Book Review ##japaneseauthor

Hidden away in a corner of the Ginza neighbourhood is a venerable stationery shop. To venture inside is to find everything your stationery-loving heart desires, from the most delicate paper to fountain pens that fit exactly to the shape of your hand to gorgeously coloured inks.

Before We Forget Kindness our new visitors wish to go back into their past to move on their present, finding closure and comfort so they can embark on a beautiful future.

Set against the backdrop of Japan's changing seasons and narrated with a rare gentleness and striking humour, Nana's story explores the wonder and thrill of life's unexpected detours.

The streets of Tokyo swarm below fifteen year-old Copper as he gazes out into the city of his childhood. Struck by the thought of the infinite people whose lives play out alongside his own, he begins to wonder, how do you live?

Sweet Bean Paste is a moving novel about the burden of the past and the redemptive power of friendship.