Sunday Salon: Three mini reviews for Women in Translation Month

As we come to the end of August, I find myself with a number of books that I have finished for various blogging/bookstagram events where I have not yet written a review. I have found over the last couple of months that I have more books to review than I have days in the month spare in the blogging schedule. Today, I am therefore going to share some mini reviews books that I have read for various challenges or events which end today.

One of my blogging goals for this year is to review everything that I read by Australian authors, and all historical fiction novels. The books I am doing a mini review of today are books that don't fit into either of these categories. I do have some other books read but not reviewed which do fit into these categories and I will be reviewing them in September (hopefully!)

The Library of Heartbeats by Laura Imai Messina 

This was a lovely read. When Shuichi returns to his home town following the death of his mother, he doesn't realise that a young boy named Kenta had been spending time with her. At first, Kenta was wary of Shuichi but eventually they build a relationship. The way the story is told means that we just get a layer revealed, and then another layer and so on, until we find out the truth of Shuichi's life which has been shaped by his health issues.

The author is actually Italian but has lived in Japan for more than 20 years so clearly loves all things Japanese. I loved the way the author shared stories about Kenji which is Japanese calligraphy. It was interesting that the titular library was important to the story but didn't really appear until late in the story. 

I've already picked up another book by this author which is called The Phone Booth at the Edge of the World.

This was one of the books I nominated for 20 Books of Winter. I read this in August, so this also counts for the Women in Translation month and the Books in Translation challenge hosted at Introverted Reader. The translator was Lucy Rand.

Rating 4/5

Butter by Asako Yuzuki

I had been really looking forward to reading this book since I first heard about it last year and I even requested it from Netgalley but the file format was painful so I didn't read it then. Earlier this year I went to hear the author talk at Melbourne Writers Festival and it was a really interesting conversation. However, it wasn't until my book club chose to read this book that I finally read it. We normally read on a theme but this month we agreed to all read the same book. It's fair to say it wasn't a really popular choice. 

So what did I think? I will admit I struggled with it a bit. The story is that the main character, Rika,  is a journalist who decides that she wants to interview a woman who has been convicted of killing three of her lovers. Kajii is an enigmatic character who is overweight and so people can't understand why she could attract so many men. Kajii is also very manipulative, even with Rika. From behind bars, Kajii manages to change Rika's life by interesting her to amazing food and has her reevaluating her life.

The subtext is about feminism and role of women in Japanese society, the pressure to look a certain way. However, there is also a lot about weight and fat shaming which I found a bit difficult. The words fat, weight and heavy appear more than 100 times in this book.

The book evoked quite strong reactions. One of our book club members declared that she had never hated a book more than she hated this one. My reaction is more muted. I am glad I finally read it, but I didn't love it mainly because of the repetitiveness and the fat shaming. I did love the food references and I am determined that at some point I am going to try rice with butter and soy sauce which was one of the first recipes Rika tried. I have seen this mentioned in various Japanese books.

It does also prompt an interesting question about why we get fascinated by women who kill, particular multiple people.  Recently in Australia there is a case of a woman who killed three members of her extended family by feeding them poison mushrooms in a Beef Wellington and the case seemingly captivated the nation.

This was one of the books I nominated for 20 Books of Winter. I read this in August, so this also counts for the Women in Translation month and the Books in Translation challenge hosted at Introverted Reader. At 464 pages, this book also counts as a Big Book of Summer. I am also sharing this post with Weekend Cooking and Foodies Read. The translator was Polly Barton. 

Rating 2.5/5

Dallergut Dream Department Store: The Dream You Ordered is Sold Out by Lee Mi-Ye

This book is a little bit different than my normal reads. The Dallergut Dream Department Store is somewhere we might visit in our dreams. There we can choose from a number of different floors where they specialise in different types of dreams. You could choose to dream of stardom or success, or loved ones who have passed on or dream of delicious food. You might wonder how we pay for these dreams? We pay with the emotions that these dreams elicit.

Penny starts working at the Dream Store and we join her as she meets the many colourful characters who work in the store. She is learning how the store operates by working in different roles, and soon finds herself working with the boss. Penny also meets the dream makers, some of whom are almost celebrity like figures

I think my favourite floor was the one where pets could come and get their dreams. Given the number of times we see our dog chasing rabbits in his dreams, it made me smile!

This author is Korean and the translator, Sandy Joosun Lee, was very enthusiastic about her role in translating this book.

I liked this enough that I have the next book out from the library to hopefully read soon.

This was one of the books I nominated for 20 Books of Winter and also counts for the Books in Translation challenge hosted at Introverted Reader. 

Rating 3.5/5

Weekend Cooking: The Convenience Store by the Sea by Sonoko Machida

The other week I went to the library and saw this book on the new release shelf. While I try not to just grab books on impulse, I couldn't resist this one, and I am so glad I didn't! I loved this book and read it in one sitting.

The Tenderness convenience store is located on the ground floor of a multistorey building which is a housing complex that predominantly houses retirees. The store is always open and provides a lifeline to the community. Need milk and bread? Need a dinner to take home? Need baby equipment? Need a good coffee? You can find all of this and more at the Tenderness.

What makes this branch of the store special are the people, both those who work there and the customers, who range from the eccentric to the lonely to those trying to find their way, and every point in between. 

Like many Japanese books like Before the Coffee Gets Cold and the The Restaurant of Lost Recipes, this book is made up of a number of chapters which features an individual story which is loosely linked together in most cases. Connecting all of stories are a couple of the staff members of the store.

One of those staff members is Mitsuri. She is a wife and a mother to a teenage boy. She loves her job but her real passion is drawing manga, and she is quite successful. One of her key characters, Phero-Manager, is based on her real life manager, Shiba, and the things that happen in the store. She is often asked if the character is based on someone real but she has to keep his true identity a secret. Luckily, Mitsuri is immune to his charms, which is one of the key requirements for anyone who comes to work in the store.

Shiba is a man with extraordinary magnetism. There is constantly a queue of women lined up whenever he is in the store, especially the older women who live in the building who fangirl him constantly, and often he needs to find some space just to get a break. It's not just because he is very handsome but he also seems to be a very genuinely decent person who cares about the people around him. Part of his charm is that he sees people, and he lets people know that he sees them, even if it just a comment about their nails or new lipstick or whatever.

Other characters who appear in the book included the Whatever Guy who is ostensibly a junk collection guy but he also has an uncanny ability to track people down, and Shohei who cycles around town dressed in red overalls generally keeping an eye on things but also acting as an unofficial tourist information officer.

Whilst we hear Mitsuri's tale in the first chapters, other chapters focus on a teacher who has a very different dream that he has given up on and the story of a young girl who is discovering who she is away from her childhood friends and her parents expectations. We also meet Mitsuri's son who isn't necessarily proud of his mother's manga career. On the other end of the scale there is a retiree who has moved into the building and is struggling with his wife making friends and having fun without him. 

Food is very important all the way through this book, running the gamut from egg sandwiches which is what one character eats every time they are in the store, to seasonal desserts, to advent cookies and so much more.

This book has many similarities with other Japanese books that I have read in that it has the episodic format, and I think this one has a feel good charm to it right from page one. I smiled all my way through. There are three more books in this series out in Japan and I really hope that these books get published in English as I will be lining up to read them! If you have any interest in Japanese books which are a fun read with lots of feeling then give this book a go.

Earlier this year we visited Japan and we got to do things like eat dinner in a tiny restaurant where only a few people could sit, we ate the delicious Japanese cakes from the amazing shops in the food courts at the train station and we enjoyed lots of hot pots. We meant to go to the convenience store and eat egg sandwiches and also to try the famous cream and strawberry sandwiches but we ran out of time. Having read this book, we will not miss this the next time we go to Japan.


I am sharing this review with the Books in Transation challenge hosted by Introverted Reader and with Foodie Reads hosted at Based on a True Story. This book also counts as one of my reads for Women in Translation month which is held every August.


Rating 4.5/5

Weekly meals

Saturday - Tortilla chips
Sunday - Pizza
Monday - Spaghetti Bolognaise
Tuesday - Chicken Parma with mash and broccoli
Wednesday - Shanghai Noodles
Thursday - Baked Tuscan Chicken and Rice
Friday - Out for dinner

Weekend Cooking is open to anyone who has any kind of food-related post to share: Book reviews (novel, nonfiction), cookbook reviews, movie reviews, recipes, random thoughts, gadgets, quotations, photographs, restaurant reviews, travel information, or fun food facts. If your post is even vaguely foodie, feel free to grab the button and link up anytime over the weekend. You do not have to post on the weekend. Please link to your specific post, not your blog's home page