Category: Japan - Alyce Caswell - Author

Alyce Caswell - Author

Letters from the Heart

30/5/2025

Letters from the Ginza Shihodo Stationery Shop by Kenji Ueda
Translated by Emily Balistrieri

Healing fiction is probably my favourite genre at the moment. Letters from the Ginza Shihodo Stationery Shop is yet another entry in an increasingly crowded market, but its gentle rhythm and exploration of the most momentous moments in the character's lives will still win you over. By the time you reach the last page, you will not view writing as merely an art - you will realise it's also one of the greatest gifts we can give others.

Convenience & Healing

2/3/2025

The Convenience Store by the Sea by Sonoko Machida
Translated by Bruno Navasky

"Talent is being able to keep going."

The Golden Villa Tenderness branch in Mojiko is a place where people can shop, gather, and meet an array of peculiar people. There's Shiba, the store manager, whose beauty stirs up a frenzy among his fans. There's Tsugi, the Whatever Guy, who fixes any kind of problem. There's Mitsuri, who moonlights as a manga artist. Whoever you are, Tenderness will offer you surprising comfort.

If you love healing fiction, then The Convenience Store by the Sea will completely absorb you into its gentle rhythm, until you feel like you are inhabiting its laidback seaside setting - and you'll have no intention of leaving voluntarily. Not only that, this book touches on themes that are relevant to so many. Occasionally, you will need to pause to take in a profound moment or message. I'll be waiting impatiently for the next translated instalment.

Ghibli Moon

12/2/2025

Water Moon by Samantha Sotto Yambao

Hana Ishikawa is now the owner of an unusual pawnshop with a door that opens into Tokyo. Her first day begins with the discovery that the shop has been ransacked and her father, newly retired, is missing. There will be consequences if Hana tries to find him. But she is not alone in her quest - enter Minatozaki Keishin, who doesn't understand Hana's strange world. And yet nothing will dissuade him from following her.

Whenever someone describes a book as having lush prose, I immediately assume that it's overwritten to the point of boredom. This is the first time I've encountered a book that really is lush (from its poetic descriptions to its delightfully winding plot) and it was far from boring. It's gorgeous and heartbreaking and wonderful - and just like Keishin, I don't believe I am the same person I was before I went on this adventure. This is one library book that I'll regret returning.

Nostalgia is on the Menu

29/10/2024

The Kamogawa Food Detectives by Hisashi Kashiwai
Translated by Jesse Kirkwood

The Kamogawa Diner in Kyoto offers not only good food, but also the opportunity to relive a dish from your past. Give as many details as you can remember and the food detectives will hunt down the ingredients - which includes just the right amount of nostalgia.

This was a nice change from other books that use a similar approach. It's more grounded, the repetition in each story was not so obvious, and the reader is allowed to make their own observations without the answer being presented to them in an obvious manner. Also I'm now very hungry...for some reason...!

Doki Doki

22/10/2024

The Library of Heartbeats by Laura Imai Messina

Shuichi returns to his childhood home in Kamakura after his mother's death, intending to renovate and change it completely, but then he notices that a boy named Kenta keeps sneaking in to take mementos. Chance encounters become a blossoming friendship that may make up for losses on both sides. In the end, they will find themselves drawn to the Library of Heartbeats.

This was an interesting one for me. I've read many Japanese novels by Japanese-born authors recently, and the difference in approach when the author has spent their formative years elsewhere was both noticeable and fascinating. The setting - Kamakura - is one I've actually visited, which brought back some nice memories. And this book is about memories. The good and the bad. It's a poignant, if predictable, read.

TW: death of a child

Sweet Bean Heartbreak

20/10/2024

Sweet Bean Paste by Durian Sukegawa

Sentaro spends his days making and selling dorayaki, working tirelessly to repay a debt to his deceased employer. His heart is never in it. But then one day Tokue, an old woman, offers to make the sweet bean paste for him, asking for minimal wages. Sentaro might have a past and yet so does she. And Tokue might have more to offer him than incredible sweet bean paste.

What a small, unassuming treasure this book turned out to be. The gentle rhythm of Sentaro going to work and learning to make sweet bean paste was really soothing - and slowly the mystery of Tokue unfolded, which was absolutely heartbreaking and evoked a myriad of emotions in me. Sukegawa seems to have use this book as a vehicle for a topic that's very important to him. I'm glad I learned about people in Tokue's situation.

It's Raining Cats and More Cats

13/10/2024

She and her Cat by Makoto Shinkai & Nakuri Nagakawa
Translated by Ginny Tapley Takemori

The cats in one particular neighbourhood might have their own territories, but they are friendly with each other due to the wisdom of an old dog - but what they really have in common are the bonds they form with the human women in their lives. Cats may be small and may not be able to eat whatever they want, but they have the power to encourage change.

I absolutely adored this book! As a bonus, I actually had the opportunity to read it all in one sitting without any distractions and I'm so glad I did. The stories are so gentle. The cats are so precious. The growth the women in these pages experience is slow - at times painfully so - but that's what makes their stories so realistic. And now I find myself waiting for a cat to enter my life and bring change with it!

More Books & Much Better

12/10/2024

More Days at the Morisaki Bookshop (Days at the Morisaki Bookshop #2)
by Satoshi Yagisawa

Takako's life has changed for the better after her days at the Morisaki Bookshop. She has maintained the friendships she made there and continues to drop by and help her uncle on her days off. Her uncle's shop is a comforting constant in her life. But not everything stays the same and not everything - or everyone - is a constant.

This was exactly what I wanted the first book to be. Yagisawa's writing skills clearly improved between the two instalments and the bookshop finally had some real life breathed into it. As before, the gentle rhythm of the plot was soothing. I quickly remembered the characters and how much I liked them - in fact, I liked them more this time around. Sometimes the sequel really is better!

The Cat Who Saved Rintaro

5/10/2024

The Cat Who Saved Books by Sōsuke Natsukawa

Rintaro Natsuki has recently lost his grandfather and will soon lose the bookstore that he found shelter in. But before this shut-in is forced to move away with his aunt, he is called upon by a cat for an important duty: Rintaro must enter dangerous labyrinths in order to save books! If he does not succeed, he will not be allowed to return to our reality.

Natsukawa certainly had a lot of things to say about books and our treatment of them, but his heavy-handed pontification often got in the way of the story's narrative flow. I also felt that Rintaro's challenges weren't difficult enough. How did he so easily convince people about the power of books? I don't buy it. But perhaps I'm just jaded. I did enjoy Rintaro's personal journey, though - and who doesn't love a talking cat!

Before the Film Develops

2/10/2024

The Lantern of Lost Memories by Sanaka Hiiragi

In the space between life and death, there is a photo studio where the recently deceased must choose a photo for each year they have lived, so that a lantern of their memories can be made. Mr Hirasaka is the guide in this particular studio. He has seen many photos and memories, but his own are a mystery and so he waits for someone who might recognise him...

Emotional and thought-provoking, this book was more daring than some other Japanese healing fiction titles I've read recently. The types of characters that Hirasaka encounters are very different to each other and I liked the variety. I'm used to these books having a gut punch right at the end but, despite mentally preparing myself, I still felt heartbroken. The Lantern of Lost Memories will linger in my thoughts for some time.

TW: child abuse, child death