Something Like Hope

by Hengtee Lim

Think of this place like a small bookshop down a quiet, lonely street somewhere in Tokyo: there’s music playing on old speakers, and a single book on the shelf you can read and take home with you.

That book is Something Like Hope.

In this short story collection, paper planes connect kindred spirits, stray cats form the core of fragile friendships, and invisible men learn who they are in seedy Shinjuku massage parlors. Something Like Hope is a collection of stories for walking the streets, wandering the city, and discovering a different side of Tokyo.

Genres: Short Stories, Fiction

234 pages, Paperback

First published April 1, 2019

Reviews

[Joyce · Rating 4 out of 5]

12 pages in and i’m brought right back to the streets of Tokyo; rumbling of trains in the distance and the promise of a well-brewed cup of coffee in a kissaten not too far away. This is a lovely collection of Hengtee’s short stories on Medium. I first found his writing after a Murakami binge and was in need of more books to fill my need for books set in Japan. If calming slice-of-life stories with cats, books, wanderings in the city, ruminations on human relationships and the occasional tinge of the surreal are your thing, this is a must-read. If anything, since the time I first stumbled upon Paper Planes on medium, I felt that it belonged in a physical form; and today it’s pretty cool to be holding it in my hands. By the way, the paper that this book is printed on is impossibly smooth. I couldn’t stop rubbing it hahaha.

[Dale Stromberg · Rating 5 out of 5]

There is a sense of shared isolation when you live in Tokyo—a sense that life's possibilities are politely ignoring you. This collection of short stories captures that feeling, blending whimsy, wistfulness, urban loneliness and romantic longing. The stories are not only about a place, but also about the constellation of emotions that place inspires in a lonesome romantic. The ambiguity in the title sums up the tentative delicacy of the stories: Is this really hope? Can we hope that it is?

[G. · Rating 5 out of 5]

I easily fall in love with novels, but it is rare that I find a short story collection to my liking.
This collection is one of the very few beautiful collections. Snippets are my absolute favorites!

[Thierry · Rating 5 out of 5]

I thoroughly enjoyed this collection of short stories and recommend it to anyone in love with Tokyo, wandering the streets aimlessly, daydreaming, endearing love tales bordering on sci-fi… anyone that enjoys great stories really.

Make sure to also check out the collections of stories from the author, “Snippets”, that is still available online.

Hope to get new stories from Hengtee soon.

[Michelle W · Rating 4 out of 5]

10-word review:

Captivating the mundane with beautiful, simple words. Great snippets collection!

[Niklas · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is like a little bird landing on your hand: You're not quite sure where it came from, what it wants, or if the moment is even real. But you do know it's a magical, special memory in the making, and so, if only for a brief time, you enjoy it exactly as is.

Each one of Hengtee's stories is made of four ingredients: wonder, melancholy, love, and hope. Shedding light on the big city life of small-feeling individuals in Tokyo, Japan, not each tale is a happy one, but most of them end on an optimistic note — and they all make you want to read the next one.

A wonderful collection of short stories in a beautiful pocket-format that's full of thoughtfulness, care, and intention. This book gave me Something Like Hope, and I'm sure it'll be worth your while, too.