Tag: Japanese fiction

June Reading Wrapup

Life has been really hectic lately, and I’ve really appreciated escaping into stories at the end of long, busy days.

The City of Stolen Magic by Nazneen Ahmed Pathak

This is the story of a young girl, Chompa, who has powerful magic that she struggles to control. When Chompa’s mum is abducted by British colonizers, she must undertake a daring adventure to rescue her. I loved this historical fantasy adventure with fascinating contrasts between the locations in India and London. This also has some really interesting but age appropriate insights into racism, colonisation and exploitation, and I really enjoyed some of the ideas explored in this story, like great power comes at a price and rebels attempting to democratize magic. Really looking forward to seeing where the next installment takes brave Chompa and her loyal friends.

The Morrigan by Kim Curran

When I was about seven, my primary teacher read The Hounds of the Morrigan by Pat O’Shea to our class, it was my introduction to celtic mythology and fantasy, and I’ve been fascinated by both ever since. I found this in the library and couldn’t resist returning to find out more about the shapeshifting goddess of war. This retelling of Irish mythology starts with the arrival of the Tuatha De to Ireland and runs right through to the defeat of the warrior Cuchulain. I was gripped by this howling tale of female rage and revenge, love and loss, and it’s easily one of the most gripping books I’ve read this year.

Braiding Sweetgrass by Robin Wall Kimmerer

This series of essays by a botanist who also happens to be of indigenous descent has been on my radar for a while and it did not disappoint. There were parts of this book that were just so refreshing and comforting to read, like the ideas around gifts, reciprocity and symbiotic relationships in nature, and about the relationship between Earth and humans. Braiding Sweetgrass is quite a long book but such an interesting mix of topics like botany, nature, history, colonisation, indigenous culture, environmental issues and parenthood that I really enjoyed listening to over a couple of months.

Wildlands by Brogen Murphy

Set in 2050, this is about two children, Astrid and Indie, who accidentally fall out of a train running between Manchester and Glasgow and into a section of Britain that has been depopulated of humans and rewilded with beavers, bison, wolves, bears and lynx. The map at the start made me laugh out loud because the area that becomes the wildlands in the story is where I was born and grew up in the South West of Scotland. Wildlands is a tense and thrilling survival adventure as the sisters try to make their way out of the Wildlands to safety and considers whether humans can truly ever live in harmony with nature.

The Passengers on the Hankyu Line by Hiro Arikawa

A short slice of life novel by the writer of The Travelling Cat Chronicles (reviewed here) about the chance encounters of passengers travelling on the Hankyu Line train. The story follows how these seemingly random interactions end up changing the course of the characters’ lives from fledgling romances to break ups and new beginnings. This was such a sweet and gentle story that was so easy and pleasant to dip into at the end of a busy day.

Halfway through the year and halfway towards my target as I’ve read (and listened to) 25/50.

Have a lovely week! X

January Reading Wrapup

Finally sharing my January reading wrapup, after a fairly hectic start to February. Last month, I sought out a few gentle, comfort reads to contrast the back to work blues and grim news.

Away with the Penguins by Hazel Prior

Away with the Penguins was my first read of the year, and what an emotional roller-coaster it was! I thoroughly enjoyed getting to know the cantankerous and indomitable Veronica McCready as she embarks on a grand adventure at the age of 86 to Antarctica and learns so much about herself, others and penguins along the way. Parts of this were extremely moving, and reminded me of stories my own late nanna told me about how much society has changed in her lifetime. I’ll definitely be reading the sequel.

What You Are Looking for is in the Library by Michiko Aoyama

A lovely novel translated from Japanese that follows a group of characters all at different stages of life who visit their little local library, and get a personal recommendation from the enigmatic librarian. This is such a heartwarming, inspiring and comforting story about characters learning to see their own value and worth, working towards their dreams and learning to enjoy where they are on the journey too.

More than a Woman by Caitlin Moran

I’ve always considered Caitlyn Moran to be an opinionated, funny and sometimes vulgar big sisterly figure. I loved How to Be a Woman, which I read at a time when I was in a similar stage of life, and had been looking forward to her take on middle-age. As ever, Caitlin delivers an unflinchingly honest report of the joys, stresses and sorrows of life as she describes her work-life balance, housework, parenting teenagers, marriage, aging parents, botox and mid-life a fashion. I didn’t find this quite as politically astute as How to Be A Woman but at times this felt like such a reassuring chat and a cup of tea with an old friend.

Have a lovely week. X

October Reading Wrapup

I read a real mix last month with two children’s books, two Japanese novellas and two contemporary women’s fiction.

The Girl Who Drank the Moon by Kelly Barnhill

This is the story of a town that sacrifices the youngest baby every year to a witch that lives in a forest, and the witch accidentally feeds one of the baby’s moonlight which gives her magical powers. The Girl Who Drank the Moon is a story about sorrow and grief, and of how we can close off and harden our hearts to protect ourselves from heartache, or we can open them because love expands and can heal all our hurts. I found the back story told in bits a bit hard to piece together, but this is a gentle fairytale that gave me a warm fuzzy feeling, though I didn’t love it quite as much as The Ogress And The Orphans.

Before Your Memory Fades by Toshikazu Kawaguchi

This is the third book in this series, and this one changes locations from a cafe in Tokyo to the coastal city of Hakodate, but this cafe also has a particular seat that allows the customer to return to a moment in the past (or future) to meet someone who has also visited the cafe for the time it takes a cup of coffee to cool. These books are interesting explorations of grief and learning to live with the past it, and I really appreciated the new location with its descriptions of view of the marina and the hustle and bustle of the cafe, but it did require a bit of suspension of belief about how easy it is to become a comedian in Japan and how many young women die suddenly from obscure illnesses.

Crookhaven: School for Thieves by J. J. Arcanjo

This was an impulse purchase, but one that turned out to be a hit. Crookhaven: School for Thieves follows an orphan called Gabe who lives with his gran and happens to be a talented pickpocket. Gabe is eventually invited to Crookhaven, a boarding school that trains the students in the art of forgery, lock picking, pick pocketing, parkour, hacking and other skills they’ll need to know become the next generation of Robin Hoods. Along the way, Gabe starts to search for the parents that abandoned him and disappeared without a trace. This was a very refreshing take on a boarding school story full of friendship, found family, adventure and mystery that I thoroughly enjoyed and I can’t wait to read the next one.

The Last Library by Freya Sampson

I don’t read a lot of contemporary fiction, but I found this completely captivating and heartwarming. This is the story of June Jones, a socially awkward and reclusive library assistant, who has been lost in her grief for ten years after her mother died. When the council threatens to close the library where she works, she finds herself pulled into the protests and campaign to save it, finding friends, community and romance along the way. I was absolutely rooting for June from the start, a really lovely story about grief, friendship, community and libraries.

Days at the Morisaki Bookshop by Satoshi Yagisawa

I was a little underwhelmed by the second Japanese novella I read last month. Days at the Morisaki Bookshop follows a broken hearted woman who quits her job after finding out her boyfriend is engaged to someone else, and goes to live with her uncle who runs a secondhand bookshop. The book is split into two parts, the first is about the narrator learning to love to read, while the second part is more of a slice of life as she gets to know her aunt better and finds a new love interest. I felt like this book couldn’t decide what it wanted to be and was too short to really try to follow two different story lines.

A Very Distant Shore by Jenny Colgan

This was another impulse pick from the library. I don’t read a lot of contemporary fiction but I’ve been craving heartwarming stories to counter the increasingly bleak news reports. A Very Distant Shore follows a woman caring for her father who lives on the distant island of Mure that is struggling to recruit a new GP and a Syrian refugee who is offered a fresh start on the island. This is a short book but I felt it handled the issues of asylum seekers sensitively, and while the details are deliberately vague it doesn’t gloss over his trauma. I really enjoyed this short, poignant story and I’ll definitely be reading more by Jenny Colgan.

February Reading Wrapup


February was another slow month of reading, but one where I read the sequel to one of my favourite books from 2021, as well as two translated murder mysteries, one Polish and the other Japanese.

Bloodmarked by Tracy Deonn

The sequel to Legendborn (reviewed here), definitely felt like a middle book as Bree tries to learn how to use her unique powers as the Scion of King Arthur, a medium and the root magic of her ancestors, and prepares to lead the descendents of the Knights of the Round Table into battle with demons attempting to break into the human world. Bree finds herself hunted by enemies inside and out of the Order, and Bloodmarked is full of twists, revelations and betrayals. I’m not generally a fan of Chosen One stories, but I really love Bree for her bravery, loyalty and insights into race, privilege and grief. I found Bloodmarked had some pacing issues but had me hooked to the end, and I’m really looking forward to reading the concluding part of the Legendborn Trilogy.

Drive Your Plow Over the Bones of the Dead by Olga Tokarczuk

This is such a strange novel and hard to describe but it was absolutely gripping, creepy and atmospheric. Written as a stream of consciousness from an eccentric woman in her 60s who lives in a remote Polish village investigating the mysterious deaths of local hunters and poachers whom the narrator believes were killed by animals taking vengeance. I thoroughly enjoyed this macabre murder mystery that kept me guessing until the end about who, how and why, remiscent of Roal Dahl’s short stories and Agatha Christie.

The Honjin Murders by Seishi Yokomizo

My second murder mystery of the month, this time was a Japanese translation. The Honjin Murders follows investigation of the murder of a bride and groom on their wedding night in a locked room. Full of clues, suspects and misdirection, this was a clever and gripping mystery that reads like a Japanese take on Sherlock Holmes or Agatha Christie with a quirky Detective.

November Reading Wrapup

Dark and stormy November nights are perfect for snuggling up under a blanket with a book but I struggled to commit to anything at the start of the month while waiting for our second child’s arrival, and then once she was here I stuck to shorter books that were easy to dip in to during late nights up with a newborn and the sleepy days that followed…

She and Her Cat – Makoto Shinkai

This quirky little story follows four loosely connected and socially isolated individuals who all adopt cats from abandoned kittens to feral strays, and the narrative switches between the human and feline perspectives. In each of the stories the cats inspire and motivate their humans to change their life in some way. She and Her Cat is an easy to read, heartwarming novella.

Gallant – V.E. Schwab

A strange and haunting children’s story about life and death, and the people caught in between. Gallant follows the voiceless orphan, Olivia, raised in an school orphanage until one day she receives a letter from an unknown uncle inviting her home where Olivia starts to learn the secrets and mysteries of the Prior family and their home, Gallant. This is a tense, mysterious and macabre story but one that gripped me.

The Haunting of Aveline Jones – Phil Hickes

As a child I loved Goosebumps and the Point Horror series, and over the last few years I’ve really enjoyed finding a few new creepy children’s stories. The Haunting of Aveline Jones follows the title character who is staying with her aunt in Malmouth, Cornwall when she finds a book of ghost stories and discovers clues to the mysterious disappearance of a local child 30 years before. Set during a dark and stormy Halloween with some very creepy local folklore and traditions, this was a really atmospheric and thrilling children’s ghost story that really drew me in and I’m looking forward to reading the rest of the series.

Greenglass House – Kate Milford

This is such a strange children’s story, yet one that is thoroughly captivating and charming. The story is set in Greenglass House, an old hotel frequented by smugglers most of the year, when five unexpected guests arrive during the festive break. Milo, the adopted son of the hotel owners, becomes involved in a mystery surrounding the five guests and the hotel, and learns so much about his home and identity over the story. This was such a lovely, gentle adventure and mystery, so easy to dip in and out often while up in the wee hours of the night with a newborn or in snatches during her daytime naps.

If Cats Disappeared from the World by Genki Kawamura

This had been sitting on my shelf for a while, and I started reading it when I wanted a comfort read while my own cat Mara was unwell (though thankfully she has recovered).

When the 30 year old narrator finds out he has a terminal illness and only days to live, he receives a visit from the devil who offers to trade one extra day of life for everything the narrator is willing to live without. It seems like an easy trade but the story considers what life would be like without mobile phones, films and cats to name just a few things the devil makes disappear in order to extend the narrator’s life – though apparently even the devil draws the line at a world without chocolate. Every time the devil removes something from the world, the narrator is left considering the impact it had on his life and how much we take for granted everyday.

If Cats Disappeared From the World is a short, strange but poignant and thought-provoking story about love, grief, family, regrets, dying and cats. Unfortunately I found it hard to connect with the narrator, and I preferred The Travelling Cat Chronicles (reviewed here), which covers similar themes, though this is still worth reading. Take Care, and have a lovely week. X

Before the Coffee Gets Cold by Toshikazu Kawaguchi

Before the Coffee Gets Cold

Set in an old-fashioned cafe off the beaten path in Tokyo, Before the Coffee Gets Cold is a quirky, Japanese novel about time travel. In the Funiculi Funicula Cafe, there is a particular chair that allows the person sitting in it the once in a lifetime chance to travel back or forward in time to speak to someone they know who has visited the cafe. There are several rules regarding time-travel, the most important of which is that the traveller must return to the present before their cup of coffee gets cold.

Before the Coffee Gets Cold is split into four parts, each following a different relationship from a broken-hearted woman whose lover moved to the U.S.A., a nurse whose husband has forgotten her due to Alzheimer’s Disease, a grieving sister who ran away from her family to escape her obligations and responsibilities, and a mother and daughter who never had the chance to know each other. There’s also a ghostly woman who haunts the cafe and failed to return to the present in time, but regrettably her story isn’t elaborated on. Visiting the past and future helps the time travelers to make sense of events and find a way forward in the present.

Before the Coffee Gets Cold is a short but thought-provoking and poignant story of regret and hope. Have a lovely week. X

Convenience Store Woman by Sayaka Murata

Convenience Store Woman

Convenience Store Woman is narrated by Keiko Furukara and right from the start it’s clear that she’s a little bit odd and doesn’t fit in, but Keiko is frequently as baffled by other people as they are by her. At times Keiko is hard to relate to as she questions her humanity and there are moments when her lack of empathy and violent impulses add a sinister edge to the story.

As a university student Keiko takes a part-time job in a convenience store, where she finds a reassuring sense of routine, predictability and purpose, and she finally starts to feel like an ordinary, productive member of society. Eighteen years later, at the age of 36, Keiko is single, childless and still working part-time at the convenience store, and feeling pressure to conform as she realises that concerned family members and peers view her with a combination of curiosity and pity because they can’t imagine how she could be content when she’s deviated from the path of career, marriage and children that everyone else followed.

Convenience Store Woman2

Then, into Keiko’s orderly and predictable workplace, comes a new employee, Shiraha, a mid-30s slacker with a victim mentality who looks down on both the work and the other workers, but who is on the hunt for a marriage partner to support him. Shiraha is an interesting foil for Keiko, and he becomes the catalyst that pushes Keiko to choose between pretending to be normal and conforming to social expectations, or accepting herself for who she is and doing what makes her happy.

Convenience Store Woman is a short book and easy to read, but also a thought-provoking and powerful exploration of self-acceptance, conformity and societal pressure. Have a lovely week! X