Days at the Torunka Café

Das Buch besteht aus drei Episoden, die durch das Setting und die Figuren verbunden sind. Die Atmosphäre war schön und entspannend. Die Geschichten der Charaktere aber alles in allem recht fade. Wobei ich denke, dass genau dieses Seichte und mit sich selbst und den eigenen Gefühlen sowie dem Verlust geliebter Personen klarzukommen, absichtlich in dieser Art erzählt wurde. Bei Gelegenheit probiere ich noch ein anderes Buch des Autors.

One word that perfectly describes my feelings for this book: Disappointing. I’m quite familiar with Satoshi Yagisawa and Eric Ozawa, the author and translator of the award-winning Days at the Morisaki Bookshop, and I absolutely loved that book and its sequel. Those two novels made me fall in love with Japanese literature. So when I heard there was a new series coming, I was beyond excited. I instantly assumed it would be another five-star read that I’d adore just as much as the others—but unfortunately, it wasn’t. I’m so disappointed, I can hardly put it into words. The cover and the blurb gave off such cozy, heartwarming vibes, but the story itself felt nothing like that. The book is divided into three parts, each told from a different perspective, but none of them felt truly connected. The first story felt random and directionless, as if written without much purpose. The second one was simply depressing and sad, again with no clear sense of why it was there. The third story had a bit more meaning and emotional depth, and I did like it the most, but it still felt disconnected from the rest. I really wish there had been at least some link tying the three parts together. Besides the plot, I was also quite disappointed in the translation this time. Having read and loved the previous translations, I expected the same quality—but here, something felt off. Certain phrases and sentences were repeated over and over again, and a few passages just didn’t make sense. I truly hope that the sequel will be an improvement, because I know both the author and translator are capable of so much more.