A review by misspalah
Sweet Bean Paste by Durian Sukegawa

emotional hopeful reflective sad tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

“Some lives are all too brief, while others are a continual struggle. I couldn’t help thinking that it was a brutal assessment of people’s lives to employ usefulness to society as a yardstick by which to measure their value.”

― Durian Sukegawa, Sweet Bean Paste

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As a fan of literary fiction, this story truly resonated with me. It begins with a sense of hopelessness and melancholy, but gradually, the reasons behind this tone become clear. I didn’t have high expectations when I picked it up; I simply wanted a change from my previous read. The fact that it’s also a translated work is an added bonus. We meet Sentaro, who works at a dorayaki shop to repay a debt owed to the shop owner's late husband. Sentaro seems to be living on autopilot, finding no joy in anything he does—he’s merely existing. Then, an elderly woman named Tokue visits the shop twice, offering to help for a much lower wage. Initially hesitant, Sentaro changes his mind after tasting the sweet bean paste Tokue makes. An unexpected and heartwarming friendship forms between them, with the plot progressing as they share their life stories and dreams. Tokue, in a way, becomes a mentor to Sentaro, teaching him how to make both the bean paste and the dough. Wakana, another character who appears later in the story, also bonds with Tokue and starts spending time at the dorayaki shop. Unfortunately, Tokue’s time at the shop is short-lived. Due to the stigma surrounding her past as a recovered leprosy patient, sales decline, and the shop owner’s wife insists that Sentaro let Tokue go. Tokue, feeling sorry for both the shop and Sentaro, decides to resign. Sentaro eventually quits as well when the owner’s wife plans to change the shop's direction. I anticipated the ending, as it aligns with the bittersweet nature of Japanese literature. What makes the story even more touching is that the author personally visited former patients of leprosy isolation centers and explored their experiences of being forced into quarantine until laws changed to release them when the disease was no longer a public threat. Overall, it was a fulfilling read—you’ll crave dorayaki while enjoying the writing, and at the same time, you'll understand the deeper message behind the story.