Book description
Set in modern-day Tokyo, The Butterfly Café tells the story of American Jessie Yamada. When her emotionally-abusive husband suddenly dies in a traffic accident, she is overcome with guilt because while making plans to leave him, she had often thought how much easier it would be for her if he…
Why read it?
2 authors picked The Butterfly Cafe as one of their favorite books. Why do they recommend it?
The characters in this book felt like people I know, except they were in an entirely different setting--in Japan! I loved the setting as well as the characters.
Despite the complexities of the main character’s situation—raising a daughter alone in Japan, and having to make ends meet on a tight budget—Jessie is not only assisted by friends, but also a couple of kind strangers, when she decides to re-open the Butterfly Café—a café she has inherited.
I kept wondering what was going to happen next. At first, I thought the tone would be serious, the gravitas overarching, but it curiously wasn’t. Jessie manages to provide a loving home to her daughter.
The dialogue is credible, and the pacing—perfect. The book also paints a good picture of modern day…
If you love The Butterfly Cafe...
The Rosewood Penny
2023 Queer Indie Award Nominee!
The dragons of Yuro have been hunted to extinction.
On a small, isolated island, in a reclusive forest, lives bandit leader Marani and her brother Jacks. With their outlaw band they rob from the rich to feed themselves, raiding carriages and dodging the occasional vindictive…
Want books like The Butterfly Cafe?
Our community of 12,000+ authors has personally recommended 100 books like The Butterfly Cafe.
Share your top 3 reads of 2025!
And get a beautiful page showing off your 3 favorite reads.
1,343
readers submitted
so far, will you?
📚 If you like The Butterfly Cafe, you might also like...
Memory's Eyes: A New York Oedipus Novel
Memory's Eyes is a contemporary New York Oedipus novel. It is written for readers who enjoy playing with concepts and storylines, here namely the classical Oedipus myth, Sophocles' three Theban plays, the psychoanalytic concept of the Oedipus complex, and its pop-cultural adaptations in movies, cartoons, and jokes.
Tragic and funny,…
The Origami Deception
Two small-time journalists take on an international cartel who try a hostile takeover of a Canadian mining company.
Lucas, a veteran journalist, sees a big story brewing within a strike at a local mining company when explosions rip through the plant, but he gets bumped by Jamie, a junior reporter.…
