I found this to be very endearing, and a lovely look at love and grief in a slice of life style. I have to say, I much preferred Kitchen to Moonlight Shadow, which felt very Murakami to me (in a bad way). I thought the way the author approached dealing with death to be novel and refreshing. And I found the way the author approached love to be realistic and gentle. The pairings of these themes felt forced at times, but overall, I enjoyed the stories.