ラ・パティスリー

洋菓子 #1

by Sayuri Ueda

《巧克力師傅的勳章》前傳登場！在三場巧克力「盲測」試吃會上，神秘的A先生以多款大肆展現自我風格的作品躍上舞台，最後心不甘情不願地接下巧克力專賣店的主廚一職。當答案揭曉，原來他是……！平行世界來的甜點師傅？神戶知名法式甜點店「金翅雀」的見習生森澤夏織，覺得這一切實在太玄了：一個手藝出神入化的陌生甜點師傅憑空出現在店裡，不只對廚房裡的一切瞭如指掌、宣稱自己是店裡的主廚、叫得出員工的名字，甚至跟「金翅雀」的老闆同姓，但他們店裡卻沒有一個人認識他……失憶，還有另有企圖？過去的陰影襲來，也啟動了未來……以甜點世界為舞台，少許驚奇，些微日常，佐以溫暖，韻味無窮的「甜點關係」系列故事再登場！

Tankobon Hardcover

First published January 1, 2010

About the author

Born in Hyogo Prefecture, Sayuri Ueda (上田 早夕里, Ueda Sayuri) is one of the more innovative science fiction authors in Japan. She made her debut in 2003 with Kasei daku barado (Mars Dark Ballad), which won the 4th Komatsu Sakyo Prize. She has published a series of highly original, much discussed works, gaining avid fans not only in Japan but throughout Asia and the West. Karyu no miya (The Ocean Chronicles) won the Hayakawa Publishing “SF ga Yomitai!” Award for Best Japanese SF Novel in 2010, as well as the 32nd Japan SF Award and 10th Sense of Gender Award in 2011. She also writes actively in genres other than science fiction, and in 2018, her historical novel Hametsu no ō (The King of Ruin) was nominated for the 159th Naoki Prize.

Reviews

[Mizuki · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Nameless Cake (yes, this is a book's title) is a light-hearted tale which takes place in a cake shop, featuring the workers, pâtissiers and chiefs within the shop and the main character is a guy who lost his memory (despite his memory loss, he still proofs himself a talented and seasoned pâtissier) and insists that he has always been working in the shop even though no one knows who he is.

The pacing is well set, the mysteries about the MC's past and his lost memory are handled nicely, the dramas between the shop owner and her son, the relationship about the female trainee and the MC also play out nicely. So, four stars.