Title: Days at the Morisaki Bookshop
Author: Satoshi Yagisawa
Publisher: Bonnier Books Ltd
Published Date: 28th November 2023
Page Count: 160
ISBN: 978-1786583239
Price: £10.99
Reviewer: Gwendoline SK Terry (11th March 2024)
Blurb
The Japanese bestseller: a tale of love, new beginnings, and the comfort that can be found between the pages of a good book.
When twenty-five-year-old Takako’s boyfriend reveals he’s marrying someone else, she reluctantly accepts her eccentric uncle Satoru’s offer to live rent-free in the tiny room above his shop.
Hidden in Jimbocho, Tokyo, the Morisaki Bookshop is a booklover’s paradise. On a quiet corner in an old wooden building, the shop is filled with hundreds of second-hand books. It is Satoru’s pride and joy, and he has devoted his life to the bookshop since his wife left him five years earlier.
Hoping to nurse her broken heart in peace, Takako is surprised to encounter new worlds within the stacks of books lining the shop.
And 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.
Quirky, beautifully written, and movingly profound, Days at the Morisaki Bookshop will appeal to readers of Before The Coffee Gets Cold, The Cat Who Saved Books, and anyone who has had to recover from a broken heart.
Readers love the Morisaki Bookshop!
‘A perfect blanket to warm every book lover’s heart’
‘I love Japanese literature, and this is one of the best’
‘A love letter to book lovers and readers everywhere’
Review
Lovely short story. A charming and simple read about books, relationships and family, new beginnings and mending old wounds. I like how honest the novel was, and how frank Takako’s thoughts were – she was very easy to relate to. Lots of enchanting description packed into this small book.
I was frustrated when Takako would not speak up and call out her ex-boyfriend when he was lying. Ultimately, the truth came out and her ex suffered the consequences of his actions, so that’s all that mattered. There were a lot of moments where I felt that issues would’ve been resolved immediately if she’d only spoken up rather than bit her tongue.
gwensalir 