During my recent visit to India, I had the opportunity to see the exquisite process of hand weaving a silk saree. Recognizing a willing listener in me, the master weaver spared no detail as he described and demonstrated the complex process to me.

The Miracles of the Namiya General Store may be a fantasy fiction story, but the many aspects it touches on are challenges we face, as human beings, in our everyday lives. Like the master weaver who spared no detail in describing how a silk saree in woven, Highashino paints with impressive detail the backstory of every single character in his book. The seemingly disparate segments in the story come together pretty much like an elegantly woven silk saree, connected by one common thread, thanks to the superb storytelling capability of Higashino.

The Miracles of the Namiya General Store is a beautiful and heartwarming story that I couldn’t put down until I turned the last page.