Love Notes and Sticky Tape
About
In a small Japanese fishing village where tradition runs as deep as the surrounding waters, a long-buried symphony of secrets is about to resurface. Mei returns to her childhood island home after years in Tokyo, only to find that the past she thought she'd left behind is still creating ripples in the present.
As mysterious paper boats begin appearing in the harbor, carrying fragments of long-forgotten love letters, Mei uncovers a web of stories connecting three generations of islanders. At the heart of this delicate origami of truth lies her mother's disappearance fifteen years ago, a piano that hasn't been played since, and a forbidden romance that threatened to unravel the fabric of island life.
With the help of Hiroshi, the harbor master's son who has secrets of his own, Mei must navigate the treacherous waters between duty and desire, tradition and change. As she pieces together the truth hidden in margins of weather logs and between the notes of unfinished musical scores, she realizes that her own future—and that of her childhood friend Sakura—hangs in the balance.
Echoing the subtle exploration of memory and duty found in Kazuo Ishiguro's works, "Love Notes and Sticky Tape" delves into the complexities of personal and cultural identity in a changing world. Like Ishiguro's characters, Mei and Sakura grapple with the weight of unspoken expectations and the longing for a past that may never have truly existed.
This lyrical novel weaves together music, origami, and the rhythms of the sea into a haunting melody of memory and possibility. Set against the backdrop of a close-knit island community grappling with modernization, it asks: Will Mei and Sakura find the courage to sail beyond the safe harbor of tradition, or will history repeat itself in a never-ending refrain?
Praise for this book
An intriguing, tender tale..
This little novella is such a beautiful piece of work, full of lyrical prose, wonderful imagery, and pure heart. If you're a fan of literary fiction or travel literature, I can't recommend this piece highly enough. Ideally read outside on a cloudy day, so you can feel that bittersweet and heartfelt haze that permeates the book all the more.
Love Notes and Sticky Tape by Julien St. James is a beautifully written, deeply atmospheric novel that explores the tension between tradition and personal freedom in a watchful, tight-knit community. St. James’s lyrical prose flows effortlessly, pulling readers into a world where appearances often mask deeper truths. With vivid imagery and poignant storytelling, the novel captures the courage it takes to leave safe harbors behind and follow one’s own path. It's a moving and memorable reminder that some messages—and some lives—are meant to travel far beyond familiar shores.
This story wraps you in a sense of quiet magic from the very first page. The delicate imagery of paper boats carrying secrets is both poetic and powerful, and the way it ties into family history and cultural expectations gives the novel a layered emotional weight. Every character feels real and thoughtfully drawn, and the relationship between Mei and her mother, revealed through hidden notes and half-remembered traditions, is tender without being overly sentimental.
There’s a real stillness to the storytelling that mirrors the rhythms of island life, but beneath that calm is a strong current of change and personal reckoning. Julien St. James doesn’t just tell a story about love—romantic, familial, and self-directed—but about how traditions can evolve without losing their soul. It’s heartfelt, gorgeously written, and left me feeling both wistful and hopeful in the best way.
Love Notes and Sticky Tape is a charming, marvelously written story. It may be the first book that I actually slowed down my reading so that I could savor every word. Reading it in one sitting seemed unfair to this beautiful book, so I read 20 pages a day and read in a way I never have slowly making sure I read every word. The story of a small Japanese village, origami boats, secret messages, and missing tape catches your attention in the first chapter. I recommend that you enjoy this wonderful novella as soon as possible.
This book is a touching, gentle, and thoughtful novel set on a Japanese island where paper boats carry messages from the past. The poetic writing and the rich details make your brain travel. It describes themes of love and courage, blended with mystery and tradition.