La Papeterie Tsubaki (ツバキ文具店 #1)
Published August 23rd 2018 by Éditions Picquier (first published April 21st 2016), Paperback 375 pages
Hatoko a vingt-cinq ans et la voici de retour à Kamakura, dans la petite papeterie que lui a léguée sa grand-mère. Le moment est venu pour elle de faire ses premiers pas comme écrivain public, car cette grand-mère, une femme exigeante et sévère, lui a enseigné l’art difficile d’écrire pour les autres.
Le choix des mots, mais aussi la calligraphie, le papier, l’encre, l’enveloppe, le timbre, tout est important dans une lettre. Hatoko répond aux souhaits même les plus surprenants de ceux qui viennent la voir : elle calligraphie des cartes de vœux, rédige un mot de condoléances pour le décès d’un singe, des lettres d’adieu aussi bien que d’amour. A toutes les exigences elle se plie avec bonheur, pour résoudre un conflit, apaiser un chagrin.
Et c’est ainsi que, grâce à son talent, la papeterie Tsubaki devient bientôt un lieu de partage avec les autres et le théâtre des réconciliations inattendues.
User Reviews
Rating: really liked it
reading this in bed with a cup of tea was an absolute delight! (4.22)
Rating: really liked it
This was such a pure novel
Rating: really liked it
So, one of my new all time faves?
Rating: really liked it
Delicious novel..sublimely Japanese..! A novel that celebrates the impeccable "art de vivre japonais" in all its subtility and refinement..gorgeous cover and a beautiful story..I recommend it for those who are fans of Japanese contemporary literature xx
Rating: really liked it
Probably one of the most comforting books I read. Everything was so soft and it was a delight to read it with a good cup of tea and the fresh smell of spring in the air.
Rating: really liked it
this book is for me a 5/5 ☆ ! I've already been to Kamakura but I have no much memories of it. So it was a pleasure for me to re discover it in such a quaint and feel good way!
~ I really connected and related to Hatoko because I was raised by a Japanese mom and when it came to learning Japanese (and Kanji), it happened to be really hard. I started resisting and rebelling during my first year of Junior high school; I stopped taking Japanese classes a year after. Also, racism and bullying in my French school didn't help: I didn't want to be Asian anymore. But I was during my highschool years, especially during the first confinement that I started reconnecting with the Japanese culture and language. I started listening to more music, reading more books about Japan, doing calligraphy and learning the language. Now, I'm reconnecting with the traditional aspects of Japan and I love it! So I understood how Popo felt when her grandmother "forced" her to calligraphy, how she escaped it by going to foreign countries, and how she felt guilt about what she had done. But also how grateful she is for her heritage and how she reconnects with it. Fortunately I never completely detached myself from Japan, but I felt sorry for my mom. Now she is super proud of my efforts! Maybe it would've been easier if I never stopped learning Japanese but maybe that phase of my life was useful to understand what I like and to see how beautiful my culture is!
Rating: really liked it
Simple and soft.
One of those books that makes you feel like the wind is actually running on your cheeks and make you smell the rain as your read. An odd mix of slices of life, deep thoughts and technical descriptions or various writing processes. A good type of odd.
It Drew me a few tears, made me quite hungry and didn’t calm at all my wish to go visit japan.
Rating: really liked it
Completely mesmerized by her occupation as a freelance letter writer and her various stationary.
Rating: really liked it
A little surprise, that keeps you calm.
No doubt, little things keep you warm.
Rating: really liked it
lecture relaxe! there’s no real plot which i found deceiving but it’s a nice read for a late friday night or smt. i also loved the cover but i wouldn’t have read it if it wasn’t for skl
Rating: really liked it
What an extremely heartwarming novel! Even if you live together, even if there’s blood connection, and even if you meet each other every day, there are still a lot that you wouldn’t say face to face to your significant others. This is why letters were used as a form of communication. Letters cannot be replaced. I’m personally obsessed with stationeries and letters. It’s a pity that the handwriting words in the Chinese version of the book did not meet my expectations, otherwise the novel is perfect.
Rating: really liked it
[ which also contained a themes such as a broken relationship with mother figure and a young woman who is very sensitive and talented managing to help many people with her expertise and delicate touch. Only this time it is calligraphy, not cooking.
Rating: really liked it
this is a book that I call my zen reading moment. No suspense, no love story as per say, no twist. A simple slice of life. . It is a simple book, that tell the story about people don't know how to express their feelings and ask support from a public writer. to elaborate for them a letter.
By following this public writer, we understand the importance of each details of the letter, the type of paper, the color of the ink, the writing style, even the stamp.
By reading the book, I asked to myself, when was the last time I used a fountain pain to write a letter or card. Crazy as it, I couldn't remember.
it is recommended book
Rating: really liked it
I really like the book's vibes and Hakoto's adventure with her different friendships and relationship with her grandmother. I also really liked witnessing how she got to write each personalized letter by listening to her clients and sort of living again what they lived to be able to convey it all into works. The art of writing was an important theme in the book, I learned a lot from it. However, as much as I like character-driven books that are steady-paced, I felt like this one was a little slow and it got boring from time to time.
Rating: really liked it
Loved the calming tone of the book. It is narrated by a letter writer, who pens various letters on behalf of her clients for a wide range of occasions. From choosing the right paper and pen, down to coming up with the perfect typeface that match the personality and intention of the sender, she pays meticulous attention to every single letter she writes. It is an amazing story featuring the forgotten art of letter writing and the tenderness of human relationships.
