Gente: Volume 3

by Natsume Ono, 166 pages

Loss--be it of a loved one or love, itself--finds comfort in this final collection of vignettes about the staff and customers of the Casetta dell'Orso.

One of the things I like about Ono is that she acknowledges that relationships are complicated, that we all grow older and change and lose and gain things and people along the way.  She doesn't neatly push people together or cruelly tear them apart here; rather, she lets them be and, eventually, accept themselves and adapt and find comfort, each in his or her  own way, with the ristorante providing them a second home and an extended family.

Gente: Volume 2

by Natsume Ono, 170 pages

This time the reader sees more evidence of how the ristorante has long been a homing beacon for those who need it, both staff and customers.  A broken-hearted young American, a bitter young chef, an insecure cameriere, and others find their confidence, their footing, and their place of belonging within its walls and in the relationships they forge there.

I love Ono!

Gente: The People of Ristorante Paradiso: Volume 1

by Natsume Ono, 172 pages

This handful of Ristorante Paradiso backstories covers the Casetta dell'Orso's opening and first year anniversary, with glimpses in between of surly widower Luciano's grandfatherhood and lady-loving Vito's retirement from the player's field as he sets his sights on "the one."

I love Ono.  Whether they're "distinguished gentleman," middle-aged ladies, or tiny tots, her characters show a mix of strength and vulnerability and are endearing individuals capable of saying volumes without uttering a word.  She makes you want to laugh with, protect, and hug everybody as the restaurant's little family changes and grows over time.

Ristorante Paradiso

by Natsume Ono, 172 pages

Young Nicoletta flies off to Rome to make something of herself and to track down and confront her mother, who left her with her grandparents years ago in order to marry a man who doesn't know Nicoletta exists.  But when she shows up at her mother and step-father's out-of-the-way restaurant, her mother begs her to keep the secret till she's ready to reveal it herself.  Nicoletta struggles to balance her urge for justice with her longing to finally have her mother in her life, and as she gets to know the colorful, friendly staff (consisting, per her mother's fetishist request, of mostly older gentlemen in glasses), her indulgent step-father, and her now older and (somewhat) wiser mother, she finds her desire to shake things up waning.

A nice slice-of-life tale, this, as Nicoletta grows a little, forgives her mother, and starts to fall for one of the staff.  We get a few little glimpses into some of the restaurant employees' home lives and histories, too, and the result is gentle, touching, and fun.  Ono has a unique, distinctive style that I fell in love with a few pages into the first book of hers I read.  I'm always up for more of her, so I look forward to starting Gente, the sequel series to this one-shot, as it delves more into the personal lives of the Casetta dell'Orso's staff.

(BTW, the anime adaptation is nice, too.)