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dominikaduch 's review for:
What You Are Looking For Is in the Library
by Michiko Aoyama
I understand that the premise of the book was to be a little bit magical and make you think about life, but for me it just didn't deliver. It felt overly simplistic, repetitive and not at all inspiring which it so very clearly was trying to be. For the language I can perhaps blame the translation, but even the themes and the characters' realisations did not wow me.
Lots of things in the book other reviews will call problematic, such as the fat shaming of the librarian and the sad position of women in society - I thought it was just a representation of Japanese culture, which doesn't change the fact that the author could have done better.
I didn't see any character development or real change in any of the stories, just a little inspiration which, given people call this book realistic, made me think about how long this newfound motivation would really last.
All in all, this was not an unpleasant read but didn't inspire any emotion. Lastly I wouldn't call it a novel, more like a series of short stories that are interconnected.
Lots of things in the book other reviews will call problematic, such as the fat shaming of the librarian and the sad position of women in society - I thought it was just a representation of Japanese culture, which doesn't change the fact that the author could have done better.
Spoiler
All it would take is for the husband to do his chores and stop abandoning his struggling wife to go out for a drink, or for the old man looking for something to do with his life to pay attention to his wife, as he apparently doesn't even know what food she likes after decades of marriage.All in all, this was not an unpleasant read but didn't inspire any emotion. Lastly I wouldn't call it a novel, more like a series of short stories that are interconnected.