“Ms Ice Sandwich’s eyelids are always painted with a thick layer of a kind of electric blue, exactly the same colour as those hard ice lollies that have been sitting in our freezer since last summer.”A boy in fourth grade is the main protagonist, from his perspective the story is being told. His life is not easy. He is raised by his mother, who is absent most of the time. His grandmother is living with them, she is ill and needs home care.
In school, he is being teased by a girl named “Tutti”, in his eyes other girls in his class are stupid teenagers with hobbies like silly dancing and who are bullying others. So, he feels somewhat lonely.
His only pleasure are the blue-painted eyes of the unreachable Ms. Ice Sandwich. A woman he sees daily when buying an egg sandwich at her stand in a supermarket.
Things change a little when he gets to know Tutti better, but he is still fascinated by Ms. Ice Sandwich, and he cannot forget her. With Tutti’s help he is figuring out how to address her.
The story is set in contemporary Japan. The overall theme is first love. It teaches you about listening to your heart and taking your chances in the moment.
A novella is usually shorter than a novel, so there are only 92 pages. “Ms Ice Sandwich” is written in a clear language. The story is narrated in a linear structure. Mieko Kawakami chooses her words in a fresh and interesting way: You read about the inner conflicts of the (nameless) boy. The characters of Tutti and Ms. Ice Sandwich are painted colorfully. The story is bittersweet because of the grandmother’s fate and the sad absence of one parent in both families, the boy’s, and Tutti’s, but everything is mixed with a touch of humor with the ingredients of friendship, forgiveness, and self-confidence.
I liked the writing style of the author, and I am curious about her other books. I have read only one story of Mieko Kawakami, which was published in “March was made of Yarn” before and was impressed by ‘Ms Ice Sandwich’. Surely, I will read “Breasts and Eggs” next, and will write a review on this blog soon.
Reviewed Title:
川上未映子. ミス・アイスサンドイッチ. 2013.
Mieko Kawakami. Ms Ice Sandwich. Translated Louise Heal Kawai. Pushkin Press, 2018 (cover).
Japan Kaleidoskop 
This sounds like a wonderful little story, which I’ve never heard of before. I will be looking forward to your review of ‘Breasts and Eggs’.
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Thank you very much. I really enjoyed this story. The ‘Breasts and Eggs’ review will be here next week.
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