Book cover for Pasta Kacang Merah, the translated version of Sweet Bean Paste written by Durian Sukegawa. It follows an unconventional friendship of three mismatched people—an ex-convict, a Hansen’s disease survivor, and a high school student. Pulsating with issues like overcoming social stigmas and what it means to be a cog in a wheel in an unforgiving society, it is a quietly devastating redemption story. The trio sitting under the cherry blossom is a symbol of their shared loneliness, and their efforts to mend with it.