Days At The Morisaki Bookshop
Ratings224
Average rating3.6
I usually don't give this low of a rating, but I was so disappointed by this book. It really didn't live up to the expectations. The blurb promised me a whole other story, since a big part of it actually isn't about the main character at all.
The characters felt really flat and the whole book was pretty much a cliché. Therefore I didn't have any emotional connection with the story, while that seemed to be the whole point of it.
A broken-hearted girl comes to stay with her uncle who owns a bookshop in a town full of bookshops. I was interested in the town and how Takako spent her days. I mean, talk about slow living! Sign me up! I'm so jealous.
Sadly the second part of this book feels like a completely different novel. Also, there is a cat on the cover and cats on the chapter pages and there are no cats in the book.
I'm trying to read more works in translation and this was half great.
I, too, can be fixed with a vacation in a small second hand bookstore in tokyo and walks to a neighbourhood cafe. very cosy moody book, better in first half than second.
A disappointing read.
Author does not seem to have heard of ‘show, not tell'.
Feelings are not felt - we are merely told that the characters have felt them. The descriptions, invariably of unimportant things, try to be cutely peculiar but come off as just strange.
It was impossible for him not to recognise that voice - as impossible as squeezing a hundred people into the Morisaki bookshop.
The four romances in this book - protagonist and Hideaki, Takano and Tomo, uncle and aunt, and protagonist and Wada - are mostly below par.
Takano and Tomo have the most realistic and best developed romance in the book, and they disappear after the first part. The aunt and uncle have a believable relationship, even though the aunt often acts rather extremely.
Takako's relationship with Hideaki is so flat, and the events thereafter so cliche, I feel as if the book might have been better off without the whole thing. Her sadness about the whole thing, as written, seems perfunctory and appears only once or twice.
Takako's second relationship, with Akira Wada, is only a bit less flat. He is introduced halfway through the book, interacts with Takako only a few times, and once they do get in a relationship - offscreen - he is promptly forgotten about.
Entire years pass between significant events, with no discernible change in the characters.
I really liked this book. It's a super easy read and has a relaxing, feel-good vibe.
I found the bookshop and the characters very charming and likeable. Would definitely read again, it's a good book to get back into reading with.
No esperaba tanto de este pequeño libro. Es acogedor, es fácil de leer, y sin embargo sus mensajes llegan y el transporte a Jinbocho y otros sitios en Tokio es fascinante. Es una historia de libros, relaciones y familia.
The setting of the book is so cozy but the characters lack depth. I feel it's an issue of translation, filled with quick-moving short sentences, simple language choices and telling rather than showing. I struggled so hard to connect with the characters and their relationships with one another. Why did it feel like the aunt was going to murder Takako?
A quick cozy read but focus on enjoying the settings of the story rather than the characters!
A warm slice of life story that the Japanese seem to know how to do best. There is nothing overly deep here, being a rather slim volume, but it still manages to capture a state of life upheaval and the healing power of both books and family has to set a new life course in the wake of that upheaval. It's the kind of story I gravitate too, so maybe I enjoyed it more than the average person. The characters aren't really fleshed out, but I enjoyed them anyway, especially the uncle. The second 1/2 of the book takes a detour that seems somewhat odd, but it helps to put perspective on the whole, so I didn't mind it. It isn't mind blowing, but just an especially good comfort read.
Idk what to tell you. The writing was simple yet charming. The mc loved books just so out of nowhere imo. I'm lft reading to next book tho. Probably better than this one hopefully
2nd book in my ‘Japan context building books'. I picked it out randomly in Bangalore at Champace bookstore, because it had a Japanese theme that week (or month). Picked 4 random books. This is one of them.
I like this. It's very warm. The start of the book opened some scars and memories from one of my past relationships. It felt nice to be able to relate. Easy to read, comfortable with the pace.
Cute cover though. I will try to go to this particular neighborhood of second hand bookshops - Jimbocho neighborhood in Choyoda city.
2.5 stars. Plot felt like it went from point-to-point than an arc. Writing is debatable because I think that perhaps in the Japanese language, it is normal to be written like this but in translation, it feels simplistic. One of those books where I felt perhaps something was lost in translation. I also wondered if there are translation errors. There was a line where Momoko was speaking in first person, then right after, Takako thinks that Momoko is weird for talking to herself in third person?
What I liked is that the characters each had their journey to find that place, whether physical or internal, that they felt safe and belonged to. Something we can all relate.
Quote:
“No matter where I went, no matter who I was with, if I could be honest with myself, then that was where I belonged.” - Satoru
My Rating System:
5⭐️: Excellent book AND influenced a change in my views
4.5⭐️: Excellent read
4⭐️: Great read, will recommend
3.5⭐️: Enjoyable read but missing something that will make it great
3⭐️: An okay read that I didn't regret spending time on it
2.5⭐️: Enjoyed some minor parts only, but mainly forgettable ⬅️⬅️⬅️
2⭐️: Didn't enjoy
1⭐️: Didn't enjoy and had serious issues. Will suggest to avoid.
3.8⭐️
Buku ini lumayan banyak yang share di instagram maupun twitterku, akhirnya iseng cek di Libby ternyata ada dan kemarin akhirnya dapat giliran buat baca.
Sama sekali gaada ekspektasi apa-apa sama buku ini, aku mikir karena lagi baca Cantik Itu Luka-nya Eka Kurniawan jadi lumayan buat selingan dan tipis banget buku ini 160 pages
Format read: paperback
Reading time: 2-3 hours
Tags: family, friendship, cozy, family drama, emotional trauma, Tokyo, bookish, translation
Own a copy: yes
Reread likelihood: 10/10
Summary
Takako finds out one day that her long-term boyfriend is getting married–to another woman. Heartbroken and confused, she eventually leaves her job to avoid seeing the happy couple, and ends up cooped up in her small Tokyo apartment with no prospects. That is, until her estranged uncle Satoru invites her to come live with him for free in exchange for her help in tending the second-hand bookshop he runs in the famed neighbourhood of Jimbocho. Takako reluctantly agrees and together, uncle and niece learn to heal from their past trauma and grow closer as a family.
Review
Days at the Morisaki Bookshop is a very cozy and quick read. If you are familiar with Japanese literature, you might recognize specific tropes that are proper to it, such as family drama, emotional distress, apathy in the young, etc. However, you will also find a kind of lyrical beauty and calmness from reading a book that is essentially about books. Morisaki Bookshop feels at times like a love letter to Japanese literature as the references to authors and their works are frequent and even quoted in some passages. Instead of feeling heavy, these references flow into the narrative and highlight Takako and Satoru's personalities by showing us what kinds of books these characters enjoy. The same is true for Sabu, Satoru's most faithful customer. His love of Japanese literature is unsurpassed, and we as readers discover many new authors through his passionate speeches.
The family drama that unfolds around this cozy bookstore is twofold: Satoru's missing wife, Momoko, and Takako's two-faced ex. Both of these secondary characters feel heavy and emotionally charged compared to the uncle-niece duo. The first half of the book focuses on Takako's journey and growth following her breakup, whereas the second half features Satoru's healing journey as his wife suddenly reappears in his life. Where Satoru is a warm and comforting character, Momoko is difficult to understand and sympathize with, but the relationship that develops between her and Takako is heartwarming.
I personally didn't like the shift in the second half as much as the story in part 1, but the sudden change of plotline keeps you interested and somehow lengthens a very short book, giving the impression that it is longer than only 160 pages. The end also felt a bit rushed compared to the slow pace of the rest of the book, which is a bit of a shame.
Overall, Days at the Morisaki Bookshop is a wonderful little book about books, family ties, and love–romantic, platonic, and otherwise. I'm very happy I discovered this little gem by browsing the shelves at my favourite bookshop.
Bellissimo e toccante, una bella storia in cui tutti i personaggi sono a loro modo molto interessanti e ben inseriti nella narrazione. Davvero una bella sorpresa.