Days at the Morisaki Bookshop by Satoshi Yagisawa (Bibliolifestyle Book Tour)

 

Thank you, Partner @bibliolifestyle @harperperennial for the review copy of Days at the Morisaki Bookshop by Satoshi Yagisawa.  This book was published on July 4, 2023.

Takoko has a great boyfriend and job, but she loses it all when he tells her one day that he is engaged to another woman.  She falls into a depression until her mother calls her and tells her that she should help out in her Uncle Satoru’s bookshop.  She accepts his offer and lives in a tiny room above the bookshop and works in the store.  As she lives there, she discovers she loves books and strikes up friendships within the neighborhood. 

This was a delightful gem of a book.  I loved Takoko’s journey.  I also loved how supportive Uncle Satoru was to her to help her to face her sadness and move forward with her life.  I like how he also had a journey of his own with his wife Momoko, who disappeared five years before and has suddenly reappeared. 

I also loved learning about Jimbocho, which is a book district in Tokyo.  It sounds like a place I need to visit on my bucket list.  I especially loved when the characters visit the Kanda Used Book Festival, which is an annual event in their book district.  It sounded like so much fun. I also loved Satoru’s secondhand book shop. 

This was a quick read.  The first half of the book is set when Takoko first arrives at the bookshop and the second half is a year later when Momoko has reappeared.  I loved how people bonded over books and this book was just a nice and peaceful read.  I enjoyed it!