The Miracles of the Namiya General Store

The Miracles of the Namiya General Store is a Japanese novel that I can heartily recommend to anyone and everyone.  You don't need any sort of pre-existing cultural knowledge to grasp this one. The simple writing style is approachable for most ages (though this is adult fiction) and the story's focal points are wonderfully effective and meaningful on a universal level. Also recommendable as a first entry into the oft puzzling sub-genres of magical realism and time travel, as the realism aspect is strongly grounded and the other aspects are simply stated yet whimsical.

Great things-
+ This is a briskly-paced and focused read. At 320 pages it all goes by pretty fast. Belonging to a more generalized fiction category, I think it would be appealing to many.

+ One thing I want to mention (though this is more of a personal bit) as a fan of many types of Asian fiction, the amount of translated work out there is relatively small and many of them have strange or very adult themes, are cognitively challenging, and often seem to be chosen for their outlandishness. The Miracles of the Namiya General Store is different. Its tone is largely uplifting and feel-good, which is something of a rarity. There are some heavy moments, but the overarching vibe is positive.

+ There are several characters and while we only view small slices of their lives that are relevant to the story, they each feel different and offer some worthwhile perspective.

+ This concept is invigoratingly creative. It would make such a good TV show. There is a live-action film adaptation which I’m looking forward to watching as soon as possible. The existence of adaptations does serve as a plus for me when choosing books since it's fun to see the worlds and characters realized in other mediums.

The not-so-good

- I have nothing too damning to put in this section. The writing style might be too simplistic for some who might prefer a more deep and literary style. 

- Since this is split up into more episodic sub-plots, some of those plots might be of wildly varying interest. I found the final one to be the less interesting of the batch. The ending is somewhat abrupt.

In closing, I greatly enjoyed The Miracles of the Namiya General Store. It will be an experience I won’t soon forget. Would love to read more translated novels with this level of approachable prose and imagination. Many thanks to Netgalley and Yen Press (Yen On) for providing me an e-ARC of this title for the purpose of review.

An amazing story and a great reading experience.
I liked the fleshed out and well written cast of characters, the setting and the atmosphere.
The plot kept me hooked till the end and made me smile an think.
I'm happy I requested this ARC because I discovered an excellent author and I hope to read more books.
Highly recommended!
Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this ARC, all opinions are mine.

This novel is a miracle! Fascinating--inspiring--truly spirit-lifting. I read it on a day I was feeling low, and as the story unfolded, so too did the wings of my spirit lift, with encouragement and inspiration and hope.


I am so grateful for readers' expanded capacity to acquire diverse literature. This novel is a fine example.

The Miracles of the Namiya General Store is a brilliant work of art. The storyline and characters are well developed and interesting. Uplifting and a quick read.