Publication date: October 8, 2024
Translated by Jesse Kirkwood
Summary
When a person is longing to taste something that they remember from their past, but they can’t find just the right recipe, there is a little restaurant in Kyoto where they can go for help. Nagare and Koishi are back for the second round of solving culinary mysteries.
My Thoughts
This book is just what my heart needed. Right from the adorable cover to the sweet stories inside.
I find these stories very calming. There’s a bit of repetition to them. A stranger arrives in Kyoto and is surprised by the appearance of the restaurant and uncertain that they have found the Kamogawa food detectives. They are served an exquisite meal. They go to the back room and tell Koishi their story and the story of the food they seek. They are told to return in 2 weeks, and at the end they ask about paying and are told the meal and the detective services can all be paid at once.
It had me reflecting upon why those elements were always there. Did every customer need to be uncertain about the building and did every customer have to ask about paying and be told the same thing? I ultimately decided those elements are important to the story. Not only do they signal a beginning and end to the story segment, but they also become a part of the ritual and these stories are all very much about the importance of ritual and culture.
The other recurring themes are family, the skilled work of artisans, and, of course, the importance of food to memory and culture and even to emotional healing.
Koishi is not always kind to the customers. There is a bluntness to her that contrasts with her father’s meticulous politeness even in the face of very rude behavior. The two characters balance one another nicely.
Most of the characters in this book were very likable and relatable – except the hamburger lady who was exceptionally unlikable until we learned her story.
My favorite story was the story of the Christmas cake, which actually brought me to tears.
Like in the first book, I feel that there’s a bit of magic at work here. Nagare always knows exactly which meals the person arriving seems to need. He says the people that find him are fated to find him, so perhaps it is fate rather than magic at work. Perhaps they are the same things when interpreted through different cultural lenses.
My thanks to NetGalley for the advanced reader’s copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
Rating 5/5
About the Author
Hisashi Kashiwai was born in Kyoto, Japan. He graduated from Osaka School of Dentistry before returning to Kyoto where he works as a dentist. He has written extensively about Kyoto and collaborated on TV programs and for magazines. This is the second book in the Kamogawa Food Detectives series that that has been translated into English.
Jesse Kirkwood has translated 9 books from Japanese into English. He is the recipient of the 2020 Harvill Secker Young Translators’ Prize.
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