Why does a university student choose to do part-time work at a bakery? Because of a love of bread? Because of the convenience of the bakery's location? Or simply because of a friend's suggestions? For university student Koharu Ichikura, all of the above apply - but more than anything, it's because she gets to take home anything that hasn't sold by the end of the day. For a penniless student living on her own, can there be anything more wonderful than that?
Koharu dreams of making it big as a manga artist. Until she gets her big break though, she's going be working shifts at Bakery Nostimo. In this small independent bakery in Osaka, she spends her days shaping dough, neatly arranging baked goods on the shop floor...and solving all manner of everyday mysteries that she happens to encounter along the way.
Caught up in a bakery mystery, only to find out there wasn't much filling inside...
This is just disappointing. I don't even like bread that much, but there's something about the idea of a bakery that feels so warm and inviting. Add a little mystery to the mix, and I'm on board. Unfortunately, this book turned out to be a whole lot of nothing.
Now, if we are talking about a nothing burger, this book is THE nothing burger. I thought I was signing up for something whimsical, especially with the bakery mystery the synopsis seemed to promise. But what I got was mostly our protagonist being nosy and somehow passing it off as perceptiveness. So, if you are expecting a thriller or a murder mystery, you might can't make a head or tails of it. Granted, the cover and genre might already suggest otherwise, but I was still curious about the mysteries around the bakery which turned out more about the everyday mysteries of people's personal lives.
Apparently, being an aspiring manga artist means Koharu is observant enough to uncover everyone's little secrets(?) which in all honesty, something I could definitely buy if the story actually showed us how she connected the dots. But most of her deductions felt like they came out of thin air. There were moments when I genuinely wondered how she even arrived at those conclusions. My... some of these situations were a bit of a stretch to even call mysteries in the first place.
Someone is secretly dating a stage actor, another is a VTuber, while the other is apparently engaged, and so on. Just mundane little secrets that our protagonist somehow makes it her business to uncover. I mean, would you really go out of your way to stick your nose into that kind of information? Especially when it involves your coworkers? I don't know about you, but I really don't care about things people choose not to tell me, particularly in a workplace. And even if the intention is to solve a mystery or help someone, suddenly digging into another person's sensitive matters feels a bit intrusive.
Let there be no mistake since the premise is not necessarily bad. The idea of solving everyday mysteries through little stories about bread, gradually uncovering people's worries and deepening human relationships, could have been quite heartwarming, but the execution just did not do much for me. Some chapters were okay, and a few were even a little fun. The cinnamon roll chapter was probably my favorite, but that's about as far as my enthusiasm goes.
If you're on the more optimistic side, you might enjoy this as a leisurely, easy read. There's something rather delightful about wondering what happens when an aspiring manga artist tries her hand at solving mysteries in a bakery. You might even find the everyday troubles and their resolutions heartwarming. I'm not saying I'm pessimistic, but again, this really felt all for naught. Contrarily, this book is also an award-winning title from Japan's 'This Mystery Is Amazing!' award which makes me wonder if I picked up the wrong loaf entirely.
On a more positive note, I did enjoy the little historical tidbits sprinkled throughout the chapters. Learning about the origins of baguettes and other breads and pastries was a nice touch. The descriptions of the food were also lovely, with enough detail to make you appreciate the treats even if you are not particularly fond of bread. Honestly, I might have enjoyed the food history more than the actual mysteries.
I also noticed that this is part of a series, with a second book already on the way (assumedly will be translated too). But aside from being an easy and relatively dolce far niente read, I do not think there is enough here to convince me to pick up the next installment. Unless, if the cover is particularly pretty because I can definitely be persuaded by good cover art.
By and large, I came for a cozy bakery mystery but left with a loaf of disappointment. Everything was just half-baked.
Another winner of the 'This mystery is sugoi', another disappointment. At least here the disappointment is because this is very simple, and it reads as a manga without drawings, not because it is horribly written, makes no sense, the characters take stupid decisions and has risible twists (I am looking at you '一次元の挿し木' (I know, just Grand Prix winner) and 'さよならドビュッシー'). It is just... bland. There is this bakery, there are these little mysteries, and there are half-baked characters, that are not annoying, but not fully developed or relatable. Every little story is forgotten as soon as it is read.
We follow the “everyday mysteries” that college student Koharu encounters while working part-time in the bakery Nostimo and dreaming of debuting as a (romcom) mangaka.
✦ thoughts You’ll never find out what the mysterious smell is, but you’ll find out Doumae’s bread philosophies. Koharu is Sherlock Holmes but in a bakery and nobody dies. The mysteries are only earth-shattering in normal ways, like finding out that your crush has a crush on you, too.
While I don’t regret reading it (unlike that cursed book 変な家), I don’t like it enough to recommend it. Maybe it doesn’t resonate because I’m not Japanese and I’ve left behind my weeb days. Who knows?
Granted, the only book I’ve read that is even remotely like this is この世にたやすい仕事はない, and I enjoyed that much more than this one.
✦ characters The main character Koharu has the least personality in the entire cast. The other bakery employees and the owner Doumae have personalities, even fun ones, but Koharu exists as a viewpoint for the reader. You don’t particularly need to root for her, but one does wonder why she is even the “I” in the story when she has so little personality.
✦ plot There are five different stories, one each chapter, and each story revolves around a specific type? of bread and an ~everyday mystery associated with it. The stories aren’t complicated, and they’re probably supposed to be slice-of-life and heartwarming, but I mostly just found them boring except when Rena-sempai was directly involved.
Probably the weirdest part is when Tsuchiya writes self-harm into Satomi’s character, and having her give a reason like, “If I self-harm, then I will have no choice but to become a Vtuber,” like … it’s a rather terribly cavalier way of presenting self-harm, and we never go into any deeper discussions about it. Satomi has already stopped self-harming, anyway, she just associated the white bread dough with her own arm (okay).
✦ details 焦げたクロワッサンburnt croissant Koharu is looking forward to the live event she’s planning to attend with Yukiko, when Yukiko suddenly cancels, claiming she’s been pulled in to cover Rena-sempai’s shift at work. Did she really have to go on shift?
夢見るフランスパンdreaming french bread When Rena-sempai can’t make it to her shift because she’s eating seafood in Atami, Fukuo and Doumae pull in a part-timer from Nostimo’s patisserie, Satomi. Although Koharu and Satomi initially get along, Koharu is surprised by Satomi’s cold words about her dream of becoming a mangaka…
恋するシナモンロールbeloved cinnamon roll Two high school kids chitter-chattering away enter Nostimo, and Rena-sempai predicts that the two of them have feelings for each other but both believe it’s one-sided. Then there’s a commotion where the girl claims she “accidentally” spilled the guy’s coffee…
さよならチョココロネfarewell, chocolate cornet Two of Nostimo’s regulars, Rin and her mother Youko, are victimized by a purse-snatcher — but only grade schooler Rin’s wallet was stolen. What could possibly have been so valuable in Rin’s wallet?
思い出のカレーパンcurry bread of memory An elderly woman, Kozue, enters Nostimo looking for the curry bread she remembers her husband bringing home to her thirty years ago. With her husband gone, this curry bread is one of the few things that spark memories with him. Rena promises she and Koharu will find this curry bread for Kozue…
Also, a mystery swirls around Fukuo and her pending departure from Nostimo. Koharu feels that not everything is as it should be …
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Treats From The Osaka Bakery Author : Usagi Tsuchiya Translator : Geoffrey Trousselot
This five-chapter novel begins w/ protagonist Koharu Ichikura, a university student working as a part-timer at a bakery in Toyonaka, northern Osaka called Nostimo. This blue-themed shop's vibe is a mix of cosy & stylish & w/ around 15 staff members, it's a humble yet tightly run business owned by middle-aged & award-winning baker, Chef Dommae & 26-year-old bread co-ordinator Fukuoh.
Koharu who comes from Fuchu in Tokyo, has always dreamed of being a famous manga artist since she was a kid. With her best friend Yukiko's support (a diehard fan of Hasepi the stage actor), she continues to discreetly practice her drawing & join amature contests to hone her skills, while they both spend their everyday mundane life at the bakery.
As time goes on, Koharu begins to unravel hidden secrets of the people at the bakery. With her sharp eyes, attention to details & on-point observation skills, she pinpoints clues to the mysteries that emerge daily from the employees to the customers.
Now this was an inspiring & delightful read! I loved how whimsical the characters are w/ their respective personalities. I enjoyed how Koharu was able to help her colleagues & customers by doing some type of personal investigation. From her bestfriend's hidden relationship to her colleague's doubts regarding her dream, Koharu was able to swiftly solve them one by one. This book reminded me so much of the Kamogawa Detective series! (Plus the Chef being so philosophical when it comes to bread & baseball, the resemblance to Chef Nagare is too much! 😅)
4.5/5 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️½
P.S.
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This was a unique little book. Told in the serial short format, it's a YA slice-of-life centred around a university student working part time in a bakery.
Firstly, I looooved the baked goods theme, particularly the history of each chapter's treat. The setting of the small, independent bakery gave a cozy feel with delectable descriptions of the treats and a little cast that we get to know along the way.
The mysteries were simplistic and not really the focal point of the stories: so advertising this as a 'cozy mystery' is probably the wrong call. That readership going in with those expectations may find it simplistic and underwhelming. Funnily, that's what I enjoyed about it: it wasn't super serious and was more about the characters than solving mysteries. From that perspective, it's very much a slice-of-life where we travel with a character through a year working at the bakery, learning about baking, meeting unusual customers, and building friendships.
Ironically, I feel like this book might've worked better as a manga. There are a lot of descriptions and some of the mystery hints were clunky and might've been more powerful in visual format.
I love the cover, but I was disappointed there wasn't a Golden Retriever in the story. Or a cat, come to think of it.
This was a nice book to spend a few afternoons with. Its rich food descriptions, sense of place, and interconnected little world are its strengths. 3.5/5
Thanks to Orion for approving my request to review this book on NetGalley. 🥖
Finished this novel that I started as part of a Japanese book club discussion! 3 stars 🌟! This book had a 'cosy mystery' tag to it, and was also really popular in Japan post release, which was why it piqued the interest of the members of the book club. Overall, it felt like a really simple read. I like the idea of cosy mysteries in this book, represented with a sense of seeing everyday moments through the lens of wonder. The book itself has 5 chapters, each narrating a different story, while drawing parallels to a type of bread and its origins. This form of narration was a refreshing perspective. Some moments however did fall flat for me.
i usually like cozy japanese/korean lit but this missed the mark for me. perhaps it was an issue with translation because a lot of the word choices/sentence structures seemed so simple and childish, like i was reading a children's book but with adult charactera. i know cozy lit of this genre tend to favor that kind of writing style, but this time it felt too simple and boring — it was hard for me to get through. the mysteries were slightly intriguing, sometimes the eventual discoveries and resolutions seemed too farfetched for me to see it as believable. i liked the vibe and atmosphere of the bakery, but other than that there really wasn't much i enjoyed here.
This was such a great book. A couple of the Healing Fiction books I’ve read recently have left me feeling a bit disappointed, so it was really nice to find one that I really liked again.
The thing I liked most was the main character. Unlike some Healing Fiction books, which has different characters for each story, Koharu plays a big part in most of these. She was fun, interesting and had an eye for the details. It was nice to see her play detective over her friends’ lives.
I also liked that every story ended with a little piece of history about the bakery item that featured heavily in the story. So I got to learn things I didn’t know about Croissants, Cinnamon Buns, Curry Bread and others!
This was such a lovely book. I hope there’s more books about Koharu and the bakery in the future.
I received this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. Cross-posted to thewhisperingofthepages.co.uk