Book Review: SWEET BEAN PASTE by Durian Sukegawa

Sweet Bean Paste by Durian Sukegawa

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


"I heard ...the moon whispering to me: I wanted you to see me. That's why I shine like this."

A dear friend gifted this to me for our book club's celebration of love in all its forms. And this book WAS about love, although not the romantic sort.

It was about the love of a sweet old lady for the most mundane things of life, the monotonous day-to-day repetitive tasks and chores that are part and parcel of existing.

It was about an ex-con's re-discovery of his self-respect.

It was about a leper colony, and how it is easier to change laws than men's hearts and attitudes towards Hansen's disease.

It was about the meaning of life. It challenged the notion that, for a life to have meaning, it needs to be useful.

Sukegawa's novel posits the theory that the meaning of life is to experience the universe, to appreciate the moon and be grateful for the wind. That for anything (even the universe!) to be said to truly EXIST, it needs to be experienced by another.

This book was a lovely experience!! I have a feeling I shall come back and re-read this when I suffer loss and failure (as we all must) in the future. It will comfort me and remind me that everything has meaning.

And oooooh, now I'm wondering where I can get my hands on some dorayaki in Manila. :'D



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Book Review: THE WINTER OF THE WITCH by Katherine Arden

The Winter of the Witch by Katherine Arden

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


"I have been running through the dark, trying to save all who have need of me. I have done good and I have done evil, but I am neither. I am only myself. You will not make me ashamed."

This book was exhausting to read!! But in a good way. It starts off immediately after the events of Book 2. No time to sit and pause for breath. It sweeps you up and takes you for a wild canter.

You know how it's a huge deal for a novel to feature one epic battle scene?
Well, this one has TWO.

I thought things would settle down after the first battle, but then I saw several chapters more to go. I doubted anything could top the first battle, but I was wrong. Ahahahaha.

This novel also featured one of the most beautiful love scenes I have ever read. It was so well done, there was nothing explicit, and yet it made my cold dead heart beat ever so faster because of the tenderness and emotions it evoked.

I also don't remember crying over the death of an animal as much as I did in this book!

And guys can we please appreciate the absolute marvel of a cover?!? One time where the cover matches the inside!

Worth paying extra, get the hardbound already! No regrets.



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