AN
Naomi Kawase

O.V. Japanese

At seventy, Tokue is sure of herself, thanks to her secret recipe for exceptional dough for dorayaki, a traditional, irresistibly delicious Japanese sweet cake filled with red bean paste. In her mind, there is no doubt: Sentaro, the lonely dorayaki vendor who doesn’t like sugar, must hire her. The idea turns out to be good, because once Tokue gets involved, the little shop’s sales take off. While the old lady teaches her boss to “listen to the beans,” she can’t hide her secret for very...