Die Ladenhüterin: Roman

Expected Natively level ~28 This is a translation from the original Japanese.

The book is highly praised and if you look at the original Japanese book - people generally seem to find it an enjoyable read. So please take my comments with a grain of salt. The things I blurred aren't really spoilers, but if you want to go in blind, or without my niche perspective, then don't open them. My niche perspective: knowing someone with a cognitive disability.

I have a family member with a cognitive disability that is similar in many aspects to how the MC in this book is written. With regards to the personal characteristics, it's a realistic portrayal of many aspects of this disability. With regards to the consequences, though... very rose tinted. It's a raw experience to read that written as entertainment, and in a way that I don't think gets across that a lot of people really do go through their lives like that. imo it doesn't get across some of the bitter realities of what that life really leads to, and the ending felt a bit too fairy tale-like. (but to be fair, maybe that was not the author's intent to explore, I'm just explaining the lens I had reading this)

Coincidentally I have a Japanese friend with a family member with a similar disability and for her it was an unpleasant, raw and bittersweet read as well (she read the original Japanese).

With a different life experience, you could read this as intended, as an exploration of an abstract someone who doesn't fit into social norms. It's from that perspective that this book is celebrated. My experience of the book is quite biased by my personal life, though. For me, having a very up close and personal view of how things turn out for someone who doesn't fit into social norms in the way portrayed here, and I suspect for others who can imagine how events would actually play out - this book is a fairy tale that glosses over some of the most serious vulnerabilities affecting such a person.