This follow-up to the international bestseller "Days at the Morisaki Bookshop" is charming, heartfelt, thoughtful, poignant, and lots of other words found in the books for sale in this beloved Japanese bookshop. Returning are Takako and her Uncle Satoru, his wife Momoko, boyfriend Wada, and friends Takano and Tomo, so it's best if you have read the first novel.
"The Morisaki Bookshop stands alone at the corner of a street crowded with used bookstores. It's tiny and old and really nothing much to look at. There aren't many customers and because it has a limited selection, people who aren't interested in its speciality never give it a second glance".
We are back in the Jimbocho area of Tokyo, where around 170 bookstores line the streets in all subjects. The Morisaki Bookshop caters to modern Japanese authors. Only four or five people can fit inside the wooden two-story building, filled with the musty odour of old papers.
Takako once lived on the second floor and worked in the store for her Uncle. Since Aunt Momoko returned, she helps when she can but lives and works elsewhere. Regular customer Sabu is back, as is Takako's boyfriend Wada, who wants to write a book. Momoko works in a local cafe nearby, and Takako sends her Uncle and Aunt on a hot springs weekend.
Takako reflects on her unhappy childhood, feeling blessed now at all the wonderful people she has met. "Sitting in the gentle light, I could feel happiness slowly welling up within me".
Her good friend Takano is still in love with Tomo, but she rebuffs him, and Takako finds out why - perhaps she can help get them together at the Jimbocho book festival. Many of the books talked about in this novel are popular Japanese classics - like The Chieko Poems by Kotaro Takamura - many have not yet been translated into English, and there are some which haven't been written.
This novel balances the light with the shade. There is no guarantee all the characters will make it through the sequel. Tears are shed, but they have strong relationships to carry them through.
This is for and about people who love books and reading. It's that connection the reader will recognize in themselves, being part of a larger and timeless community. I enjoyed the first book more, but this maintained all the charm of a Jimbocho bookshop.
"Here in Tokyo's neighbourhood of secondhand bookstores is our little bookshop. It's full of little stories. And it holds within its walls the thoughts and hopes and feelings of a great many people... I stood up straight, faced the shop, and bowed deeply. I vowed to never forget what my life at the bookshop had given me".
2011 / Tradeback / 176 pages
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