Then when she finally takes my money and gives me the change and her eyelids turn upwards and I can see those great big eyes again, without any warning that squishy, yellowy, orangey stuff inside my head becomes extra bright, then that hollow place right under my chin, above my collarbone, feels like it’s being squeezed really tightly. The book focuses on a narrator who is obsessed with a lady who sells sandwiches from a stall in the local mall. In one of Kawakami’s interviews available on YT, here , she was asked about her thoughts on female sexuality which I found quite complementary to the theme of adolescent ‘love’ in ‘Ms Ice Sandwich’.

the man screams at the manager, then he looks square at Ms Ice Sandwich—speaking loudly and clearly, Listen to me, you ugly cow.Sometimes it’s thinly veiled under humor, or bizarre situations, but I think they often point out what hurts us. 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.

In this novella she captures extremely well the interior musings of a young adolescent coming to realizations about the true nature of the human condition. Her eyes are enormous, he says and compares them to illustrations of big-eyed dogs in a faintly remembered adaptation of the Hans Christian Andersen story The Tinderbox, and she wears blue eye makeup that reminds him of the ice cream sandwiches sold there.These famous flowers are strikingly beautiful when they’re in full bloom but disappear before you realise you’ve missed the chance to see them. The underlying sense of transience harkens back to classical Japanese literature, to be sure, but this is no derivative work resting on the laurels of past greats.

Overall, Ms Ice Sandwich is a very heart-warming and quiet novella about growing up, first love, loss and learning to cope with all these new feelings which inundate kids at that age all of a sudden. Nevertheless, Kawakami’s tone never gets judgmental, rather, the genuine comments resulting from her characters’ observations lead the reader to his own reflections about prejudices and acceptance. There is no father present and the boy gets limited attention from his mother who is always on her cell phone or computer or in discussion with clients. Three hundred forty-nine books, hundred thirty eight minutes, forty-two contemplations it took for me to start reading this one. She has invited the boy to join them one evening to share a favourite film although a date has yet to be agreed.It's this slice-of-life story about this kid's crush on a woman who sells sandwiches – and it's surprisingly touching. He grapples with his deep concern about the gossip targeted at his obsession by talking to his dying, mute grandmother.