Within these chapters we gradually come to know firstly Sentaro and soon afterwards Tokue, the elderly lady who comes to work with him. I have completed the first 11 chapters at this stage, and commencing Ch 12 I can see that this is going to present a new, more serious phase of the unfolding narrative, so I will make a few observations about the opening chapters to begin with. I am fascinated to know the take you all have on it though! Did I enjoy it? Not as much as I hoped, but still a worthy read. One aspect I feel I need to address certainly deserves a spoiler warning. One could probably follow the instructions in the book to actually make the sweet bean paste of the title (though I will not attempt this as I am a terrible could and would most likely discover a way to accidentally burn my house down). Seriously, I should have expected that from the title, but I didn't call quite how much cooking there would be. It's about keeping that info inside and finding out who you actually can tell. It's about the many ways one can be imprisoned or stuck in life (be it to a job, disease, actual jail or even briefly to a poor youth). It's about looking back with regret, yet hoping for the future. Those elements are in here, lightly that is, but it's mostly a book about the past. From the plot description I expected a slice of life story about the people who worked inside the restaurant (something like a less humorous version of The Nakano Thrift Shop). This is an odd book to discuss in many ways. Some will find the book improved because of that. For me though, there were moments of genius, but I found it to be… overly sentimental. For some people it will be an exceptional read that will speak to them clearly. I say that because this is a good book, bordering on an excellent one. 3 stars is perfectly satisfactory, and in some cases I would even highly suggest a book I gave 3 stars to some people (depending on their tastes). Several people I talk to assume that means it is completely worth skipping or in some cases even that I didn’t like the book. I'm going to start by saying that I hate giving books 3 stars. Some spoilers ahead, consider yourself warned.
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