A review by afi_whatafireads
Mina's Matchbox: A Novel by Yōko Ogawa

emotional reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

Ogawa can write absolutely anything, and I will dig it.

"Before I met Mina, matches were nothing more than matches, in my view. But from the first time she produced a matchbox in my presence, I realized that they could become a silent ritual, a devout prayer."

If someone were to ask me to describe Mina’s Matchbox by Yoko Ogawa?

It is tender. It is bittersweet. It is heartfelt
It is a story that has nothing and everything
A story that takes us back to 1972 Japan, of a peculiar family with a hippo as a family pet
A story of a tender friendship and of girlhood.
A story of that is told through the lenses of a 12 year old Tomoko, who lived through her Summer with her aunt’s family.
A story of love and family, of loss and hope and a story of innocence and a summer unforgotten.

Gosh, how I felt so much after reading this. Ogawa took a slightly different take with Mina’s Matchbox but it still has the somberness that we sometimes equate with her work. But with Ogawa, the beauty lies within the characters itself. It almost seems that the characters were alive - that the stories that Mina told through her loneliness, surviving her condition (one that I can really relate as I faced the same predicament as her when I was younger). It gives an odd sense of comfort to my younger self in seeing Mina navigate through her illness.

The tender friendship that she found within Tomoko and its girlhood at its best form 🎀 I simply love Tomoko’s and Mina’s adventures. But besides all that, what made the story has a bittersweet truth of its own is the impending loom of Mina’s family dynamics, the reminiscent of war thru the lenses of Mina’s German grandmother and learning the presence of animals that creates a bond for the family.

Of all my love towards this book, there was one part that I felt quite unexplained why Ogawa had included it in the book. It was a chapter where she mentioned about the Black September Munich massacre during the 1972 Olympics (coincidentally finished this during this year’s Olympics season too). It didn’t feel like she was making a statement but it leaves you icked to read an act of resistance portrayed in such a way. I understand why it was written - of in focus of war crimes and Mina’s German grandmother - but it also felt a bit unnecessary.

With that said, Mina’s Matchbox was a book that touched my heart, more ways than one. There's a subtlety in Ogawa's writing, that is both magical and endearing. And the fact that these stories are told from perspectives of children - brings out the air of innocence and youth. It felt like watching a slow movie, through the lives of these characters, magical in its own way. I adored it.

4.75🌟 for this gem 🎀
Thank you to Pantheon Books for the early copy!