Mieko Kawakami

A boy is obsessed with a woman who sells sandwiches. He goes to the supermarket almost every day, just so he can look at her face. She is beautiful to him, and he calls her "Ms Ice Sandwich", and endlessly draws her portrait

Ms Ice Sandwich

ayoni

“The Grandmas I have in my head and the Grandma lying here with her eyes closed, quietly sleeping. Which is the real Grandma? The Grandma who used to pick me up from nursery school? The Grandma who made me her special veggie meatballs? Breakfast-time Grandma when she dipped her bread in coffee before eating it? Gentle Grandma who, whenever Mum scolded me and pushed me away, would sit next to me and let me talk? When Grandma goes away from this earth, where will she go? It’s not happened yet, but I’m thinking about it now because I know that one day it’s definitely, for sure, going to happen.”

“Why are you painting a gunfight? wasn’t a good one. It was probably too nosy, and it was none of my business. Nobody should have to explain what they choose to paint and how they feel about painting it. And this makes my heart turn one shade darker.”

Which is the real Grandma? The Grandma who used to pick me up from nursery school? The Grandma who made me her special veggie meatballs? Breakfast-time Grandma when she dipped her bread in coffee before eating it?

The whole day I don’t really feel like myself (though, to tell the truth, I don’t really know what it means to feel like myself)

short, sweet and a bit sad! i kinda feel bad that the mc is already experiencing those types of grief at a very young age.. loss and heartbreak. this is such a good quick read :’) 

Eva Ströberg

First love, who can still remember it?
This book is about first love experienced by a fourth-grader who was "fascinated" by Ms. Ice Sandwich, this woman who worked at the sandwich shop where he was usually sent by his mother to do the grocery shopping. The electric-blue eyeshadow, the short haircut followed him to his dream.

It's almost like an extended short story, since the book itself is only 90-pages long, but I think it's a perfect size to describe a perfectly simple first love story. It's sweet but nothing more than that, unfortunately.

i don’t remember having that much sentient thought at 11

prachi

a nice little read for when ur feeling particularly nostalgic, i always enjoy reading from a child's perspective when it's written well ESPECIALLY if the content tackles first loss or first love, which this novella does! i had fun here!!

riss

New edition of this witty, moving story of adolescent love and loss from the acclaimed, prize- winning author of Breasts and Eggs.

Mariana

Such a sweet novella. Easy to read and just so cute.

𓆨

alexa play 'you're on your own, kid' by taylor swift

Cait🪼

Kawakami truly encompases the tumultuous nature of adolescence. This book handles deeply emotional territory in the most beautiful way. I will always love Kawakami's writing.

I don't know what to feel about this book, really. I just know that I like it.

Throughout the book, I feel like I am being tagged along the adventures of an adolescent boy. His crush, his family matters, his friends, and the awkward feeling he had in between. It's like being thrown into the story and I liked it.

Over all, I enjoyed the ride!

jess

It is an enjoyable 2 hour read book! Its about this boy growing up and learning about love and loss. However I dont really feel anything special with this book. Its just a regular book that just doesnt leave a special place in my heart. Nevertheless, still a good book. 3.5 out of 5.

aywen

so charming and endearing, i was giggling the first two pages in. told from the perspective of a 4th grader, kawakami writes in a very stream-of-consciousness style; there are a lot of run-on sentences but i feel the story really benefits from it!! i feel so silly saying that i could completely relate to this naive schoolboy but i was amazed by how many times i laughed and cried in just 92 pages. this will stay with me for a long time

i expected so much from this book but im so disappointed cause i found it so boring 😭😭 honestly only finished it cause its a quick read lmao

Jeremy Wang

a really cleverly voiced portrait of early adolescence! even the exultant, lyrical passages somehow preserve the simplicity of childhood while hinting at some rising conscientiousness and self-awareness. altogether, prompts an interesting question: why do we permit others’ opinions to shape ours? or, why do we even care about normalization. have yet to figure out some of the characters though…

charisa

3.5 rounded up! this novella had absolutely no plot, but was nevertheless charming in its own offbeat way. there's a distinct worldview that only childhood can offer in its innocence and naivety, and kawakami draws from it freely to lighten heavy moments and hint at emerging maturity. most can agree that the tender years of adolescence are full of strangeness and nonsensical infatuations, the sun just about setting on what you might be able to get away with. in this way, the curious behaviors of the characters are just understandable enough.

An amazing book about a boy's first love.

Toto

first love and sandwiches! a refreshing tale of a young boy as he discovers himself tied in the ups and downs of life called growing up.

Stef

Maybe it's my favorite novella that I read this year 😭😭 ~ and if saying goodbye as easy as saying Al Pacino! to your best friend. 


"Because that's what's going to happen. When you say 'see you tomorrow' to someone, it's because you're going to keep seeing them."

Katie Chua

i've realized i love well-done stories from the perspective of children/young teens...right on the cusp of coming-of-age and beginning to understand that the world is larger and more complex place than they originally thought. a touching read

Nikki

“The whole day I don’t really feel like myself (though to tell the truth, I don’t really know what it means to feel like myself).”

This novella really resonated with me.

Jesse

** spoiler alert **
           why did I cry when he gave her the portrait tho

Jemima Scott

This book was such a treat to read - I thought it was so sweet

Shannon M Smith

A coming of age tale in short novella form. It explores a young boy and his pivot from being a child into adolescent. The women in his life are center stage in his life - his ignoring but otherwise content mother, bed-ridden grandmother at a different pivot point in her life, his classmate-friend-action movie buff Tutti, and titular Ms Ice Sandwich, a woman working at a grocery store whose strange beauty seems to only intrigue him. The book moves quickly; personally I wish it was longer. 

Moray Lyle McIntosh

A quiet coming-of-age novella about a young boy infatuated by an aloof woman with bright blue eyelids who works in the local sandwich shop. Half his money goes on his daily visits where he can observe her prickly yet indifferent interactions with her customers. It's a story of young love and feeling like an outsider written in simple, quirky prose well-suited to its length.

Ms Ice Sandwich

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