Book review: The Nakano Thrift Shop

There might be spoilers ahead. It wasn't until I updated my Goodreads reading challenge that I realized it took me almost an entire month to finish reading this book. The Nakano Thrift Shop is a slow read, a book that I'd likely curl up with on a rainy Sunday afternoon, except it's dry season in the Philippines and there's hardly any rain. Anyway, if you are after the plot, there is none. It's a character-based story written from Hitomi's point of view, the girl that works behind the counter of the shop. There are only four significant characters in the story. There's Hitomi. Then there's Takeo, who heavily reminded me of Nakajima Yuto in his drama Where Do I Came From , whose job is to go with the shop's owner Mr. Nakano in search of items to buy and sell. Then there's also Mr. Nakano's older sister, Masayo, an artist who eventually became Hitomi's closest friend. The story imitates life too closely, and it's because the characte...