“Strange Weather in Tokyo”

Read This Book If You Like Wholesome Short Stories

I am a big fan of contemporary Japanese fiction. Today’s recommendation is from this category: “Strange Weather in Tokyo” by Hiromi Kawakami:

It definitely is a strange book — but a very heartwarming one.

It tells a story of a single woman in her late thirties who lives alone and tends to spend her nights in a local bar, on her own.

One day she realizes that the man sitting at the bar counter next to her is her old high school teacher (who also lives alone after his wife left him many years ago). And so their strange friendship that grows into something else over the years starts.

This book makes you think about love in non-conventional situations like this, and challenge the perception of what can be called weird or strange in a society.

“Strange Weather in Tokyo” is also about challenging the norms, specifically in the context of the rigid Japanese society which has a lot of limitations in terms of the social and gender roles.

What I also loved about this book (and about the Japanese contemporary literature as a whole) is all the food and drinks descriptions 🍻🍤🥟.

The characters spend a lot of time in the local bar, drinking beer and sake, eating delicious snacks. My advice is, don’t read this book when hungry.

“Strange Weather in Tokyo” is one of those books that I was 100% prepared not to like, but ended up loving it, for no apparent reason. It’s a short, beautiful book — perfect for a chill weekend.

As you might know, I don’t publish book reviews without a beer recommendation. Books and beers, that’s what I do.

Beer of the day is Sansho, a Japanese herb ale that literally blew my mind. I did not try herb ales before, and this one was so flavorful and just delicious. I had the pleasure to try it in a fantastic Japanese restaurant in NYC.