“Life is one revelation after another. Things don’t always go to plan, no matter what your circumstances. But the flip side is all the unexpected, wonderful things that you could never have imagined happening. Ultimately it’s all for the best that many things don’t turn out the way we hoped.”
First Lines: When Saya sends a test to tell me she has a new boyfriend, I instantly write back: What's he like. But all she replies is: He's a doctor.
What do Tomika, Ryo, Matsumi, Hiroya, and Matao all have in common? Each are at a stage in their lives where something needs to change in order for them to grow, be happy, find fulfillment. And that is where Sayuri Komachi comes in. She is a large, enigmatic woman hidden in the back of the community library at the reference desk, who likes Honeydome Cookies, and felts old little things. She doles out advice, personalized book lists, and a bonus felt piece that somehow, mysteriously represents something to each person.
Through reading the books from Sayuri's list, and applying what they learn, they find what they need to turn their lives around.
What I liked:
How each vignette connected not only through the Librarian, but to the whole community of the characters.
I liked that the story was also about books and the books are listed in the back if you want to read them.
How the story was charming, but also reflected real life problems. A young girl on her own, learning how to cook and care about herself and take joy in life. A working mother who faces all kinds of trouble after her baby is born. An accountant learning you can make a new start. An unemployed 30 year old man finally discovering what he was good at. And a retiree figuring out what he liked and enjoyed.
Nothing was handed to them on a silver platter. They had to work, change, work some more, discover what they were good at or find a way around road blocks. Ordinarily I don't like books that reflect real life, but I guess since it was a story reflecting Japanese culture and society, it made it more interesting.
300 Pages
Hanover Square Press, 2023
Japanese Literary Fiction, Translated by Alison Watts
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