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Sweet Bean Paste

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Sweet Bean Paste

By: Durian Sukegawa, Alison Watts - translator
Narrated by: Cindy Kay
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About this listen

A charming tale of friendship, love, and loneliness in contemporary Japan

Sentaro has failed. He has a criminal record, drinks too much, and his dream of becoming a writer is just a distant memory. With only the blossoming of the cherry trees to mark the passing of time, he spends his days in a tiny confectionery shop selling dorayaki, a type of pancake filled with sweet bean paste.

But everything is about to change.

Into his life comes Tokue, an elderly woman with disfigured hands and a troubled past. Tokue makes the best sweet bean paste Sentaro has ever tasted. She begins to teach him her craft, but as their friendship flourishes, social pressures become impossible to escape and Tokue's dark secret is revealed, with devastating consequences.

Sweet Bean Paste is a moving novel about the burden of the past and the redemptive power of friendship. Translated into English for the first time, Durian Sukegawa's beautiful prose is capturing hearts all over the world.

©2013, 2015 Durian Sukegawa; English translation copyright 2017 by Alison Watts (P)2022 Tantor Fiction Friendship Genre Fiction Literary Fiction World Literature Heartfelt Inspiring

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All stars
Most relevant
Quite nice little story, Nothing special, but it was free, so I gave it a go as I 'm interested in Japanese culture and food. I didn't learn much about either.

Easy read

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This was a truly wholesome and unexpected treat!

A tale of bittersweetness that brings genuine heart, humanity, and suffering to an ultimately gloriously cozy tale.

There's just something truly special about the way this story promotes understanding and empathy for those who feel and have been thrown away by society.

I don't always get on with cozy, but this was sublime.

An ex-con, an ex-lepper, and a lonely schoolgirl walk into a confectionery...

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It was a short but impactful read, reminding about the importance of second chances, examining fears as a society as otherwise we keep shunning people for no reason other than our mental discomfort with no reason based in reality, about importance of connections and giving ourselves grace to just observe and enjoy what we can if the world. the narrators soothing voice fit this perfectly.

Second chances

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It just didn’t go anywhere! Sort of just a story with so much more depth that could have been delved into.

A nice enough story

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once I started I just could not wait to keep on listening to the story. amazing characters and profound connections

Such a lovely story

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