Your rating:
A woman inherits a pawnshop where you can sell your regrets, and then embarks on a magical journey when a charming young physicist wanders into the shop, in this dreamlike and enchanting fantasy novel. On a backstreet in Tokyo lies a pawnshop, but not everyone can find it. Most will see a cozy ramen restaurant. And only the chosen ones—those who are lost—will find a place to pawn their life choices and deepest regrets. Hana Ishikawa wakes on her first morning as the pawnshop’s new owner to find it ransacked, the shop’s most precious acquisition stolen, and her father missing. And then into the shop stumbles a charming stranger, quite unlike its other customers, for he offers help instead of seeking it. Together, they must journey through a mystical world to find Hana’s father and the stolen choice—by way of rain puddles, rides on paper cranes, the bridge between midnight and morning, and a night market in the clouds. But as they get closer to the truth, Hana must reveal a secret of her own—and risk making a choice that she will never be able to take back.
“Unlike people who quickly find their place in their little corner of life’s puzzle, you need to see and understand the puzzle in its entirety.” loving the dreamlike vibes of it so far, the prose and imagery is just as beautiful as the cover. i'm relating to keishin a lot more than i expected, hitting a bit too close to home 🥹
I love the whimsy. I feel like this is going to leave me reflecting on myself and my own life by the end.