Hot Chocolate on Thursday by Michiko Aoyama translated by E. Madison ShimodaSynopsis: “Across a bridge, in view of cherry blossom lies the Marble Cafe where a woman writes in a notebook and a young waiter prepares her favourite hot drink. Both wonder about each other and about the other lives of the clientele who frequent this magical little cafe behind the trees ….

Without even realising it, we may touch and change someone else’s life.

Taking a walk along the river, cooking the best tamagoyaki, ordering hot chocolate, forgetting to remove our nail polish… The small, everyday acts that we do can offer unexpected encounters and ultimately change a life. HOT CHOCOLATE ON THURSDAY connects twelve slice-of-life moments that open and close with a woman ordering her regular hot chocolate at the mysterious Marble Cafe.

What happens in between will touch and swell your heart, as we connect with a community of untold unfolding lives.“

My Review

I really enjoyed this collection of translated Japanese short stories, which I bought from Kobo the other day for 99p. 

These stories are centred around the Marble Cafe, an independently owned coffee shop, in Tokyo. It sounded like a lovely relaxing place to sit and while a few hours away, especially with the view of the river and cherry blossoms in springtime.

There are twelve stories in this collection, and all the people are connected in some way to each other, just like in the  author’s previous books, What You Are Looking For Is In the Library and The Healing Hippo of Of Hinode Park. 

I didn’t enjoyed the The Healing Hippo collection of stories, I found it quite disjointed in places, but this book was so easy to read and quite soothing. I’m really looking forward to the author’s next collection Matcha on Monday which is due to be published in July!

Highly recommended if you enjoy contemporary short stories or translated fiction.