Sweet Bean Paste cover art

Sweet Bean Paste

Preview

£0.00 for first 30 days

Try for £0.00
Thousands of incredible audiobooks and podcasts to take wherever you go.
Immerse yourself in a world of storytelling with the Plus Catalogue - unlimited listening to thousands of select audiobooks, podcasts and Audible Originals.
£7.99/month after 30 days. Renews automatically. See here for eligibility.

Sweet Bean Paste

By: Durian Sukegawa, Alison Watts - translator
Narrated by: Cindy Kay
Try for £0.00

£7.99/month after 30 days. Renews automatically.

Buy Now for £12.99

Buy Now for £12.99

Confirm Purchase
Pay using card ending in
By completing your purchase, you agree to Audible's Conditions of Use and authorise Audible to charge your designated card or any other card on file. Please see our Privacy Notice, Cookies Notice and Interest-based Ads Notice.
Cancel

About this listen

A charming tale of friendship, love, and loneliness in contemporary Japan

Sentaro has failed. He has a criminal record, drinks too much, and his dream of becoming a writer is just a distant memory. With only the blossoming of the cherry trees to mark the passing of time, he spends his days in a tiny confectionery shop selling dorayaki, a type of pancake filled with sweet bean paste.

But everything is about to change.

Into his life comes Tokue, an elderly woman with disfigured hands and a troubled past. Tokue makes the best sweet bean paste Sentaro has ever tasted. She begins to teach him her craft, but as their friendship flourishes, social pressures become impossible to escape and Tokue's dark secret is revealed, with devastating consequences.

Sweet Bean Paste is a moving novel about the burden of the past and the redemptive power of friendship. Translated into English for the first time, Durian Sukegawa's beautiful prose is capturing hearts all over the world.

©2013, 2015 Durian Sukegawa; English translation copyright 2017 by Alison Watts (P)2022 Tantor
Fiction Friendship Literary Fiction Heartfelt
activate_Holiday_promo_in_buybox_DT_T2

Listeners also enjoyed...

The Miracles of the Namiya General Store cover art
Summer at the Villa Rosa cover art
So You Want to Live the Slow Life? A Guide to Life in the Beastly Wilds, Vol. 1 cover art
There's No Such Thing as an Easy Job cover art
The Pachinko Parlor cover art
The House at Hope Corner cover art
Lily Clairet, Book 1 (Light Novel) cover art
The Letter Reader cover art
A Year at Appleyard Farm cover art
The Herbalist's Secret cover art
The Three Sisters of Victory Walk cover art
The Photographer cover art
The District Nurses of Victory Walk cover art
The Shut-Away Sisters cover art
The Restaurant cover art
The Kindness Project cover art

What listeners say about Sweet Bean Paste

Average customer ratings
Overall
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    42
  • 4 Stars
    20
  • 3 Stars
    13
  • 2 Stars
    2
  • 1 Stars
    0
Performance
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    47
  • 4 Stars
    14
  • 3 Stars
    5
  • 2 Stars
    1
  • 1 Stars
    0
Story
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    32
  • 4 Stars
    25
  • 3 Stars
    9
  • 2 Stars
    1
  • 1 Stars
    0

Reviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.

Sort by:
Filter by:
  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

such a powerful story deliverd i such a gentle way

there was not a single thing i disliked about the story, the narrator or the characters

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Utterly beautiful entrancing and moving

This is an utterly beautiful story. I loved the characters and was moved by them. The writing was exquisitely simple and delightful. The narration was perfect. It is a long time since I have read such a perfect book.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Beautiful, poignant story.

Beautiful, poignant story.Translation seemed to capture the elegant original writing. Delightful listening experience, one to keep!

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

The sensitivity and gentleness of the writing most.

I like that assumptions were questioned throughout, about leprosy, business decisions, kindness and debt. Enjoyable indeed.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

very sweet

very sweet book loved every second makes you think about life in a good way. the audio performance was good too.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

A lesson for all.

I genuinely loved this story so much. A lesson for all about not judging by appearances and that a person's past does not define them.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

An ex-con, an ex-lepper, and a lonely schoolgirl walk into a confectionery...


This was a truly wholesome and unexpected treat!

A tale of bittersweetness that brings genuine heart, humanity, and suffering to an ultimately gloriously cozy tale.

There's just something truly special about the way this story promotes understanding and empathy for those who feel and have been thrown away by society.

I don't always get on with cozy, but this was sublime.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

The story was repetitive but the narration was good

The book covered interesting themes but repeated itself a lot. It’s a shame. I enjoyed hearing about the making of dorayaki

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Second chances

It was a short but impactful read, reminding about the importance of second chances, examining fears as a society as otherwise we keep shunning people for no reason other than our mental discomfort with no reason based in reality, about importance of connections and giving ourselves grace to just observe and enjoy what we can if the world. the narrators soothing voice fit this perfectly.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!