{"product_id":"le-ricette-della-signora-tokue-by-durian-sukegawa-italian","title":"'Le ricette della signora Tokue' by Durian Sukegawa (Italian)","description":"\u003ch4 class=\"isSelectedEnd\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003eSentarō runs a dorayaki stall, making the same sweet bean pancakes each day with little joy and less ambition. \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/h4\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"isSelectedEnd\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003eThen Tokue appears: an elderly woman with bent hands, an inconvenient persistence, and a near-mystical knowledge of \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cem\u003e\u003cspan\u003ean\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/em\u003e\u003cspan\u003e, the red bean paste at the heart of the confection. What begins as a small lesson in cooking becomes something stranger and more serious — an apprenticeship in attention, patience, shame, and the lives we are taught to discard.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003eDurian Sukegawa’s \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cem\u003e\u003cspan\u003eLe ricette della signora Tokue\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/em\u003e\u003cspan\u003e — translated into English as \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cem\u003e\u003cspan\u003eSweet Bean Paste\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/em\u003e\u003cspan\u003e — is deceptively slight: a food novel on the surface, but underneath it is about illness, social exclusion, work, and the dignity of doing one thing properly in a world that keeps trying to make people disposable. The book also carries the history of Japan’s treatment of people affected by Hansen’s disease, giving its tenderness a sharper edge. Gentle, yes, but not sentimental. More like a small knife wrapped in rice paper.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003e\u003cmeta charset=\"utf-8\"\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eItalian paperback, 2021. Very good condition with light shelf wear.\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"bower studio","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":45717286518867,"sku":null,"price":14.0,"currency_code":"AUD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0689\/0268\/2707\/files\/thebowerbooker-2026-06-19T143323.282.png?v=1781843612","url":"https:\/\/bowerbooks.com\/products\/le-ricette-della-signora-tokue-by-durian-sukegawa-italian","provider":"bower books","version":"1.0","type":"link"}