Days at the Morisaki Bookshop: About Books & People Behind Books

Posted On October 23, 2023

Hi Readers! October is almost at an end. It went by quickly but luckily not as quickly as September. I read Days at the Morisaki Bookshop last week. It was a short book, so I finished it over the weekend. I really enjoy reading books about books, so it is impossible to not love it. But, it always comes at varying degrees of likeness. Check out my experience of the book!

~~GOODREADS DESCRIPTION~~

The moving international sensation about new beginnings, human connection, and the joy of reading.

Hidden in Jimbocho, Tokyo, is a booklover’s paradise. On a quiet corner in an old wooden building lies a shop filled with hundreds of second-hand books.

Twenty-five-year-old Takako has never liked reading, although the Morisaki bookshop has been in her family for three generations. It is the pride and joy of her uncle Satoru, who has devoted his life to the bookshop since his wife Momoko left him five years earlier.

When Takako’s boyfriend reveals he’s marrying someone else, she reluctantly accepts her eccentric uncle’s offer to live rent-free in the tiny room above the shop. Hoping to nurse her broken heart in peace, Takako is surprised to encounter new worlds within the stacks of books lining the Morisaki bookshop.

As summer fades to autumn, Satoru and Takako discover they have more in common than they first thought. The Morisaki bookshop has something to teach them both about life, love, and the healing power of books.

~~THOUGHTS~~

“Even though we think of it as an independent business, what matters in the industry more than anything are the relationships you have with people. I guess that’s probably true of the world in general.”

This quote summarizes the book perfectly. There is Part 1 which is about forming of bookish love and Part 2 about cherishing the relationships formed from bookish love.

When it comes to books about books, it’s a catch. Because for readers, it’s always an anticipated read with high expectations. But also, we feel compelled to rate them higher because we are biased. Well, I am on both the sides because I love reading a protagonist who loves books as much as I do, and naturally end up rating a little higher even if I am not entirely happy with the book. Because, there surely have to be bonus points if it’s book about books!

Anyway, this book is short and sweet. It is divided into two parts. Part 1 is when Takako finds out her boyfriend is getting married to someone else and because they worked together, she is suddenly out of a job and out of a boyfriend. So, she takes up her Uncle Satoru’s offer and moves into the room above the Morisaki Bookshop. Slowly, she turns into a reader, which is beautiful to watch. Along with the reading hobby, she also evolves into a butterfly and truly starts living her life.

Part 2 is set 1.5 years later where Uncle Satoru’s wife Momoko comes back in his life. This part is more about exploration of new connections. It’s about understanding a person rather than judging them based on their decisions. An unsettling revelation came along in this part of the story. Because there is a time jump, everything had changed. Takako wasn’t living at the bookshop. The usual hangouts between Takako, Tomo and Takano were non-existent, because Takano did not work at the café anymore. All the coziness of the bookshop life had changed. And then the revelation came to me that that is in fact life. We don’t work at the same company forever, we don’t have the same friends forever, we don’t love the same things forever, we don’t hangout the same way we used to. Everything changes. We either grow up with a select few people or we outgrow them. I thought that was wonderfully written with subtlety and nuance.

~~BOOKS MENTIONED IN THE BOOK~~

Until the Death of the Girl by Saisei Muró

Landscapes of the Heart by Motojirō Kajii

Schoolgirl by Osamu Dazai

Confessions of a Husband by Naoe Kinoshita

Friendship by Saneatsu Mushanokoji

~~AUTHORS MENTIONED IN THE BOOK~~

Kafu Nagai

Jun’ichiro Tanizaki

Haruo Sató

Ryunosuke Akutagawa

Koji Uno

Takehiko Fukunaga

Kazuo Ozaki

Ögai Mori

Sakunosuke Oda

Taruho Inagaki

William Faulkner

Truman Capote

John Updike

~~TO READ OR NOT TO READ~~

This book has taken Bookstagram by the storm. I mean, how could it not? A book about books becomes an auto-read. But, this one did not entirely justify bookish vibes at par to how it was advertised. So, even though, it was warm, it also could have been a lot more. If you are looking for a light and cozy read, you should read it. If you are looking for an entirely bookish content, then you will enjoy Part 1 of the book. If you are a casual reader, you will like it. If you are a core reader, it might not meet all your expectations. I have rated Days at the Morisaki Bookshop by Satoshi Yagisawa, translated by Eric Ozawa at 3.5/5 stars!

Until next time,