Sweet Bean Paste is a quietly moving novel about unlikely friendships, second chances, and the small joys that give life meaning. Sentaro, a lonely man with a criminal record, runs a modest dorayaki (sweet bean pancake) stand with little passionuntil an elderly woman named Tokue asks for a job.

Though her hands are disfigured and her past mysterious, Tokue possesses a gift: a way of making red bean paste that transforms Sentaros business. As their bond deepens, Tokue teaches him not just the art of cooking, but how to truly listento others, to nature, and to himself. Yet Tokues past soon resurfaces, revealing the painful legacy of a society quick to cast people aside.

Written with tenderness and quiet insight, Sweet Bean Paste is a celebration of dignity, empathy, and the healing power of sharing food. Its a gentle reminder that its never too late to change the course of a lifeor to touch someone elses.

Translated into English for the first time, Durian Sukegawas beautiful prose is capturing hearts all over the world.