Ms Ice Sandwich
Ratings42
Average rating3.8
This is, not your average teen growing pains story it goes from infuation to discovering themselves and discovering a soulmate closer than they thought.
One moment in the book had me chortling and laughing. which caused my support worker to ask why was laughing.
Yes, like a giggling teenager, I was laughing at the fart scene.
The whole resolution at the end made sense and didn't feel rushed,
Cute little novella fr- I usually hate lack of chapters and paragraph formatting, but it fit the perspective of a child really well. Little bro was really ranting to me about me ice sandwich lmao
I wasn't exactly in the mood for this book and I would have set it aside, to be read at a later time, but I saw it is really short, so I thought why not. And the book was quite endearing, in a weird way.
What I liked the most about it is the writing style. There are so many writing styles and somehow I seem to stumble upon some really good ones lately-and I love that for myself. I have no doubt that Mieko Kawakami is a very skilled writer just by reading this short story. She managed to write precisely like I'd imagine a pre-teen to write. The description was all over the place and it felt so right. The main character's own voice came through so naturally. At the same time some parts of the book were pretty intense too.
While I enjoyed the book, I also have some curiosities about it. I have some questions that got no answer and I'm curious about both the main character and Ms Ice Sandwich. But, well, overall it was quite a nice read.
This was a sweet story about a young boy and his first crush. The translation was a breeze to read.
didn't do anything for me.. to be real.. somehow felt way too long despite the short length
English
Ms Ice Sandwich is a novelette (92 pages) by Japanese author Mieko Kawakami narrated by a young protagonist (elementary school) with an unknown name. He tells us all about his secret crush; the lady who sells sandwiches in the supermarket near his house. He also tells us about his daily life, his mother and school. I gave the story 3 stars because I felt that I didn't connect as much with the characters due to the shortness of the story, however, the premise is very original, and it made me feel warm to read the protagonist's feelings.
Español
Ms Ice Sandwich es una novelita o novela corta (92 páginas) por la autora japonesa Mieko Kawakami. Narrada por un joven protagonista (escuela primaria) cuyo nombre no llegamos a saber, nos cuenta acerca de su crush secreto que es nada más y nada menos que la señorita que vende sándwiches en el supermercado cercano a su casa. También nos cuenta de su vida cotidiana, de su mama y de la escuela. Le di al relato 3 estrellas ya que sentí que no llegue a conectar tantos con los personajes por lo corta de la historia, sin embargo, la premisa es muy original, y me causo ternura leer los sentimientos del protagonista.
“If video games make you stupid, then what do mobile phones make you?”
A young boy buys egg sandwiches every day. The reason? The mysterious young woman behind the counter. Her black hair and beautiful eyes with eyelids the color of blue Popsicles make him fall in love with her. His visits to the store provide his sole wish in an otherwise mundane daily life where no one seems to understand him.
Kawakami creates a novella about what we like to describe as “the coming-of-age” of a boy but I don't think that Ms. Ice Sandwich is just that. The child is the only focus of the narration and we see his world through his eyes and enter his mind. His mum is a kind of fortune-teller, distant and quite selfish, her only activity is staring at a mobile screen. Like, you know, 90% of our stupid world...His classmates are indifferent, with the exception of Tutti, his father left the picture long ago. His only confidante is his seriously ill grandmother, his escape is sketching beautiful sceneries.
Through his thoughts we are shown truths and realities, his innocent remarks aim at the heart of the significance of appearance in this society. The bright blue eyeshadow of the woman is disturbing to many customers. She is different. Why? The public decides and condemns. The young boy questions everything, he is sensitive and begins to regard the world of the adults as a seriously weird territory. Tutti, his friend, is a girl who loves violent action films and drawing gunfights. Gradually, the boy understands that loss, sentimental and physical, is one more reality he will have to come to terms with.
There is a quiet critique in Kawakami's writing, a tenderness towards a protagonist we would like to hug and protect and have endless conversations with. Behind the whimsical tone and the elegant humor, there is sadness about the deep loneliness of a child who is an old soul, wise and honest. On a side note, I loved the use of The Tinderbox, one of my favorite fairy tales, within the context of the boy's story.
“Well, then you'd better come back again and watch. He's the best-Al Pacino!”, she says, a big grin on her face.“What's that?”“You know-the film we just saw Lieutenant Hanna. Al Pacino plays him.”“Oh, it's somebody's name. I thought it might be how you say goodbye in some other country.”
Japanese Literature is a world treasure. We need ALL of the translations and I can't wait to read more of Kawakami's work.
“But then I find that I can't say any more and I stop talking. It's silent in the room, like time has just stopped, but after a bit I can hear a bird chirping. It feels like it's coming from so close by that I spin around to check, but there are no birds anywhere.”
Many thanks to Pushkin Press and NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.
My reviews can also be found on https://theopinionatedreaderblog.wordpress.com/
This is a short and effective novella about dealing with loss and growing up, and a small boy's infatuation with the woman who serves sandwiches in his local store. It talks about big things by focusing on little things. To be so convincingly inside a young boy's head is a remarkable feat of empathy from Kawakami. She was a new author to me, and I will be looking for more of her work.