Days At The Morisaki Bookshop by Satoshi Yagisawa

 

At twenty-five, Takako finds herself at loose ends after her boyfriend announces that instead of them getting married, he is marrying another woman.  Since they work together, she ends up losing her job as it is too painful to go in and see the couple together day after day.  She spends her days holed up in her apartment, spending entire days in bed.  Then her uncle calls.

Satoru runs a bookshop, one that has been in their family for several generations.  It is located on the street where there are more bookshops than in anywhere else in Japan and he suggests that Takako come and stay with him and work in the store.  Satoru has had his own heartbreak when his wife, Momoko, left him out of the blue five years ago.  Takako reluctantly agrees.

Slowly she gets her feet back under her as she works and starts to know Satoru's customers.  She finds a coffee house where she spends time reading and chatting.  When Momoko shows back up, she befriends her to help her uncle figure out why she left, why she is back, and if she plans to stay.

Satoshi Yagisawa is a Japanese author and this is his debut novel.  It has been popular and Yagisawa wrote a sequel to this one.  As in many Japanese novels, not much occurs but readers will get a real sense of the Japanese culture and the ways it differs from the more open friendships and casual ways other cultures handle friendships and acquaintances.  At the end of the novel, there is a hint that Takako has found a new relationship that could be very important in her life.  This book is recommended for multicultural readers.