Sweet Bean Paste: The International Bestseller

Sweet Bean Paste. I didn't know what to expect upon reading this novel. But like the cherry trees so often alluded to in the narrative, the story unfolds gently, quietly, unhurried. Like the dorayaki pancakes central to the two main characters, it blossoms into a story that is rich, fulfilling and leaves you satisfied. It is a story of life and death, existence and purpose. Of society's ability to shun, discriminate and alienate those unfortunate to be struck by illness. But it is a story of redemption, friendship and understanding. Gently written, with a powerful message. We all deserve our place in the world. We are born to have purpose. And for that we should be seen and heard. And society should be grateful for our existence.Recommended.

As a fan of japanese novels, this is definitely up there.Wonderfully heart-warming yet heart wrenching, it's an interesting insight to a very true, very sad period of history for those suffering from leprosy.

Sweet Bean Paste is a quiet, slow-burner of a story. It begins quietly, uneventfully, in a shop where dorayaki – pancakes with a sweet bean paste filling – are made. As the story progresses, we learn more about the small cast of characters. A new charcter enters the story – an old lady named Tokue. She teaches the young manager of the dorayaki-shop how to make superior sweet bean paste. A strange relationship develops between the old lady and the young man. Eventually, we learn more about her, and that’s when the story starts to show previously hidden depths.This is a quiet but deeply satisfying work.

It's a really nice story. The characters make connections and learn from each other and, along the way, find meaning in the not so great lives they live. I enjoyed reading but the ending is bittersweet.

This was a poignant read and informed me about an aspect of Japanese history that I didn’t know about. It was slightly shocking, but also a story of resilience in the face of suffering and difficulty. Definitely worth reading.

A wonderful, gentle story. Great novel.

A beautiful story…I felt I was there with them

I was quite excited about this read. I love the setting and could feel the depth of it, as it had been written quite well.It made me feel a whole heap of emotions. It showed me the severity of how people had suffered from certain illnesses and the prejudices that they faced for having this illness. This was a serious and true occurrences, that I was not aware of. It was interesting but saddened me. However there were elements to the book that were very heartwarming, such as the relationship between Tokue and Sentaro.I wish more happened. Like certain scenes were talked about but weren't witnessed by the reader. I feel like the pace dragged a little, And would have been more exciting if we had seen these. Still, an enjoyable and lovely read.