Sweet Bean Paste

🤫 Synopsis

Sentaro once dreamt of being a writer but is now working in a Dorayaki shop after a run-in with the law. What has now become his daily routine is disrupted by the arrival of a mysterious elderly lady who makes the best sweet bean paste he has ever tasted.

⭐ No Spoiler Review

This book has been on my TBR since the end of 2017 after it was first published. I was intrigued by the Japan setting and the beautiful cover but I didn’t get to it right away because it sounded like a very slow story.

I only decided to read it after I saw @2eightytwo recommend it on her Instagram. She said that she couldn’t bear to put it down because of how it had served as a source of comfort during a time when she was wondering about the meaning of life. Since I was going through a similar “existential crisis” at the time, I figured there would be no better time to read it.

Unlike what I initially thought, the pacing was just right and at 300 pages, it went by really quickly. The story itself was heartwarming and left me with a hopeful message.

My favourite aspect about this book is the atmospheric writing. The descriptions helped to paint the scenes of the cherry blossom season and of Sentaro making Dorayaki. Unsurprisingly, my favourite setting in this book is the Dorayaki shop. I loved reading about how the shop changes over time. The descriptions of the eponymous sweet dessert also made me crave for some after I was done reading. To be fair, I think I’m biased because I’ve overly romanticised Japan and Japanese food. I’m also probably romanticisng what it’s like to be in F&B as a smallholder.

I would recommend this to anyone who is looking for a mildly thought-provoking read about purpose and meaning in life. If you love Japan, a small shop setting, or mysterious and flawed characters (whose inner lives are not entirely revealed at the end), this is the perfect book for you.

Thanks so much for reading!

💜 jy

⚠️ Warning! Spoilers ahead ⚠️

Hi there! Welcome to the spoilers section of this post. Here are some notes that I wanna keep for future reference. For anyone who has already read the book, you can treat this like our secret book club! 😉

🍡 Extra thoughts about the book

The story was interesting. Before this, I didn’t know anything about leprosy though I had heard the word before. I had to look it up while I was reading to get some extra context. Sukegawa weaved threads of reality into the story and I think it’s cool that he went to the effort to do his research and talk to recovered patients. It’s a sad thing that happened, and I’m surprised that we no longer talk about it!

I think my review is biased because I loved reading about the business of running a small shop. I’m sure it is completely unromantic but whenever I think of book ideas, it’s always about the setting. I always want to write about someone working at a bubble tea shop, an amusement park, a cafe, etc. I think it’s because there’s always a possibility of a chance encounter or strange things happening, that don’t necessarily happen all the time.

I like the reminder at the end and how Tokue views the world. I think it’s comforting to think that your only meaning or purpose in life is to have felt it and this feeling allows the world to exist. It gives meaning to people who die young, to people who feel like they haven’t lived a full life. It’s a comfort to know that you were important in some way.

Of course I think this view is very similar to the “If a tree falls in a forest but no one is around to hear it, did it make a sound?” thing. I have never understood that phrase but Tokue’s view reminds me of that. While I believe that the tree makes a sound, I can see why it would be comforting to say that it didn’t or might not have.

💖 Favourite quotes

🤔 An unexpected feeling

There was nothing for it but to close for the day. Sentaro pulled down the shutters and set off along the street now bathed in the rays of the setting sun. He headed straight for the soba-noodle shop and a drink. Though tired, he felt a glow of satisfaction. He had not chosen to do this work because he wanted to; he wanted to be free of it as soon as possible. That’s all he was aiming for. And yet, he felt a sense of achievement from today, as if he’d turned a corner. That’s what puzzled him; this feeling he had of wanting to cheer, along with a sense that things had become somehow complicated. He didn’t know where he stood anymore.

👔 Working

For the first time ever, Sentaro understood what it was to be truly under pressure at work. On busy days there was no time to even stretch as he stood in front of the griddle all day long, pouring batter onto the grill to cook the pancakes. In between he would see to customers, work the till, and fill the pancakes with sweet bean paste.

☀️💀 A sharp contrast

Bright sunshine poured down from a clear sky. In Sentaro’s mind the clarity of the day only highlighted his state of wretchedness.

🔮 Fate

‘Fate?’ Tokue’s voice was charged. ‘What do you mean? Don’t throw around words like fate, Sentaro.’

‘Huh?’

‘Young people shouldn’t talk about fate.’

🌞 Summertime

Custom from school kids usually dropped off during the summer holidays, but that wasn’t happening this year. Quite the opposite, in fact, for the young girls continued to gather there every day at the counter seats. They came for dorayaki and cold drinks, and, to Sentaro’s surprise, Tokue’s presense also seemed to be a draw.

💡 A useful member

But if I’m really honest, all I ever wanted was to go outside that fence. I wanted to go out into society and work at an ordinary job. I wanted that for the same reasons everyone does – to be a useful member of society and make the world a better place.

👶 Born to

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.

🧭 Reality

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.

Thanks for being part of my secret book club! 😉💖

💜 jy

Credit for asset used in the header image

• Book cover | Source