Ms. Ice Sandwich

Ms. Ice Sandwich / Mieko Kawakami
trans. from the Japanese by Louise Heal Kawai
London: Pushkin, 2017, c2013.
92 p.

This is a novella by Mieko Kawakami, who seems to be becoming quite a hot author! I have her novel Breasts and Eggs on my TBR, but this little book is the one that I had easy access to, so gave it a go. I really liked it. 

A young boy becomes fascinated by the woman selling premade sandwiches at this local grocery. She's self-possessed and doesn't react to customers, and the boy admires this greatly. He also falls for her huge round eyes, painted in blue eyeshadow. They make him think of a fairy tale he used to read with his mother as a small child, The Tinderbox.

When he discovers late in the book that girls in his class make fun of her because of her bad plastic surgery and mock her chances of ever getting married, he's confused by how he's drawn to her and why. 

But aside from all this, we see the boy's relationships with all the women in his life - his distant mother who is so busy with her business as a spiritualist she doesn't have much time for him; his bed-ridden grandmother who he spends a lot of time with doing homework and drawing, even though she's not really conscious much of the time; and his friend Tutti, a girl in his class he's known for years. All of these relationships tie in to his fascination with Ms. Ice Sandwich.  

The ending is sweet, unexpected and quite touching. All of the confusion of growing up and of deciding who he is and how he wants to be in the world is deftly drawn in quick moments and brief interactions. For such a short book, this one has lots to think about, and was satisfyingly moving without any sentimental treacle weighing it down. I was impressed -- I'll definitely have to read the novels now.