Reviews

Librarian Sayuri Komachi has the unique ability to sense exactly what a patron needs, even if (especially if) they don’t know it themselves, and recommends just the book to help them…

Hardly a book that knocked my socks off, but it was…lovely, and sometimes you just want that between heavier reads. It does veer towards what I think of as “quirky Japanese fiction” (which I don’t usually enjoy) but was light enough on the quirkiness for me to cope.

Each chapter introduces a different patron, and whilst they are varied ages, they are all at a crossroads and feeling a bit lost in their life. The premise is pretty twee, with a librarian who magically knows exactly which seemingly irrelevant book the patron needs to inspire them, but, as a bookworm, it’s certainly an appealing idea and I was happy to suspend my disbelief. And the issues that the various character were grappling with do give some insight into the expectations and functioning of Japanese society.

The librarian herself was an odd character, the descriptions of her physical hugeness felt a bit overdone, almost as a point of fascination, which I’m putting down to a cultural difference. I wish we got more of her story though - how did she come by this extraordinary ability? There were quite a few manga references that completely went over my head, but that didn’t really take away from the story - just a layer of it that I missed out on.

A slightly quirky, heart-warming story of the power of seemingly inconsequential books to spark something within us and change our lives.

janeykate's review

Go to review page

emotional funny hopeful inspiring medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

lianaet's review against another edition

Go to review page

inspiring reflective slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

Reading this collection of stories of different people visiting a local library and then finding just what they need at that point in their life was kind of just what I needed at this point in my life. Particularly resonated with the fact that most of these stories connected in some way to working and what people want to do with their lives while I'm at a point of trying to find a new job myself. The only reason I can't find it within myself to give this 5 stars is the translation is a bit clunky. Having learnt some Japanese myself I can tell the wording of some things like "at the weekend" or "at highschool" instead of "on the weekend" or "in highschool" comes from the more direct translations of Japanese grammar. Just would have appreciated a bit more effort in making the writing flow better as a translated to English work.