Sweet Bean Paste
Ratings86
Average rating4.1
Contains spoilers
”Bean paste is all about feeling, young man.”
A weirdly calming read about an ex-convict’s dorayaki shop and the mysterious elderly Tokue he hires for basically peanuts. I say weirdly calming, because this book went places that I wasn’t expecting from the summary. I had some serious mood whiplash moments while reading this short, sweet, ultimately sad little novel.
Ex-convict Sentaro runs a dorayaki shop to pay off a debt. He’s making a rough go of it initially, because while he makes the pancakes from scratch, he buys pre-made sweet bean paste (name drop!) rather than make it from scratch. As a result his sweets are middling at best, and he doesn’t get much foot traffic as a result. Tokue, elderly woman with strangely twisted, ugly hands, starts hanging around his shop trying to get Sentaro to hire her. At first he refuses, but it’s only when she names some minuscule sum of money as her wage in exchange for making her sweet bean paste from scratch for him that he reluctantly hires her on. What follows is the two of them turning the shop around–until we start learning more about Tokue and her past.
I went into this blind, so when Tokue’s big reveal came, I was sort of floored. Leprosy was definitely not on my list of potential baggage. I was thinking more like dementia or homelessness or something. Regardless, this ended up being a pretty touching read for something so mood whiplash-y. I do sort of wish we find out how Sentaro ends up; I was rooting for him to open his own shop modeled after Tokue’s sweet bean paste, but the book ends before we get that far.
Still, a good, quick read. I sort of wish I had my own dorayaki to eat while reading this.
I don't even know what I was expecting when I started reading this, but what I got is definitely not it. 'Sweet Bean Paste' is a very interesting book while keeping that mild, heartwarming and heartbreaking at the same time, quality that I got used to in Japanese books.
I liked the plot, I got to read about a subject I did not read about before. And I liked the characters, I liked them from the first meeting.
There is something about Japanese arts that's very specific, but very hard to explain. For me at least. This is valid here too, in this book. I got a specific vibe from it that I can't get from a book written by any other author besides Japanese. But enough about that, this book is simply great and I recommend it.
My Rating System:
5⭐️: Excellent book AND influenced a change in my views
4.5⭐️: Excellent read
4⭐️: Great read, will recommend
3.5⭐️: Enjoyable read but missing something that will make it great ⬅️⬅️⬅️
3⭐️: An okay read that I didn’t regret spending time on it
2⭐️: Didn’t enjoy
1⭐️: Didn’t enjoy and had serious issues. Will suggest to avoid.
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3.5 stars. In typical fashion of the many Japanese zen-emotional (my own description for this sub-genre) fiction books that have been translated in recent years, there is a sad story to make you tear up. However, I didn't expect Tokue's background and learned something new about the institutional treatment she went through. I liked also the message about engaging with nature.
Funny story on why I read this book. I went to the library and I already picked two books that I wanted to read. For some reason, the number 2 did not sit right with me and I decided to borrow a third book. I jumped into my shelf of ‘must-read-before-i-die' on Goodreads and stumbled upon Sweet Bean Paste.
Sweet Bean Paste by Durian Sukegawa is a beautiful tale of friendship between Senatro, a not-so-happy confectioner and Tokue, a 76-year old woman, who wants to work at Senatro's shop. What begins as a mere employment relationship slowly evolves into a beautiful friendship.
I am rather confused on how exactly to review this book. Its not that there isn't any fluff in it. It's just that this book was an experience that's hard to put into words. I think I would rather write about the aspects I liked and did not.
The aspects I liked in this book was it's simple language yet deep impact. Some authors use wordy words to make an impact on readers and then there are Japanese authors, who for some reason, have this innate ability to leave a deep impact effortlessly. The other aspect I really liked is that the author focused more on the relationship between his two characters rather than dwelling too much into the past. Maybe an underlying message to not care about past much?
Although I enjoyed reading the tale of Sentaro and Tokue, I thought their internal conflicts, especially those of Senatro could have been presented better. I could not empathize or understand Senatro as much as I could with Tokue for the lack of his story. I think that is the only complaint I have.
If you like to read something breezy where nothing phenomenal is happening, where there are no strong plot points but just the interactions of the characters, you would totally enjoy this!
Read in just one day:
This is a short, beautiful story about the power of friendship, acceptance, and the beauty of life. The book follows the doriyaki maker (small filled Japanese pancakes) Sentaro, who one day meets the elderly Tokue. She turns out to be able to make delicious “sweet bean paste”, which is used in these doriyaki. This is how a special friendship arises.
The story is simple, but at the same time profound and makes you think about enjoying the little things in life and seeing the beauty in nature.
The book embodiment of a warm hug and reminder for people who feel lost in their job to look up and listen to the world around them.
“If my view of the world disappears, then everything I see disappears too”
It is brutal living in a world that values you only for your usefulness to the society. But what about those who are forced by circumstances to lead an existence that is not inherently useful to the society? The author executes the idea beautifully through the lens of an ex-convict, an elderly woman with a troubled life, and a lonely teenage girl. Just like Sentaro never imagined he would work in a dorayaki shop; how many of us are not stuck doing things we never thought we would because of circumstances we did not forsee? Amongst the all the ups, and downs in life, there is always a point where we wonder whether our live has any meaning or whether it is worth living at all. The book tells us - it is. Just our existence makes the world what it is. If we never existed, the world as we see it would not exist. I think it's a beautiful idea. And I loved the way the author delivered the message through the story.
The writing is simple and lucid, yet powerful in invoking sentiments that are generally deep buried. It makes you think, and question, and forces you to evaluate the merit in notions the society has about certain people, or categories of people; the prejudices that we blindly hold, or the social stigmas that make life difficult for the people against whom they are held. As sweet as the name is, the book is even sweeter. It makes for a perfect breezy read, and definitely helped me out of my reading slump!
Though part of the ending was expected I feel there was not a complete rersolution for two of the characters but the author got his point across in this being an existential discussion.
Short and sweet. A typical classic Japanese novel with an emotional tale.
Talks about taboos around illnesses, and friendships beyond expectations.
Loved it!
Rating: 4.67 leaves out of 5-Characters: 4/5 -Cover: 5/5-Story: 4/5-Writing: 5/5Genre: JapLit, Contemporary-JapLit: 5/5-Contemporary: 5/5Type: EbookWorth?: NoHated Disliked Meh It Was Okay Liked Really Liked LovedA book that will break your heart and warm it up at the same time. Society in large is cruel and utterly trashy. That is the nicest way I could put it. How we treat people shows a lot.
Una historia de soledad, de encuentros inesperados, de cómo las pequeñas cosas pueden cambiar para siempre nuestra forma de ver el mundo. Inconmensurablemente hermoso.
I adore stories with unlikely friendships!
The prose is simple but so beautiful. The setting felt so perfect to me. The cherry blossoms, the little shop, the sweet doriyaki, an old lady and a lost young man both with a dark past trying to make it through life... everything.
This one really surprised me. Although the story was a little predictable, it had so much depth and was really moving. Such a lovely little book.
Yes, this story about a down on his luck man who turns his life around after a chance meeting with a quirky old lady with a tragic backstory is kind of cheesy and predictable, but I really liked it. The author's outlook on life is what I needed to read right now.
I don't know what's happening this year but I'm reading a lot of books that breaks my soul and my heart..
I started reading this book at least partly because I absolutely love Dorayaki (pancakes filled with sweet red bean paste). To be fair I love most sweets, so this is a low bar. And while it starts quite whimsically, the story soon changes and highlights something I never knew anything about - the treatment of Hansens's Disease (leprosy) sufferers in Japan.
Up until 1996 people that had suffered from the illness, even if they had been cured for decades with no risk of any transmission, were locked away in sanatoriums. This is a large part of what's behind this story, and it also serves as a way to more generally question the value of a life, and the notion that a life should or could be measured by its usefulness to society as a whole.
“Sweet bean paste“ is a wonderful, short book. Don't be misled by the number of pages; this book has so much to offer and is still on my mind weeks after finishing it.
I consider the novel a coming-of-age story; our main character is not young, but the events of this novel create a sea change akin to someone awakening to adulthood. The book also sheds light on the treatment of those who suffered from leprosy in Japan in the mid-1900s. The characters are so well drawn that you feel you really know them within a few pages; this is the mark of a very good author.
I don't want to say too much more other than to recommend that you pick up a copy of this book.
Gentle, lightly philosophical novella dealing with inter-generational friendships and the treatment of marginalized peoples. Perfect weekend read.
