Ms Ice Sandwich (Japanese Novellas)

by Mieko Kawakami

Other authorsLouise Heal Kawai (Translator)
Paperback, 2020

Description

A boy goes to the supermarket almost every day, just so he can look at the face of the woman who sells sandwiches. She is beautiful to him, and he calls her "Ms Ice Sandwich", and endlessly draws her portrait. When the boy's friend hears about this hesitant adoration, suddenly everything changes. His visits to Ms Ice Sandwich stop, and with them the last hopes of his childhood.

Publication

Pushkin Press (2020), 96 pages

User reviews

LibraryThing member greeniezona
I had really very little idea of what to expect when I picked this book up at Prairie Lights. I had been admiring the fun, bold design of this series from Pushkin Press for a while on social media, and when I saw that the author of this one was a woman (and it was almost #witmonth!), I had to pick
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it up.

Honestly, I don't know how I could have been prepared for this quirky little novella, as it defies easy categorization. The protagonist is in fourth grade, so it almost comes across as MG, but at the same time it really doesn't. It's not that there is anything inappropriate for kids here, or that the voice is too mature or that the themes wouldn't be relatable... (indeed, later I read this book to my kids for family story time) I mean, it's about embracing uniqueness and the importance of getting to say goodbye -- two themes that seem like they should have solid appeal in upper elementary. I guess there is just a thoughtfulness to it that makes it feel like it was intended for adults -- or at least adults, too.

The book leaves questions unanswered and mysteries unexplained -- but then, so does life. As much as I'd like to know certain whys -- I like the position of the book that it doesn't really matter. You like who and what you like, and it's best to just remain true to that.

Surprising but lovely.
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LibraryThing member reader1009
fiction/novella (translated into English from Japanese)
themes of grief/loss and saying goodbye, explored in the sparsely worded feelings of a lonely young boy.
LibraryThing member RealLifeReading
A rather strange book about a young boy who becomes infatuated (obsessed?) with the woman who sells sandwiches at the local store. There's this undertone of sadness and longing throughout.

I hadn't heard of this book or its author before. But the title and the fun cover caught my eye while I was
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browsing my library's Libby catalogue.

It's a coming of age novella, a story about growing up and feeling different and learning to cope with all these strange new emotions and feelings.

Kind of moving, in that subtle and quirky Japanese way.
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Language

Original language

Japanese

Physical description

7.8 inches

ISBN

1782276726 / 9781782276722
Page: 0.2275 seconds