The Nakano Thrift Shop by Hiromi Kawakami

This story is set in a thrift shop in Japan but it doesn't center on the items being sold or their story.  It's about the four people who work in the shop:  The owner and his sister and the young man and woman he hired.  They all have secrets and most of them aren't really secrets...

Europa Editions and Edelweiss allowed me to read this book for review (thank you).  It will be published June 6th.

The thrift shop owner is married but has mistresses.  His sister is fifty and living with a man and he wants her to stop it.  Like he can say anything about it!  So he sends his female helper to chat with her.  The sister knows he doesn't like it and tells her to tell him she doesn't care what he thinks.

The young female helper is fond of the young man.  They date a bit, even make love once, but he's very reserved and lets the relationship die.  She tries to pretend she doesn't love him but it doesn't work out well.

Then Mr. Nakano shuts down his store and decides he'll try another adventure in life.  The girl gets temporary jobs and stays there until it ends.  Her next job brings her back into the fold of the friends she had at the shop.

This is an interesting look at a slice of life in Japan.  These characters are not important people and don't hold any power.  They are just trying to make it in life.  Since time has passed and the young ones are older now, I think things may work out for them.  You get a lot of life drama in this story.