Sweet Bean Paste
by Durian Sukegawa
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Pub Date Nov 24 2017 | Archive Date Aug 21 2017
Description
-- Library Journal
"Although Tokue’s past is a reflection of a dark chapter of Japanese history, her wisdom, patience, and kindness shape this touching and occasionally wistful novel. Through Tokue’s story, Sukegawa eloquently explores the seeds of biases and challenges us to truly listen to the natural world and the messages it artfully hides."
-- Booklist
Sentaro has failed: he has a criminal record, drinks too much, and hasn’t managed to fulfill his dream of becoming a writer. Instead, he works in a confectionery shop selling dorayaki, a type of pancake filled with a sweet paste made of red beans. With only the blossoming of the cherry trees to mark the passing of time, he spends his days listlessly filling the pastries. Until one day an elderly, handicapped woman enters the shop.
Tokue makes the best bean paste imaginable, and begins to teach Sentaro her art. But as their friendship flourishes, societal prejudices become impossible to escape, in this quietly devastating novel about the burden of the past and the redemptive power of friendship.
A Note From the Publisher
Alison Watts is a freelance translator, translating literature from Japanese into English. She lives in Ibaraki, Japan.
Advance Praise
'A poignant, poetic fable.' Denis Thériault, author of The Peculiar Life of a Lonely Postman
‘An ode to cuisine and to life. Poignant, poetic, sensual: a treat.’ Lausanne Cités
‘This mixture of grief and solace, cherry blossoms and red beans is a recipe for happiness.' Radio SRF 2 Kultur Kompakt
Available Editions
| EDITION | Other Format |
| ISBN | 9781786071958 |
| PRICE | CA$25.50 (CAD) |
| PAGES | 160 |
Links
Featured Reviews
little hands c, Reviewer
This book was a pleasant surprise and it read almost like a fairytale.
Sentaro is a man who works in a dorayaki shop but he feels no emotion nor attachment to the place, it's just a mere obligation for him. One day an older woman, Tokue, who shows clear signs of a past desease on her body, asks him to take her in and to let her work in his shop. She's been cooking sweet bean paste for the past 50 years of her life and her process enraptures Sentaro who's willing to dedicate himself to his work with more passion and interest than before. Prejudices about her desease force him to lay her off though and that's why Sentaro feels more invested in her life outside the shop, he wants to know how's she's coping and will find in her a precious friend, a friend who'll inspire him to live his life free from impositions that life will place on his path. "You just need to Listen." Tokue will tell him, and it'll take him some time to truly understand what she means by that.
I really enjoyed this book. As I said before it felt like reading a fairy tale, the cultural setting is enchanting and captivating and the overall story truly poetic. I rated it 3 stars only because I would have enjoyed if the characters had been flashed out a little bit more, I wanted to find them engaging but sometimes the story would take over and I wouldn't be given the chance to know them a little better. Nevertheless I really liked this book and I'd recommend it to whomever was interested in it!
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