Less cohesive plot, more series of magical moments that will enchant your imagination whether your are 8 or 80!

Mina's Matchbox is a curious read with no particularly cohesive plot, but rather magical moments and memories of the teen Tomoko when she lived with her enigmatic and wealthy aunt and her storyteller cousin Mina.
The themes and characterisation are wonderful. The bond between the teens is lovely. The journey is full of all sorts of emotions.
The pygmy hippo, the grandma and the girls' stories were the highlights for me.

Plot: 3
Characterisation: 5
Mood: 5
Style/prose: 4
Pacing: 4

3.5

This isn't a book with a plot as such, it's more about the day to day life of Tomoko during the year she spends with her cousin Mina. Some of the anecdotes were really gut wrenching and others were a pure joy.
I think you have to be in the mood for this type of book and I wasn't really expecting it to be laid out this way which is why I didn't enjoy it as much as others might!

'Mina's Matchbox' is a nostalgic story set in 1970s Japan. The first person narrator, Tomoko, recalls the year she spent living with her wealthy relatives, a German-Japanese family who owned a soft drinks company. She quickly forms a close bond with her cousin, Mina, a sickly but intelligent girl whose life is greatly limited and often threatened by her asthma. Despite being very happy there, Tomoko realises some things aren't quite right - like why her uncle spends so much time away from home without explanation. Over the year she comes to understand the family better and the things that are unsaid.

Tomoko is a likeable narrator and the supporting characters are interesting and sympathetic too. Ogawa's style is easy to read, and well translated. As there are numerous examples of word-play that form part of the story, the translator does a great job of finding equivalents that make sense in English. The sense of place is well evoked - I can clearly visualise the house and its residents, and particularly Pochiko the pygmy hippo - a family pet left over from a closed petting zoo.

The story is gently paced and not a lot of great excitement happens. The narrative arc is structured around the single year that Tomoko is spending there, and there are certain threads that carry through. But it's not exactly a plot driven novel. It's rather a story that captures a feeling, a does so beautifully - the sense of nostalgia and fond memories of a happy spell in childhood. Even though the time was not entirely perfect by any means, Tomoko clearly treasures her memory of the period and it stands out in her mind even decades later. It's so well conjured up that you find yourself reflecting on any such happy memories of your own, or even feeling as if Tomoko's recollection is your own.

As always, a beautifully written story by Ogawa that is well worth reading by those who enjoy literary fiction and particularly anyone with an interest in Japan.

Our shop Book group had read Ogawa's "The Housekeeper and The Professor" and loved it's "quiet" style and well observed characters. That's why I requested a copy of this book.

Tomoko's mother is having to find work in 1970s Japan , but her apartment doesn't allow space for her daughter. Instead Tomoko goes to stay with her cousin in Ashiya. From the outset she is in a different world as her uncle is a rich man, due to owning a factory that produces a fizzy drink. The house is grand and even had it's own zoo in the past. Now all that is left of the zoo is a pygmy hippo .

As Tomoko gets to know her cousin Mina she discovers more about the mysterious household . Mina herself is frail (she rides to school on the hippo which conjures up a wonderful image! ) She suffers from asthma and is frequently incapacitated by her illness. She takes refuge in stories which are inspired by matchboxes and in reading (Tomoko goes to the library for her)

Themes of sisterhood are woven through- Tomoko and MIna most obviously but also the German grandmother who has a close reciprocal friendship with the housekeeper. However there is an underlying dis-ease about the uncle, with one plot line following Tomoko trying to find out more about his absences.
There are also theme strands devoted to the transforming power of a flame/fire , the power of storytelling, guilt and fidelity. There are characters whose mental health is fragile but you are "shown" this rather than "told" . Trauma is there in the background.

On another level it's a coming of age novel set against a time of change in the wider world. that explores the theme of belonging.

It's a memorable book, one that will stay with you for a long time after you put it down.

“So she thought, a bit relieved, even when you die, you don’t disappear. Matter doesn’t vanish, it transforms. She imagined herself becoming an insect shell or a shooting star when she died, and she had a feeling she’d be able to sleep peacefully now. She snuggled into her bed, on top of the many dead things she’d hidden underneath.”

Yoko Ogawa’s new novel is about Tomoko, after the death of her father she is sent to live by her mother with her aunt and uncle. The year she spends with them will change her life. Set during 1970s Japan, Tomoko is curious about her uncle’s colonial mansion and the secrets it hides. They also have an unusual occupant in Pochiko, a Pygmy hippopotamus who is the last survivor from a time when the extensive gardens housed a zoo. But it is Tomoko's growing friendship with her cousin Mina which has the most profound effect on her time with the family.

The only other book I’ve read by this author is “The Memory Police”. I remember it well for how it was heartbreaking and thought provoking. In a similar vein “Mina’s Matchbox” takes a close look at the bond Tomoko develops with her cousin Mina. As they become closer they both learn the struggles of adulthood and the family dynamics that will impact their future lives.

There were many endearing moments as well as funny ones. At times my heart broke for Tomoko as you learn to read between the lines of why this family lives the way they do. The atmosphere and quirks of Japan during this time are beautifully imagined in this story.

I enjoyed reading this novel and if anything I’m curious about some more work by this author.

This is a plot of small happenings and is very slow paced. I personally didn’t mind that, I thought it was still interesting to get to know the characters and the setting felt tangible.
Not my favourite Ogawa but not a bad read either.

Published 15 August 2024. This gentle novel is set in 1970s Japan and covers the year when Tomoko goes to stay with her aunt (her mother's sister) after the death of her father. Mum wants to study in Tokyo for a year to make herself more employable. Tomoko's aunt and uncle live in a large house and are fairly wealthy, but the household is rather eccentric. Her aunt smokes, drinks whisky and spends her time trying to find typographical errors in publications while her uncle is director of a soft drinks company but spends a lot of time away. Also in the household is Grandmother Rosa who came from Berlin, a housekeeper, Yoneda-san, who is the same age as Grandmother Rosa - she runs the house - a gardener, Kobayashi-san, and Mina, Tomoko's cousin who is asthmatic and frail. There is another, rather unexpected 'family' member - a pygmy hippo called Pochiko who Mina rides to school. This is almost a coming of age, told as all Japanese stories seem to, through the passing of the seasons. Our story starts in Spring and we follow the girls as their friendship develops, they share their obsessions and develop crushes. The descriptions of the house are so real and the author drops in the odd historical event, but mainly we focus on the girls. I did like the way that the adult Tomoko also gives her perspective as she looks back on what, for her, was a magical year. As for Mina's matchboxes - I'll let you discover those for yourself but I did enjoy the stories within the story. A lovely read.

This book was a real balm for the soul - gentle, engaging and interesting. A story of an unusual family in unusual times. I really loved it.

I was expecting a story but it is more like a collection of anecdotes between two cousins, a coming-of-age one. It is very slow with no plot so it missed out a bit for me.

Somewhere between a gothic novel and a coming of age tale, this is a pleasingly offbeat family story. It feels more personal and introspective than Ogawa’s other books, without being slighter. The period setting is evoked superbly and the whole thing is profoundly atmospheric.

Yoko Ogawa is a rare talent indeed. Her innate ability cross genre lines and write from a place of pure passion is remarkable. No matter where she sets the roots for stories you know they’ll be full of heart.

Mina’s Matchbox is no different, it follows the story of young women finding their place in the world, their budding obsessions which as teens overwhelm their personalities and the desperate yearning of young love.

This is a brilliantly grounded story that highlights the importance of family, the stability of shared culture and the vital space we need to grow in our formative years.

#yokoogawa is an author I love, #thehousekeeperandtheprofessor is a book that cemented my love of #japanesefiction #japaneseliterature and remains a favourite. #memorypolice underwhelmed me but other short story collections have been good.

Thank you #netgalley for this #arc of #minasmatchbox, firstly both covers are beautiful and are very fitting. I loved the setting, they period and the characters. Ogawa writes in such an easy way that means you start to read and two minutes later you have read 10 pages!

I have realised over time what I like to read, with a lot of #translatedjapaneseliterature, it's character focused rather than plot driven. I found this book was more of a chronology of a family, their relationships and friendships which dad lovely but it lacked character development aside from getting older that is. I loved the insight into Mina's matchboxes which I won't say anymore about but it was an interesting idea.

Overall this fell a bit flat for me but I do enjoy Ogawa's writing and any story with a hippo is worth a read 😂😂😂

#honnomushi100 #reading #japanesefiction #translatedfiction #translatedjapaneseliterature #booksfromjapan #booklover #bookstagram #translatedgems #books2024 #newbooks2024

"If you wanted to describe Mina in a few words, you might say she was an asthmatic girl who loved books and rode a pygmy hippopotamus."

This coming-of-age tale, the story of a friendship between two girls, and the eccentric household that Mina lives in, set in 1970s Japan, is beautifully drawn with simple little details. It is a fine novel, and though it doesn't do anything new with the genre, it is a well written, thoroughly engaging and at times quite moving. It captures that moment of innocence giving over to experience very well.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publishers for the ARC.

Description:
Tomoko stays with her aunt and uncle for a year. They're fairly rich and live in a big house with the final remaining animal from a long-gone zoo: Pochiko the pygmy hippopotamus. Tomoko makes friends with Mina, a sickly girl with some interesting hobbies.

Liked:
Ogawa's style as a writer is very understated but super effective. Lightly descriptive, it gives the idea of beauty and grandeur but lets the reader fill in the blanks. Her characters are believable and well fleshed-out. Really liked the little stories within a story in this one. Loved Mina, Pochiko, and the narrator. Loved the description of young teenage crushes. Liked that the whole thing was very slice of life, with no huge tragedy or excitement.

Disliked:
Was not as interested in the sections about volleyball. Some of the more historical touch-points didn't feel like they added much to the story.

Would recommend!

Anything else:
I found Yogo Ogawa's other (most famous?) book The Memory Police quite frustrating, and wasn't sure I'd read more by her, but I'm glad I did. The themes and genre of this book seemed to set up less, and allowed Ogawa to really show off her strengths. If you didn't get on with The Memory Police, try this one!

After the death of her father, twelve-year-old Tomoko is sent to live for an idyllic year near to the sea and the mountains with her mother's sister's family in their beautiful home. Yoko Ogawa captures a vanished sensory, golden, nostalgic place from childhood in 1970s Japan. The story telling is slow-paced, exquisitely detailed and centres on the experience of living in this cloistered, domestic realm full of food, imagination and hopefulness. There is the beloved pooing pygmy hippo the family keeps as a pet and Tomoko finds her relatives equally exotic and beguiling. She finds her often absent Uncle dazzling and charming, yet notes that her Aunt quietly smokes heavily and drinks whisky by herself. But the most intense relationship is between Tomoko and her fragile, asthmatic cousin Mina who draws her into an intoxicating world full of secret crushes and elaborate storytelling.

Rich with the magic and mystery of youth, Mina’s Matchbox is an evocation of innocence on the brink of understanding the complexity of adult relationships.

This was a story about a girl, Tomoko, who was sent to live with her Aunt for a year while her mother studied. Tomoko developed a sweet friendship with her cousin, Mina, and the rest of the household which consisted of Mina's Grandmother, the housekeeper and the gardener. As well as people, there was a resident pygmy hippo, Pochiko, who had been a gift for the Uncle's 10th birthday.

We learn about Mina and her ill health, we read about the close friendships in the house, of her Aunt's anxious personality, the Uncle and his disappearances, a brief visit from the brother, and, of course, the story of Mina's matchboxes.

Unfortunately I found this book too slow. There wasn't much of a plot, other than the year Tomoko spent with the family, but the ending was quite good. If the rest of the book had been written like this it would have made for much more pleasurable reading.

when tomoko is sent away trom her mother to live with her uncle what adventure will she get up too.

this book felt like a anthology of childhood memories, rather than having one stable plot. it was beautifully written and anyone with a keen interest in japan would enjoy this.

the family relationships between everyone are truly beautiful and powerfully written. i love how tomoko reflects on her childhood memories with mina. they are so well-portrayed throughout the entire book.

the book feels like a slice of life anime, if those sorts of things aren’t what you are into you probably wouldn’t enjoy this book

overall, this book was tomoko reflecting on her childhood memories with her cousin mina, as they develop a beautiful friendship.

A quiet and simple but really beautiful story of a girl who goes to stay with her cousin’s family for a while - their relationships, her experiences, it’s just a microcosm or snapshot of growing up and childhood

A story of a young teen going off for the summer to live with her unusual cousin and their family.

This is a really easy to read slice-of-life Japanese novel, over the course of a year it shows how a well to do family live in 1070s Japan. It's a beautiful coming of age story. I'd recommend it to any lovers of translated fiction!