The Amberglow Candy Store by Hiyoko Kurisu

Rating: 3.5/5

Genre: Fantasy, Fiction, Cozy
Themes: Fables, Life Lessons, Reflection

Premise:

A charming book of linked stories with a sprinkling of cozy fantasy and a fable-like touch . . .

The Amberglow Candy Store introduces the reader to half-fox shopkeeper Kogetsu, whose magical wagashi sweets from his shop on Gloaming Lane promise to change his customers' lives for the better.

We follow an array of characters from various walks of life through their encounters with Kogetsu, who himself learns some major life lessons along the way, and reveals his own backstory in the process.

My Thoughts:

This year, I want to branch out when it comes to exploring different books and genres. One goal in particular is to expand my shelves by obtaining more translated literature. I saw this beautiful cover whilst browsing and couldn't resist picking it up. The art screams "cozy" and the konpeitō illustrations are very reminiscent of Spirited Away, hence I had to add it to my collection.

Overall, I would describe this book as anthology-like in that each chapter focuses on a particular character who is dissatisfied with something in their life. None of the characters' stories intersect. Each chapter is entirely isolated unto itself. However, each character plays out similar actions, which does bring forth a repetitive nature to the chapters. Essentially, each chapter is structured as follows:

1. The character is unhappy about one of their attributes or an aspect of their life.
2. The character stumbles upon a shrine, which then leads to them discovering Gloaming Lane. 
3. The character makes their way to Kogetsu's shop where they are drawn to and purchase a magically infused candy. 
4. The candy eventually teaches them a lesson they felt they needed to learn to move forward in life.
5. Kogetsu makes a sneaky appearance near the end of each chapter to obtain a remaining sample of the candy to add to his personal collection.

Each character reiterates the description of Kogetsu and his shop in near identical detail. This, in tandem with each character's story following the same basic outline, led to a sense of monotony as the chapters progressed. Consequently I tended not to read more than 1-2 chapters per day since each isolated story began to blur together. 

Notably, the plot is very character-driven. Although I'm no stranger to these types of books, they tend to lose my interest if they take place in a mundane, contemporary setting, as was the case here. Surprisingly, each chapter was quite light-hearted as they neared their respective ends. There was not a sense of maliciousness to Kogetsu's magical candy, and each character genuinely progressed forward within their life without experiencing a horrid side effect or an irreversible incident. I was definitely expecting more mischief or hard-fought life lessons similar to what is seen in darker European fables, which is what I'm more familiar with. The gentler touch was refreshing.

In terms of the writing style, there is a sense of formality about it - almost as if I'm reading an essay from each character's perspective. I wonder if this is due to culture or translation. Nevertheless, I will say the last chapter didn't feel as formal. It took place in Kogetsu's past and was hands down my favorite part of the book. (It's also the reason why I bumped my rating up to 3.5 stars because it was worth wading through everything to reach that one super satisfying tidbit of Kogetsu's mysterious history.) 

Conclusion:

The Amberglow Candy Store was a cozy, light-hearted, contemporary book with strong character development but redundant plot. The book truly packed the most punch in its final chapter by revealing the origin story of how Kogetsu's candy shop came to be. The final story had so much heart and a bit of sadness all wrapped together. Overall, it's worth reading through the initial chapters just so you can experience the origins of Kogetsu's business within the final pages.