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"But of course, if I really paid attention, there were plenty of other living things surrounding me in the city as well. It was never just the two of us, Sensei and me...And I never really acknowledged that any of them were alive in any way. I never gave any thought to the fact that they were leading the same kind of complicated life as I was."

Tsukiko is a 38 year old lonely woman who wanders into a local bar one day and runs into her high school Japanese teacher, whom she continues to refer to as Sensei. They develop a sort of stilted companionship, inhibited by their large age gap, but bonded over their shared love of food and beer. They leave their encounters up to chance mostly, running into one another at the bar or walking around their neighborhoods. However, as time progresses, they start to develop feelings for one another, though their awkward natures and lack of confidence draws the process of love, the antidote to their loneliness, out for quite some time.

"I, on the other hand, still might not be considered a proper grown-up. I had been very much the adult when I was in elementary school. But as I continued on through junior high and high school, on the contrary, I became less grown-up. And then as the years passed, I turned into quite a childlike person. I suppose I just wasn't able to ally myself with time."

The story is quite short, told in small vignettes rather than one continuous narrative. We encounter them mostly sharing drinks at the bar, though they go on some small adventures together that reveal bits and pieces of their characters. However, I felt the context for the novel was lacking for me. I think there's an intentionally to their opaqueness; they hardly know themselves very well so the reader can't get to know them beyond the page either. Much like the haikus they work on together in one chapter, their descriptions are brief and momentary, focusing more on the process than the product.

I also found the dialogue to be quite awkward, and for me it wasn't in a way that fed into their characterization. I think many times it just sounded unnatural and strange, not sure if that's a translation issue, or just a personal preference. Perhaps others would read that and feel the characters even more illuminated, but for me I felt kept in the dark from their authentic selves.

The food descriptions and nature writing in this, when it occurred, was beautiful. There's a meditative and melancholy atmosphere that pervades the book that makes this definitely more of a mood or vibes type of read. Perhaps someday if I were to revisit this in a different time and place, I might feel more strongly towards it. By no means a bad book, but one that felt every so lackluster in the end and didn't give much for me to chew on.