Book Review: ‘Days at the Torunka Cafe’ by Satoshi Yagisawa

Book Title: Days at the Torunka Cafe
Author: Satoshi Yagisawa
Publisher: Manilla Press
Number of Pages: 220
ISBN: 978-1786587572
Date Published: Sept. 18, 2025
Price: INR 281

Book Review

The internationally bestselling author of the Morisaki Bookshop novels, Satoshi Yagisawa, has written another charming and poignant story set in a quiet Tokyo café called “Days at the Torunka Cafe“. The café, a neighbourhood nook with local cats as passersby, serves up a perfect cup of coffee but provides customers with nourishment far more lasting. The story follows three interconnected, character-driven stories about patrons and staff, focusing on their personal struggles with love, memory, and loss.

The appeal lies in its gentle, introspective, and heartwarming tone, reminding readers to appreciate the small, simple moments in life, like a good cup of coffee or a quiet conversation. The stories show that while you can’t change the past, you can still find peace and understanding to move forward.

The quote “In life, reunions are the closest thing we get to miracles” is especially loved and appears in the book’s setting. However, the pacing was slow and the content was heavy, featuring themes such as death, suicide, grief, and depression. The book feels like stepping into a warm, sunny corner of Tokyo where time slows down and emotions are gently stirred.

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“Days at the Torunka Café” is a quiet story about loss, simple pleasures, community, and friendship, told with simplicity and care. Wrapped in the aromatic culture of coffee, it is mostly set in a cozy café tucked away in the hidden alleys of Tokyo.

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