Ms Ice Sandwich: Mieko Kawakami (Japanese Novellas)

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Successfully addressing topics such as loneliness, love, loss and friendship through the eyes of young protagonists, Kawakami finds a truly poetic voice in her story where she conveys the troubles of youth, especially in relation to sentimentality and attachment. I think we all form our early (and also late) feelings of desire very differently, and I thought Kawakami’s portrayal of it was quite interesting. The cookie also tracks the behavior of the user across the web on sites that have Facebook pixel or Facebook social plugin.

Another aspect that really works is the way that the narrator feels all these feelings and thoughts but Kawakami details the frustration in attempting to take the helm of your own emotions when you still lack the emotional language and maturity that serves as a compass to express yourself to others. The author does not really spend any time weaving a mystery around the lady's face (something which I rather expected to happen), she chooses to focus on the boy's feelings and perceptions of the woman instead. Tutti offers him a place in her world, which he is grateful for even if he cannot match her enthusiasm for her interests. Over the course of a summer he visits the supermarket each day to watch as she slips sandwiches into bags and hands out change.I am so confused because the comment I left here earlier today did not appear…unless it’s in your inbox? He has the impressions of it all in his head but when pressed to doing so he ‘ can’t think of any way to respond,’ and when he tries he tends to ‘ get stuck’ and ‘ can’t finish the sentence.

However, the person our protagonist is most drawn to is 'Ms Ice Sandwich', the woman who prepares sandwiches at the counter in his local supermarket. He dealt with a lot of big issues in his young life, but was sensitive and thoughtful without ever coming across as too adult for his age. This is an excellent depiction of childhood and all its chaotic beauty that has all the heart and quirkyness to really dig into the soul of the reader and make them empathize and reconsider their own experiences.The only people who know about the boy's infatuation are his grandma, who is stuck in her bed, unable to move and to whom the protagonist often entrusts his deepest thoughts and feelings, and his best friend from school, Tutti, with who he seems to start developing a deeper relationship as the story progresses. Instead, it is a fascinating, touching and quiet coming-of-age story with a plethora of lessons to be taught and inspiring passages. There is a paradigm shift in all your relationships and you clamour to hold on and ride the changes into what you hope is a more mature You. It’s quite sweet rather than gross because in the later section of the book he becomes distantly protective of her, yet he feels helpless about it all – and/but doesn’t feel like she is his for the taking.