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Library Reviews

HOT CHOCOLATE ON THURSDAY

MICHIKO AOYAMA ; Translated by E MADISON SHIMODA.

A maximum strength shot of serendipity served with a dollop of Vegemite.

Michiko Aoyama knows her niche. Her most successful release What you are Looking for is in the Library was later followed by The Healing Hippo of Hinode Park. The latter about a pink coloured children’s playground equipment with a genie-like reputation. The gist of the former being slightly more self evident.

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Hot Chocolate on Thursday is her earliest published work and which debuted in Japan in 2017. It’s a loosely connected collection of stories that peripherally orbit a tiny but charming riverside cafe in Tokyo. This is your typical secret locale caffeine hole, frequented by patrons in the know. The only staff being a mildly despondent but earnest young man who had the honour of being manager somewhat yeeted onto him. An implicit salary ceiling cap mildly curtailing his outlook. Features an extremely strong Sydney component as Aoyama once lived and worked in the city.

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