Sweet Bean Paste
by Durian Sukegawa (2013)
2023 reads, 3/12:
“‘All experience adds up to a life lived as only you could. I feel sure the day will come when you can say: this is my life.’”
A really wonderful slice-of-life read. I originally saw this book in an article titled 10 Books That Feel Like Wes Anderson Movies and honestly it hit the mark pretty well. For a novel like this, it was the perfect mix of both dialogue and internal musings from the main character, and general descriptive passages of the world surrounding him. Most of the novel takes place at the small dorayaki shop where the main character works.
Without spoiling, this book also handled really well how a certain group of people were treated unfairly in Japan, and the aftermath of the resulting government intervention. This was something I had never known about before, and even prompted me to do future research on the topic. Follow this link to learn more and possibly be spoiled.
Despite the hardships of all three of the characters, however, this was a bittersweet-yet heartwarming story. While this book will certainly give you mixed emotions, the writing and story are very well done – an absolute pleasure to read.