Chibineko. The Restaurant of Lost Recipes – Yuta Takahashi

“Grief won’t turn back time.”

“Heartwarming stories and simple recipes for soul-soothing dishes...” – that’s what the description promises. It was supposed to be an uplifting tale about what matters most in life, but for me it turned out to be a massive disappointment.

I barely made it through this book. The stories are so infantile that I was shocked it wasn’t some mediocre American production. The concept had real potential: a restaurant specializing in “farewell meals,” where by preparing the beloved dish of someone who has passed away, you get a chance for one last conversation. At the end of each chapter — a recipe for that dish.

Unfortunately, the execution is terrible. The stories are contrived and downright artificial. The whole thing looks as if someone had a ready-made collection of recipes and forcefully “made up” the rest of the plot, just to package it into a book.

What stays with me after reading is nothing but a bad taste. The ending is particularly irritating — the main characters become a couple, barely knowing each other — in Japan of all places! This book angered me with its superficiality. I carry a loved one I lost in my heart, and I nearly lost another — that’s why I refuse to accept such infantile treatment of the subject of loss and passing.

I found only one worthwhile story here — about a childless couple. It had a moment of authentic beauty, but that’s far too little for me to recommend this book. The only quotes I decided to save for you are:

“Grief won’t turn back time.”

“Even when someone suddenly disappears, the world doesn’t stop spinning and time doesn’t stand still.”

I’m shocked that I’m doing this, but Kanye said in one sentence what this book tried to say in two hundred pages:

“If you admire somebody, you should go ahead and tell them. People never get the flowers while they can still smell them.”

Not worth your time. If you’re looking for real emotions and depth, I wouldn’t recommend it.

And if you ever want to summon me from the afterlife — Amino tomato soup and I’ll be right there :)