DAYS AT THE MORISAKI BOOKSHOP by Satoshi Yagisawa was originally written in Japanese and translated into English by Eric Ozawa. Aside from some minor grammatical hiccups, the story flows easily and the translator has done a fair job bringing this story into a new language.
The story is set in a second-hand bookshop in Jimbocho, Tokyo's famous book district, and revolves around the lives of its owner, Satoru, and his niece, Takako. Satoru runs the bookshop, which his father ran before him, and where Takako comes to live temporarily. Takako hasn't seen her uncle since childhood, when he had once been a more familiar presence in her life.
Takako is facing a crisis in her life and is heartbroken, falling into depression and existing on autopilot. Since she has quit her job and is unable to do much more than simply exist, her mother makes her visit her Uncle Satoru. Once she arrives at the Morisaki Bookshop, Satoru gently puts her to work and offers her free living space at the bookshop.
While reluctantly working at the bookshop, Takako gets re-acquainted with her uncle and slowly comes back to the living world. She starts to enjoy the little things, makes friends, and discovers her love of reading. Soon, with the help of her new friends, she starts to overcome the gloom in her life and decides to return to the work she's qualified for.
The lives of Takako and her uncle are presented in a gentle manner with the setting of the Morisaki Bookshop acting almost as another character. At times, when the lead characters are very much lost in themselves, it provides the reader with a kind of a breather while they get themselves in order.
I enjoyed the calm almost stoic way the characters deal with life and everything they face emotionally. The books and how they bring people together not only as groups but as a solo hobby, and as a passion are all well presented throughout.
If you are looking for something quite calm yet with definite substance and a juicy story, pick up DAYS AT THE MORISAKI BOOKSHOP; you won't be disappointed. It is an unexpectedly enjoyable read with moments of humour and laughs that you wouldn't have expected from its premise.
The wise and charming international bestseller and hit Japanese movie—about a young woman who loses everything but finds herself—a tale of new beginnings, romantic and family relationships, and the comfort that can be found in books.
Twenty-five-year-old Takako has enjoyed a relatively easy existence—until the day her boyfriend Hideaki, the man she expected to wed, casually announces he’s been cheating on her and is marrying the other woman. Suddenly, Takako’s life is in freefall. She loses her job, her friends, and her acquaintances, and spirals into a deep depression. In the depths of her despair, she receives a call from her distant uncle Satoru.
An unusual man who has always pursued something of an unconventional life, especially after his wife Momoko left him out of the blue five years earlier, Satoru runs a second-hand bookshop in Jimbocho, Tokyo’s famous book district. Takako once looked down upon Satoru’s life. Now, she reluctantly accepts his offer of the tiny room above the bookshop rent-free in exchange for helping out at the store. The move is temporary, until she can get back on her feet. But in the months that follow, Takako surprises herself when she develops a passion for Japanese literature, becomes a regular at a local coffee shop where she makes new friends, and eventually meets a young editor from a nearby publishing house who’s going through his own messy breakup.
But just as she begins to find joy again, Hideaki reappears, forcing Takako to rely once again on her uncle, whose own life has begun to unravel. Together, these seeming opposites work to understand each other and themselves as they continue to share the wisdom they’ve gained in the bookshop.
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