A young boy returns obsessively to a supermarket sandwich counter,entranced by the beauty of the woman who works there. Her aloof demeanour and electric blue eyelids make him feel the most intense joy he's ever known. He calls her Ms Ice Sandwich,and he wants nothing more than to spend his days watching her coolly slip sandwiches into bags. But life keeps getting in the way - there's his beloved grandmother's illness,and a faltering friendship with his classmate Tutti,who she invites him into her private world. Wry,intimate and wonderfully skewed,Ms Ice Sandwich is a poignant depiction of the naivety and wisdom of youth,just as it is passing.
MEDIA REVIEWS
Publisher: Pushkin PressISBN: 9781782276722Dimensions: 198 x 129 mm
MEDIA REVIEWS
Thoroughly enjoyable and desirable... beautifully told... Gentle,funny,moving and elegantly translated by Louise Heal Kawai,it is a rare treatAmong many other awards,Haruki Murakami listed Mieko Kawakami as his favourite young writer,so you're obviously going to want to snatch up Ms Ice Sandwich,her first book translated into English. This is a lovely coming-of-age story about a boy who becomes obsessed with a woman who sells sandwichesEasily digestible... a book that ultimately lives longer in the memory than the hour or so it takes to readMieko Kawakami is always ceaselessly growing and evolvingWhimsical... Described as Haruki Murakami's "favorite young novelist," Kawakami is destined to charm Anglophone audiences as wellIn Louise Heal Kawai's translation the novella is a wonderful example of the power of narrative voiceThe narrator's perspective is so singular and well-crafted that Ms Ice Sandwich's message about the ephemerality of human connection is never in any danger of becoming trite and sentimentalA refreshing tale of understanding and acceptance... validates the talent of the author and makes it a good introduction to Mieko Kawakami's universeA warm,heart-melting story... a treatA deftly written,unusual tale... never sentimental... a thought provoking and deeply satisfying readA touching novella... Ms Ice Sandwich interrogates what it means to love and loseA funny,touching storyReading this quirky coming of age novella was one of the best hours I've spent in sometimeDelightful... Kawakami's dialogue,fluidly rendered into English by Louise Heal Kawai,captures beautifully and with great humor the eager dynamism of a child's mindA delightful distraction,and an appetiser for her work
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