The Wonders of “The Miracles of the Namiya General Store”

Recently read one of the most entertaining, sweet and touching books, “The Miracles of the Namiya General Store”, by the awesome author Keigo Higashino. As some of you know, I’ve been obsessed with reading all the works of his I could find (of the few works of his that have been translated into English, anyway) after being blown away by his story “MALICE” and this was one I was particularly anticipating!

Most of Higashino’s novels centre around mystery and crime, (a la his GALILEO and SHINZANMONO works) however, Miracles of Namiya Store is a pleasant diversion, dealing with a more magical realism type style  in the vein of Haruki Murakami. Miracles concerns an old, abandoned general store that gives out advice to those who seek it- though the method of transaction between asker and giver is one of inspired wonder! More on the plot later....

I really loved this book, and after wards must have recommended it to SEVERAL of my friends, even as I was re-reading it yet again! And as almost every novel of Higashino’s has been translated into television series, one-off specials or theatrical films, I wondered with hope if Miracles had had the similar treatment….and was HAPPILY THRILLED to find out it HAD! A 2017 release, this movie starred actors and actresses I loved, and wasted NO TIME grabbing it!

Our Story:

 Three troubled youths (Ryosuke Yamada, Nijiro Murakami, Kanchiro Sato) break into a house, tie up the owner and flee with her valuables into the darkness. They attempt a getaway, however the vehicle they’ve acquired won’t start and, trapped in the neighborhood by the police, they’re forced to find a place to hide out for the night til the heat dies down.

One of the teens remembers an old abandoned general store in the neighborhood and they make for it.

 This is the Namiya General Store, and though they do not know it, once upon a time it was famous not only for its goods and wares, but the kind and humorous advice given by the Owner, Mr. Namiya (Nishida Toshiyuki). If fact, the place and his advice became something of a small sensation in the area at the time!

 

Namiya has long since passed on and the general store shuttered for years. But from time to time, troubled individuals will still drops letters asking for advice into the mail slot, in hopes of getting some kind of divine guidance in their problematic lives.

As the three teens hunker down in the dusty old store, they contemplate their options…when a letter clinks down from the mail slot, startling them all. But after checking outside, it seems this letter came from out of thin air. And upon reading the letter, they realize it is a letter that had actually been sent some 30 years past! 

How can this be happening? The boys do not know, but without anything else to do while they wait out the night, one of the lads decides to answer the letter and place it in the mail crate out back, where the writers always picked up their messages.

Through this magical, impossible connection, the boys answer letters from a faraway time, and as we do, we see how their crude but sincere advice shapes those that ask for it, as well as those around them.

There is  Katsuro Matsuoka, (Kento Hayashi), a struggling musician torn between taking over his Father’s (Kaoru Kobayashi) fish business…or leaving the family and little sister (Asami Himeka) behind and pursuing his career.

There is Seri Mizuhara (Mugi Kadowaki),  a former orphan herself who rises from despair to become a world famous vocalist…

An orphaned young woman named Eiko (Rio Yamashita) who becomes suicidal when she discovers that she is a child from an illicit relationship and a mother who seemingly tried to kill both of them in a car crash (which only she survived)..

A woman named Harumi Tamura (Machiko Ono) balancing life working an office job by day and  cabaclub hostess by night, while all the time caring for her elderly parents . She hopes to gamble on quitting her office job and working full-time as a hostess and investing in a (seemingly  shady) business venture with one of her clients.

With all of these individuals, their lives are guided by the words of the mysterious advice-givers, and we see by the fateful outcomes, for better or worse, just how everyone, in one way or another, is truly connected to each other.

“The book was better” is a oft used trope, and I can’t deny that a lot of the time I was disappointed by the exclusion of certain scenes or passages from the novel, however, for its cinematic time restrictions, I think this movie hits all the high points and captures the spirit and hopefulness of the book perfectly fine, and had me bawling my eyes out by the end as well!

I've already long sung my praises of Keigo Higashino ,and as he's one of the most celebrated writers in Japan, my opinion hardly matters, but I'm just amazed at how many wonderful novels, short stories, television series and movies he's made that have all become huge favorites of mine. Here's hoping to MORE of his work getting translated! There's still so MUCH out there and I'm eager to read 'em ALL!!!

Wonderfully Sombre "Grace no Rireki"

Kikuo Hasumi (Kenichi Takito) is a quiet pharmacist living with his vibrant and positive wife Minako. Since they live a low-key life , Kikuo is shocked when Minako suddenly quits her job and makes plans to take a trip to France! He can’t understand why she would do this on what seems like the spur of the moment, but knows she knows best.

In her beloved Honda she affectionately calls “Grace”, she says her goodbyes before leaving for Narita Airport where she’ll board the flight for France. She worries that he’ll be lonely without her, but he assures her that being alone is like second nature to him and that she should enjoy her vacation!!

Kikuo sends her off with a smile, but what he doesn’t know is that this is the last time he will ever see her alive. Some weeks later, Kikuo gets word of a horrible accident involving a Tour Bus in France, and his worst fears are confirmed when he arrives and she is among the passengers who died in the tragedy.

For the next few weeks, Kikou is a wreck, and he spends his days lying listlessly in the house alone. It’s only when Minako’s car is returned to him that he is forced to come out and interact with people.

The Car is among the items willed to Kikuo by Minako, with the written hope he will use it and learn to enjoy driving it like she did. Kikuo has never driven before, so must take lessons before he can get behind the wheel of Grace. But when he does, he finds a curious thing in the car’s GPS tracking system… A record of a FULL  WEEK worth of traveling in Japan BEFORE her flight to France!

Where had she gone? And what was she DOING and why was it SECRET? Using the Car’s navigation, Kikuo decides to use the GPS to retrace Minako’s steps in the week before her death,  taking a long journey into the unknown! And as he does, he will connect with old friends,  befriend new strangers and make new acquaintances as he eventually uncovers the truth and learns the final gift of love Minako has left for him.

MAN, this was one heart-wrenching and bittersweet drama! Very sombre and slow paced, I had to take the drama in small doses to really appreciate what it had to offer. Loved going along with Kikuo on his spiritual journey and thought the ending was just achingly perfect!

This was a drama from last season that I only now finished, and have to say it’s one of the season’s finer ones!