Hiromi Kawakami

Allison Markin Powell

The Nakano Thrift Shop

Among the jumble of paperweights, plates, typewriters and general bric-a-brac in Mr Nakano's thrift store, there are treasures to be found. Each piece carries its own story of love and loss - or so it seems to Hitomi, when she takes a job there working behind the till. Nor are her fellow employees any less curious or weatherworn than the items they sell. There's the store's owner, Mr Nakano, an enigmatic ladies' man with several ex-wives; Sakiko, his sensuous, unreadable lover; his sister, Masayo, an artist whose free-spirited creations mask hidden sorrows. And finally there's Hitomi's fellow employee, Takeo, whose abrupt and taciturn manner Hitomi finds, to her consternation, increasingly disarming. A beguiling story of love found amid odds and ends, The Nakano Thrift Shop is a heart-warming and utterly charming novel from one of Japan's most celebrated contemporary novelists.

Like watching an offbeat independent film. And at the end having a smile on your face. Gracefully and subtly written, with likeable character. Reading the Nakano Thriftshop was like biting into a desert and being pleasantly surprised by all the different tastes slowly exploding on your tongue.

Fasil Butt

a light read. my favorite thing about this book is the character development of takeo and hitomi.

march🐇

a light read. my favorite thing about this book is the character development of takeo and hitomi.

we yearn for growth and its nostalgia

my favorite from kawakami i think! i loved the idea of one particular object being the center of a chapter. it’s a very relaxed novel which has been my preference lately :) 

flor 

Eva Ströberg

It feels like Netflix’s Midnight dinner, just in book version. The different chapters have different theme, the things that were currently discussed/sold/purchased in the Nakano second hand shop. 

A little bit of intrigue mellem the owner Haruo Nakano who is a bit of adulterer and his sister and little love story going on between the two workers in the shop Hitomi and Takeo.

An overall entertaining book, but certainly no Murakami

such a sweet read! something i love about this author is how she makes mundane things special in her way of writing. i find hitomi and takeo's personality a bit weird but i guess that is what makes them a good fit together? i am quiet not satisfied with the love story part, i needed more explanation about what will come to their "relationship" because it ended so briefly :( there are some parts where i am definitely annoyed with their dynamic i almost wanted to throw my book at the wall LOL

ayoni

charisa

hm, i think i’m good to put kawakami to rest finally. this one was decent — probably on par with “strange weather in tokyo” for me, but i had the same qualms for both. the premises have so much potential! (which is probably why i’m constantly baited lmao) but kawakami’s plots tend to wander aimlessly and her dialogue and narration frequently slip into navel-gazing. 

here, i wish she had expatiated on the thrift shop itself, with its eccentric history and oddities and patrons, but there’s just too much focus on spiraling conversations and weird, one-off interactions. oh well, back to my banana and ogawa supremacy!!

"Originally published in Japan in 2005 under the title Furudogu Nakano Shoten by Bungei Shunju, Tokyo"--Title page verso.

kim♡

Allison

Full of mundane and sometimes awkward interactions that we tend to experience in real life. We’re all just trying to find our place in the world and “the one I love most in this world.” Not a terribly engaging read.

Jade Flynn

I've yet to read a piece of Japanese literature that I haven't enjoyed. I do suggest starting with Kawakami's Strange Weather in Tokyo because it's a more well rounded novel but if you liked that one then I don't see why you wouldn't find enjoyment in Nakano. I'm eagerly awaiting the publication of The Ten Loves of Nishino.

Alexia Cambaling

It is a heartwarming tale about a woman named Hitomi who works at the eponymous Nakano Thrift Ship and falls in love with one of her co-workers. It’s an eclectic little shop and there she learns the stories of the people who come there, as well as about her co-workers. It has kind of a quiet, introspective charm and very slice-of-life as well as character-focused. It might seem like nothing’s happening but that’s not true. It’s a good book with simple but elegant prose which lends to the quiet atmosphere. It’s the kind of book you read for the character interactions and development.

John Balek

I really never felt that engaged in the narrative of this book. It was enjoyable and mildly interesting but nothing really drew me in. The setting of modern day Japan definitely helped bring a unique and interesting setting to the story but many of the references and subtleties were lost on me.

Maria Vitória 

I tried, I swear! 

Read half of it and couldn’t bare the thought of reading the other half. It’s too slow and confusing. The author seems to aim for a influx of thoughts and conscience, but the result nothing but confusing.

Even for a slice of life it’s way too slow. The small moments are overglorified.

The way sex was represented in this book only made me uncomfortable. It was a major factor to make me want to abandon this reading.

I couldn’t connect with any of the characters as they had more stereotypical characteristics than tangible ones. 

The author’s style is interesting though, maybe I’ll try to read another book of hers in the future.

The Nakano Thrift Shop

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