Days at the Torunka Cafe

This was wonderful! A series of three, lightly linked stories. We learn about a student finding purpose and love while working part-time at the cafe; a succesful business man regretting his life and lost love but ultimately gaining redemption and the cafe owner’s daughter confusion and angst with her first taste of love. We also learn some of the backstory of the cafe owner himself.

There’s very little that actually happens in these stories, no big set piece action scenes or even any real shock reveals and life at the cafe continues pretty much the same way at the end as it did at the start. But along the way we learn a lot about life, love and longing.

The genius of this author (and, it has to be said, the translator) is just how easy it is to read yet still be enthralled. The picture it paints of back-street Japan is rich and detailed and the straight forward conversations are realistic but easy to follow. The stories are interesting, moving and funny by turns and I was never bored. This was such a pleasant read that I didn’t want it to end and could happily re-read all his books end-to-end!

The bookseller in Waterstones tells me that the second sequel to the Morisaki bookshop is already out in hardback, but the collector in me insists that I get the paperback to match the other three Yagisawa books already on my shelf!