Book Review: The Nakano Thrift Shop by Hiromi Kawakami

 My Rating: 3.5⭐

“There are plenty of people in the world I don’t dislike, some of whom I almost like; on the other hand, I almost hate some of those whom I don’t dislike, too. But how many people did I truly love?”

The Nakano Thrift Shop by Hiromi Kawakami is a quiet slow paced story that is in turn funny, thought-provoking and insightful. A slice of life story that focuses on the owners and the employees of a second-hand shop in Western Tokyo ( no antiques, please!), the story is narrated in the first person by our protagonist, Hitomi, an employee of the shop who embarks on a complicated on/off relationship with her colleague Takeo, who comes across as socially awkward and difficult to read resulting in confusion, anxiety and heartbreak for Hitomi. After a brief introduction ot the shop, the larger part of the narrative is divided into different segments, each featuring an item that is either being acquired or sold in the shop. As the narrative takes us through the daily working of the shop we get to meet the store owner Mr. Nakano and his artist sister Masayo, both of whom lead interesting lives. Their respective eventful personal lives result in some humorous situations, awkward (but often meaningful) conversations and unlikely complications for Hitomi and Takeo who find themselves entangled in the lives of their employers.

The author skillfully touches upon themes of love, relationships, friendship, acceptance, and trust. It should be mentioned that the characters in this story are ordinary people, with ordinary people problems. Love and relationships as depicted in this story are not all about grand gestures or dramatic outbursts. As these characters go about their days at work or in their personal lives, the emphasis is on the simple, even banal but important everyday things-– what say or don’t say to one another, what we do or don’t do for each other, our willingness to accept the other person with his/her flaws and vice versa and how we cope when things do not go according to plans or expectations, the lessons we learn and how we evolve as individuals.

“It was as if everyone doled themselves out in such small portions. Never completely open, not all at once.”

I feel that this book might not be for everyone and some might find the story too slow or bland but with its simple yet elegant prose, concise writing, an interesting setting and a wonderful cast of characters, I found The Nakano Thrift Shop by Hiromi Kawakami (translated by Allison Markin Powell) is to be an enjoyable read.