Elmo Moorby

A fortunate time to have found this book on my library’s shelves, Days at the Morisaki Bookshop was a comforting, aesthetically pleasing, autumnal read. Following a time in protagonist Takako’s life, we are introduced to a lane of second-hand bookshops in Tokyo’s Jimbocho book town.

The charm and appeal of a place filled to the brim with musty old books was not lost on me. For a moment it reminded me of how our house must’ve felt. Five years ago, it too was full of old books, computer parts, and empty boxes. The inhabitants of the Morisaki Bookshop were waiting to find the right person, someone who’d be eager to turn their pages and love them anew.

Days at the Morisaki Bookshop feeatured a cast of odd and endearing characters. I felt that the imperfections we saw in these characters reflected ones we see in people in our own lives. We all know someone, or may be the very person, who takes things personally, who doesn’t say what they need when they need to, who would rather hold the pain themselves than have someone else feel it too. I found myself overcome with love for these characters and their eccentricities.

I was interested to see Takako healing from her time in the city. After copious amounts of rest, she builds herself back up and starts to take an interest in the world and people around her. Having gone through a similiar bout of depressive symptoms, I was warmed to see such a journey in fiction.

In this age, young people are expected to have things worked out, to have placements and experience and a career plan. In reality, the pressure can become overwhelming, sometimes to a debilitating extent. All things come with rest and time. It is a tough lesson to learn, and sometimes feels completely contradictory to what is expected, but giving myself space made room for me to make progress; it cleared the path I find myself on now.

In short, Days at the Morisaki Bookshop was a gentle book, filled with imagery and emotion that moves you like a stick on a river. I plan to read it every autumn, should time allow.