Sweet Bean Paste by Durian Sukegawa
Sentaro has failed. He has a criminal record, drinks too much, and his dream of becoming a writer is just a distant memory. With only the blossoming of the cherry trees to mark the passing of time, he spends his days in a tiny confectionery shop selling dorayaki, a type of pancake filled with sweet bean paste.
Until, that is, Tokue comes into his life. An elderly woman with disfigured hands and a troubled past, she makes the best sweet bean paste Sentaro has ever tasted. The unlikeliest of friendships blossoms, but it will take all of their resolve – and plenty of pancakes – to protect themselves when Tokue’s dark secret comes to light.
For the Reading Challenge(s):
N/A
The Reason
It was the August BOTM for my online bookclub and it was relatively short, so I thought I’d try it.
The Quotes
“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.”
“I began to understand that we were born in order to see and listen to the world. And that’s all this world wants of us. It doesn’t matter that I was never a teacher or a member of the workforce, my life had meaning.”
“If all you ever see is reality, you just want to die. The only way to get over barriers, she said, is to live in the spirit of already being over them.”
“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.”
The Narrator(s)
Cindy Kay. It was good, no notes.
My Thoughts
I procrastinated reading this book because I haven’t had the best of luck with slice of life stories. I thought that normally nothing happens in slice of life stories except for regular day to day and so on, but with this story, I did see a progression; I liked that there was a something to look forward to with Sentaro learning to make the sweet bean paste from Tokue, I liked that there was some tension and backstories for both characters. I was curious about how it would end for them, and that made me excited to keep reading.
Having said that, I’m not saying that this book is going to become a favorite or anything, I’m just surprised that I didn’t dislike it and didn’t have to force myself to keep reading. It was charming, and I love the description of the food and the way Tokue made the bean paste. That was such a delight to read and made me curious about the actual making of them.
A lot of where the book went surprised me a little because I sort of expected a little bit of magical realism and I was surprised that it was more realistic than fairytale-ish. I appreciated the realism because it served the story but it also led to an ending that was somewhat open-ended, which disappointed me. I would’ve liked a more developed ending. All in all, it wasn’t bad though. I enjoyed reading it.
My Rating
⭐⭐⭐/5 stars.
Have you read this book? Would you read this book? Did you like the book or do you think you would like it?
I was also a little surprised by this book, as it explored a totally unexpected topic. I thought the ‘dark secret’ was going to be something more silly or quirky. Overall I enjoyed it, though!