Genre: Books Can Heal
“I don’t think it really matters whether you know a lot about books or not. That said, I don’t know that much myself. But I think what matters far more with a book is how it affects you.”
― Satoshi Yagisawa, Days at the Morisaki Bookshop
To recover from this awful experience above, I needed something familiar and cozy, like a novel set in a bookstore. Days At the Morisaki Bookshop was the perfect fit. When Takao’s boyfriend tells her that he is getting married to another woman, she is heartbroken and depressed. All alone in Tokyo, her mother suggests that she move in with her uncle who owns a store in Jimbocho, Tokyo’s famous book district.
Takao who finds her uncle a bit of an oddball reluctantly takes up the offer. She sets up residence in the space above his bookshop. Can you imagine that? Living over a bookstore which I am sure for many at BAOS is a dream come true.
But not for Takao, as she isn’t a reader. In fact, she has always thought of her uncle as some sort of weird eccentric person for whom she had little respect, even less when his wife left him years ago. However, as she spends time with him she finds his kindness, humor, and his love for books surprising.
One day she accidentally picks a book, and she cannot stop reading. She becomes more immersed reading, running of the bookstore and connecting with the locals. As the year passes, she finds herself healing and forging a quiet, strong relationship with her Uncle, who himself is nursing a broken heart.
It’s not a story where a lot happens, but like Takeo, you can find peace between the lines.
A bookstore in Jimbocho (Photo Credit: Author )
