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A review by jhbandcats
Days at the Morisaki Bookshop by Satoshi Yagisawa
informative
reflective
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
I think I’m suffering from cultural dissonance - or maybe I just don’t get it. This Japanese book was so very Japanese that perhaps I was lost just because I found it unfamiliar.
Okay, first of all, as petty as this is, I am *really* annoyed that there are cats on the cover of the book but none in the story. I love books about books and the people who love them, but a book about a bookshop that included cats would have been just fabulous IMO.
Between the cover and a somewhat misleading description, I was expecting something else, and every time the book did what the author intended, I was left feeling bewildered. I’d thought the book was about a young woman, Takako, working in her uncle’s bookshop (with cats) but that was only the first half. The second half is about the reappearance of the uncle’s wife, missing these past five years. By then, though, Takako has moved out so the bookshop is no longer as much a part of the story. Then there’s some misdirection (in both the description and the plot) about Takako’s romantic life. Again I was left feeling bewildered.
Overall I especially enjoyed that this story was a love letter to books, bookshops, and book lovers. It just wasn’t at all what I expected. I’m sure I’d have appreciated it much more had I not read the description and had there been no deceptive cats on the cover. False advertising!
Okay, first of all, as petty as this is, I am *really* annoyed that there are cats on the cover of the book but none in the story. I love books about books and the people who love them, but a book about a bookshop that included cats would have been just fabulous IMO.
Between the cover and a somewhat misleading description, I was expecting something else, and every time the book did what the author intended, I was left feeling bewildered. I’d thought the book was about a young woman, Takako, working in her uncle’s bookshop (with cats) but that was only the first half. The second half is about the reappearance of the uncle’s wife, missing these past five years. By then, though, Takako has moved out so the bookshop is no longer as much a part of the story. Then there’s some misdirection (in both the description and the plot) about Takako’s romantic life. Again I was left feeling bewildered.
Overall I especially enjoyed that this story was a love letter to books, bookshops, and book lovers. It just wasn’t at all what I expected. I’m sure I’d have appreciated it much more had I not read the description and had there been no deceptive cats on the cover. False advertising!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Miscarriage, Terminal illness, Toxic relationship, and Grief