Status
Available
Call number
Genres
Collection
Publication
Penguin Publishing Group
Description
"What's the one dish you'd do anything to taste just one more time? Down a quiet backstreet in Kyoto exists a very special restaurant. Run by Koishi Kamogawa and her father Nagare, the Kamogawa Diner serves up deliciously extravagant meals. But that's not the main reason customers stop by . . . The father-daughter duo are 'food detectives'. Through ingenious investigations, they are able to recreate dishes from a person's treasured memories - dishes that may well hold the keys to their forgotten past and future happiness. The restaurant of lost recipes provides a link to vanished moments, creating a present full of possibility. A bestseller in Japan, The Kamogawa Food Detectives is a celebration of good company and the power of a delicious meal"--… (more)
User reviews
LibraryThing member ladycato
I received an advance copy via NetGalley.
This work of translation is a unique kind of mystery book made up of a sequence of short story "cases." If someone is seeking a memorable restaurant food from decades ago, or a re-creation of their long-dead mother's soup recipe, they go to the food
Now, many of the clues involves minute details from Japanese culture and geography. These aren't mysteries that an ignorant American like myself could solve, but that didn't detract from my enjoyment at all because the logic is explained beautifully. Plus, the food is described in luscious detail. This is a dangerous book to eat while hungry!
This work of translation is a unique kind of mystery book made up of a sequence of short story "cases." If someone is seeking a memorable restaurant food from decades ago, or a re-creation of their long-dead mother's soup recipe, they go to the food
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detectives in their tucked-away shop that is almost impossible to find. The father and daughter duo therein use the scant clues provided by the client to re-create the long-lost food.Now, many of the clues involves minute details from Japanese culture and geography. These aren't mysteries that an ignorant American like myself could solve, but that didn't detract from my enjoyment at all because the logic is explained beautifully. Plus, the food is described in luscious detail. This is a dangerous book to eat while hungry!
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LibraryThing member jetangen4571
translated, Japan, foodie, contemporary, ex-cop, detective, father-and-daughter, investigations, friendship, friends, family, nostalgia, culinary, cultural-exploration, cultural-heritage*****
The Kamogawa Diner is a restaurant of “lost recipes” where patrons request the Food Detectives (ex-cop
Thanks to Jesse Kirkwood for the smooth translation.
I requested and received an EARC from PENGUIN GROUP Putnam, G.P. Putnam's Sons via NetGalley. Thank you!
The Kamogawa Diner is a restaurant of “lost recipes” where patrons request the Food Detectives (ex-cop
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father and modern daughter) to unlock a prized memory from their past. The mystery and the investigations are very uncommon to many of us but the foodie aspect is somewhat similar to the foodies of some European nations. I was delighted to find that it has a fluid translation and that I could use it to go on a cultural expedition as well as a foodie delight. Now all I need is an audio so I don't have to mangle the Japanese in my head!Thanks to Jesse Kirkwood for the smooth translation.
I requested and received an EARC from PENGUIN GROUP Putnam, G.P. Putnam's Sons via NetGalley. Thank you!
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LibraryThing member eyes.2c
So delightful!
Talk about food for the soul! An out of the way, humble diner in Kyoto that serves up the most wonderful traditional Japanese meals. The place is not easy to locate. There’s no signs or directions. You really have to want to find it. Nagare Kamogawa and his daughter Koishi run the
People come to find the dish their mother might have cooked, the meal they remember as a child with their grandfather, a myriad of unusual requests.
The dishes are sublime. I’m spending an inordinate amount of time looking them up (in my own cookbooks and online) The dishes are served on designated plates and types of pottery ware from all around Japan. I’ve also been looking some of those up in my fav. Japanese tableware shop.
This is just such a wonderfully encouraging read. You can feel the texture of the dishes arrayed, almost taste them. The color and movement, the descriptions of places I’ve visited are so evocative. Swoon worthy! The people find understanding, warmth and friendship. Some return.
A startling, yet humbly sumptuous read that made me long for such a place.
A Putnam ARC via NetGalley.
Many thanks to the author and publisher.
Talk about food for the soul! An out of the way, humble diner in Kyoto that serves up the most wonderful traditional Japanese meals. The place is not easy to locate. There’s no signs or directions. You really have to want to find it. Nagare Kamogawa and his daughter Koishi run the
Show More
small eating house. Nagare is the chef, Koishi waits tables. On the detecting side of the business, Koishi takes down the information for people who are searching for how a particular dish from their memory is cooked. Nagare is the detective. All the client has to go on is a one line advertisement in the Gourmet Monthly magazine. At the end of each case Koishi and Nagare ask their client to pay into an account how much their solving of the case was worth to them. Nagare cooks the dish the client has sought.People come to find the dish their mother might have cooked, the meal they remember as a child with their grandfather, a myriad of unusual requests.
The dishes are sublime. I’m spending an inordinate amount of time looking them up (in my own cookbooks and online) The dishes are served on designated plates and types of pottery ware from all around Japan. I’ve also been looking some of those up in my fav. Japanese tableware shop.
This is just such a wonderfully encouraging read. You can feel the texture of the dishes arrayed, almost taste them. The color and movement, the descriptions of places I’ve visited are so evocative. Swoon worthy! The people find understanding, warmth and friendship. Some return.
A startling, yet humbly sumptuous read that made me long for such a place.
A Putnam ARC via NetGalley.
Many thanks to the author and publisher.
Show Less
LibraryThing member oldandnewbooksmell
The Kamogawa Diner doesn’t really advertise much, there’s not even a sign outside it’s doors, but the customers who need to find them always do. You see, the Kamogawa Diner isn’t just a diner, it’s a “food detective” service run by the father-daughter duo of Koishi and Nagare. Filled
There’s two things that will most likely get me to read a book. One: be recently translated from a popular Japanese seller. Two: put a cat on the cover. The cat doesn’t even need to be the main focus of the book, a general cat will do just fine.
This is such a cute book - and a warm hug for those foodie book lovers out there as well. I can’t cook to save my life, but this novel went into detail about each of the dishes so it may be something someone could actually follow and make their own versions of the recipes.
Some of the stories I felt were a little drawn out, but they were people sharing a fond memory (or what they could remember of their memory). I’ve said this so many times, but Japanese literature has such an amazing way of capturing the human experience and I always enjoy reading translated work.
Overall, a wonderfully fun, hungry story about a food detective, a father and daughter duo who use their skill of deduction to help customers recreate that special dish from their memories. I can see a lot of contemporary fiction lovers enjoying this book, as well as those who’d like a shorter comfort read.
*Thank you G.P. Putnam’s Sons and NetGalley for an advance digital copy of this book in exchange for an honest review
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with six different customers' memories and dishes, follow the Kamogawa Diner uses their customer’s treasured memories, the pair are able to recreate lost recipes that provide links to vanished moments.There’s two things that will most likely get me to read a book. One: be recently translated from a popular Japanese seller. Two: put a cat on the cover. The cat doesn’t even need to be the main focus of the book, a general cat will do just fine.
This is such a cute book - and a warm hug for those foodie book lovers out there as well. I can’t cook to save my life, but this novel went into detail about each of the dishes so it may be something someone could actually follow and make their own versions of the recipes.
Some of the stories I felt were a little drawn out, but they were people sharing a fond memory (or what they could remember of their memory). I’ve said this so many times, but Japanese literature has such an amazing way of capturing the human experience and I always enjoy reading translated work.
Overall, a wonderfully fun, hungry story about a food detective, a father and daughter duo who use their skill of deduction to help customers recreate that special dish from their memories. I can see a lot of contemporary fiction lovers enjoying this book, as well as those who’d like a shorter comfort read.
*Thank you G.P. Putnam’s Sons and NetGalley for an advance digital copy of this book in exchange for an honest review
Show Less
LibraryThing member p.d.r.lindsay
I've been enjoying all the new books in the library and found a charmer, but it depends on whether you have some knowledge of Japanese food and the very particular way a dedicated chef would cook a meal. 'The Kamogawa Food Detectives' is a current best seller in Japan and no wonder. A father and
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daughter team will try to recreate a special recipe for people who are desperate to taste again the food that is so special because of the memories attached to it. Brought back memories for me of the wonderful traditional meals I enjoyed in Japan and the respect Japanese people have for food and they way it should be eaten. Show Less
LibraryThing member bookczuk
2024 read. I was very excited to read this after coming across some extremely favorable reviews for it. I'm a big fan of this style of Japanese novel. However, I found myself disappointed with the start of the book, feeling that maybe it suffered in translation a bit, or something. I did put the
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book aside for a few days, but picked it up again and finished it that day. It grew on me-- not enough to become a favorite, but enough to keep me reading. Besides, it has a terrific cover! Rounded up in star ratings. Show Less
Original publication date
2013-11-25
Local notes
Kamogawa Food Detectives, 1
DDC/MDS
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