

hopeful inspiring sad medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: Yes

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"We were created in order to see and listen to the world".

"Somehow this mixture of grief and solace, cherry blossoms and red beans is a recipe for happiness".

"I pay attention to the language of things in this world that don´t use words".

"She said that was the only way for us to live, to be like poets".


Necesitaba leer algo ligero y wholesome después de leer 2 libros de The Hunger Games. Una novela coreana sobre una tienda pequeña, always does it for me. 

zoeducx's review against another edition

4.25

inspiring reflective medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: No

l3i5n's review against another edition

4.75

emotional reflective sad medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: Complicated

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: No

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

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"the moon has arrived."

avialia's review against another edition

3.5

challenging emotional relaxing slow-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: Complicated

Loveable characters: Yes

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This seemed like a sweet and cosy read when I started it. Immediately, I was brought into the feeling I get in many of the Japanese books I have read, due to this server. So I was expecting a slow and down-to-earth story where we see social injustice or something along these lines (I went in blind btw). So, I do appreciate this quiet atmosphere and the issues being less dramatic, it makes me slow down while reading, which is what I enjoy with these books. The writing felt soft and unhurried, and sometimes that’s exactly what I want. There’s something comforting about the way food, especially something as simple as red bean paste, is described in such detail.

What I liked most was the gentle way it handles pain and dignity. The book doesn’t shout, it whispers. Yet I do think that is what makes this so much stronger. And Tokue, the older woman in the story, really stayed with me. She’s patient, strange, kind, and somehow larger than life even though she hardly speaks her mind in the way I would have done in the same situation she was in the start. Through her, the book offers small truths about being seen.

That said, I didn’t fully connect with the characters, the main character felt flat to me, and even tho Tokue was warming, it was also what we expected. The mc especially felt like a vessel for the story than a person I could understand. 

elena_gabriela's review against another edition

4.0

emotional funny hopeful inspiring reflective sad fast-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: No

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

tatertash28's review against another edition

5.0

emotional hopeful relaxing sad fast-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Plot

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: Complicated

bearlyreadingx's review against another edition

3.5

emotional hopeful inspiring lighthearted reflective 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: Complicated

seafish26's review against another edition

4.75

emotional inspiring reflective 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: Yes

sophie_sciuto's review against another edition

4.5

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such a good book that surprised me, i picked it up at the library and really enjoyed it. the characters seemed so unique and i liked reading about all the different people and where they were in life but still met at this food shop.

samseho's review against another edition

5.0

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This was a very touching book. A quick read, easy prose, and the heartfelt ending made me cry (which I love). Enjoyed it from start to finish.