The Convenience Store by the Sea
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3.9 • 15 Ratings
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- $14.99
Publisher Description
The quirky, charming Japanese sensation with over half a million copies sold worldwide.
"An unexpected treasure." —Laurie Gilmore, #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Pumpkin Spice Cafe
Welcome to Tenderness!
A quaint seaside town in Kitakyushu, Mojiko is full of hidden delights. And one unexpected treasure is the 24/7 convenience store, Tenderness.
Sure, it's a bit odd that the incredibly handsome manager has his own fan club. And perhaps the customers are somewhat eccentric, if not entertaining. But there's a warmth about the store that draws you in.
The truth is, Tenderness is different. Operating only in Kyushu, Tenderness stands firm and proud by its motto “Caring for People, Caring for You”, no matter the cause. And for Mitsuhiko, dishing out delicious food is simply the appetizer to his unsolicited but hearty wisdom on the town’s shenanigans.
An international bestseller with over half a million copies sold between Japan and South Korea, The Convenience Store by The Sea tells the delightfully quirky and heartfelt stories of the store’s customers and employees, offering us all a unique recipe for a good, fulfilling life.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Machida (52-Hertz Whales) concocts a heartfelt and pleasantly quirky tale of a convenience store chain that serves just what its customers need. In the seaside town of Mojiko, the eccentric Mr. Shiba manages a Tenderness store, where his magnetic personality and handsome figure are nothing compared to his love for his customers and employees. The story follows multiple Tenderness patrons as they navigate hardships, with the store bringing them closer together. Among them are employee Mitsuri, a mother who struggles with raising a difficult teenage boy and finds solace in publishing her popular online manga. There's also customer Yoshirō, an aspiring manga artist who strives to leave his job as a tutor; and Azusa, a middle schooler who yearns to step out of her friend's shadow and discovers joy in the sweet treats at Tenderness, fueling her desire to become a pastry chef. Mr. Shiba's interventions in others' lives has mixed results—his encouragement of Yoshirō causes the young man to reel from embarrassment—but overall, the well-meaning proprietor seeds a sense of hope and purpose in those he encounters. Readers of healing fiction like Toshikazu Kawaguchi's Before the Coffee Gets Cold will be delighted.
