Billed as a feel good, cosy book about the power of books and libraries to change lives, this was a no-brainer for us to choose for our well-being reading group. In Tokyo a librarian with an uncanny gift to perceive what her customers need, recommends books to 5 people looking for a book. She also gives them a handmade felted charm. Through the chapters we see how the books influence each of the characters to change their lives.
There was a lot we liked about this book. Our group loved the setting- libraries are a favourite for us all. We also liked the idea of separate protagonists’ stories which are eventually intertwined and all the stories had good character development.. It’s akin to Easter eggs in movies or computer games, and we like being in the know.
We liked the cosy, easy, feelgood atmosphere of the book and all found it a quick and easy read. The underlying themes were poignant and interestingly we all identified with different characters- a new Mum in our group found the working Mum’s tale resonated with her- someone approaching retirement age felt the newly retired salesman’s story spoke to them. It gave an insight into life in Japan for different types of people and felt very Japanese in that the key to happiness is seen as making the best of your situation.
What were our gripes about the book? Well a few of us were disappointed with the predictability and everyday elements in the book. Particularly those who had read other Japanese or Korean cosy fiction felt that there were better examples of the genre that they would recommend before this one (everyone who’s read it recommended Days at the Morisaki bookshop by Satoshi Yagisawa). One of our number thought it had a slow start and found the characters towards the end of the book were more engaging. There was also a strong feeling that we disliked the way the librarian’s size was described. It felt like fat-shaming and the group disliked it. We’d have liked a bit more about the librarian to make her feel more real.
The book sparked a discussion about books which arrived at the right moment to resonate in our lives and it was lovely getting to know each other a little more. We also discussed our TBR (To Be Read) piles of books… some admitted to bookcases full. There’s a school of thought which says a TBR book collection is like a wine cellar, to select the perfect match for the situation (or meal) in which you find yourself.
We rated this a 3/5- lots of our readers gave it a 4, but a few 2s and 3s pulled the average down.
Our next book is The Wager by David Grann: a tale of shipwreck, mutiny and murder. A true story told by a master storyteller, this one will be full of castaways, mutineers, a court martial and murder. Sounds thrilling doesn’t it? Pop into the library to pick up a copy!
