The Miracles of the Namiya General Store by Keigo Higashino

Sam Bett (Translator)

This book is for those who like a mild dose of magical realism in their reading. This supplements a twisted storyline with many branches, some keep coming back and connecting to another down the road to give us a whole new view at the point that it does.

The story begins with three boys who are fleeing a crime of some sort. They end up stumbling across an abandoned store and take shelter there. This move has them entangled in a lot more than they bargained for. It begins with one letter requesting advice, and then the story spins out moving through time, introducing us to a lot of people who have some problem or the other. Their different lives revolve around a few common points as we discover the deeper we go into the narrative.

The people in the story have humble beginnings, and troubles too massive for their age, but they push through. What is fascinating, however, is the way their lives are all interlinked. What one decides to do has a cascading effect on another, and this is not limited to just one or two individuals. It is the kind of story that will get anyone thinking. I would have liked it even more if I was able to read it in the original language I felt because although the translation was brilliant, a few parts seemed off enough for me to be bothered by it.

It is more satisfying once we reach the end, so it is worth sticking through the entire book even if it has you only mildly interested during the first part.

I received an ARC thanks to NetGalley and the publishers but the review is entirely based on my own reading experience.

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