A Lazy Reader's Review of "What You Are Looking For Is in the Library" by Michiko Aoyama

Synopsis

    This is the famous question routinely asked by Tokyo's most enigmatic librarian, Sayuri Komachi. Like most librarians, Komachi has read every book lining her shelves – but she also has the unique ability to read the souls of her library guests. For anyone who walks through her door, Komachi can sense exactly what they're looking for in life and provide just the book recommendation they never knew they needed to help them find it.

    Each visitor comes to her library from a different juncture in their careers and dreams, from the restless sales attendant who feels stuck at her job to the struggling working mother who longs to be a magazine editor. The conversation that they have with Sayuri Komachi – and the surprise book she lends each of them – will have life-altering consequences.

    With heartwarming charm and wisdom, What You Are Looking For Is in the Library is a paean to the magic of libraries, friendship and community, perfect for anyone who has ever found themselves at an impasse in their life and in need of a little inspiration.

Review

    I've only had this book on my TBR list for a short time. Any book that isn't on my physical bookshelf, I check them out on Libby and seeing as I wouldn't be receiving If We Were Villains before the end of the month, I decided to place a hold on What You Are Looking For Is in the Library since it would arrive much sooner. This book will be the second Japanese translated book that I've read this year and I'm finding that I really like Japanese literary fiction. I love books that tell the story of multiple people that may not know each other personally, but all have one thing in common that affect them throughout the course of the story. That one thing is the recommendations that Sayuri Komachi's gives them when they visit her library.

    Each story was so well done. We spend such a short amount of time with each of these characters but they all felt so real. Their issues weren't rushed or superficial. They were real issues that many people, myself included, go through at certain points in their lives. I think that my favorite stories were those of Natsumi, a 40-year-old mother and former magazine editor who is struggling with her home and work life, and Hiroya, a 30-year-old unemployed man who still lives with his mother that struggles with feeling like his life is a failure after he was unable to pursue his dream career. 

    I felt such sympathy for Natsumi as I understand her frustration with being replaced at work after having a baby. Feeling bitter at the fact that she is the one who must drop off and pick up her daughter from daycare, she is the one who has to tackle all of the household chores, cook dinner, and even stay up late with her daughter on nights when her husband is either at work late or away on business trips. I really felt sorry for her when she berated herself for feeling upset at the fact that she was replaced at work after she left to have her daughter. She resents that fact that she was treated this way simply because she had a child but she also feels so guilty for being angry because she loves her daughter so much. It's something that I think almost every working mother faces. But I also felt so inspired by her and her decision to switch careers at her age. Most people would just stick with the life their given but Natsumi is determined to change her circumstances after reading a book about the moon that was recommended to her by Sayuri Komachi. I also really enjoyed learning a little bit more about Sayuri's backstory and loved the little relationship the two had.

    I'll admit that Hiroya kind of annoyed me at the beginning of his chapter. I thought he was a little too whiny but as I continued his chapter I realized that we had a lot more in common than I initially thought. He begins as a 30-year-old man that still lives with his mother as he is unemployed. He talks about how he had initially wanted to work as a manga artist but that a lot of people thought his work was too niche, graphic, or grotesque so he gave up on that dream. This dream that he held onto for so long is also one of the reasons he doesn't have a job. I think after his initial failure to break into this industry he developed depressions and some anxiety, which made it difficult for him to hold a stable job. This only made those two affliction worsen. I often find that my own anxiety and depression prevent me from reaching my potential, or at least starting on the path to succeed, and then I am left feeling sorry for myself and viewing myself as somewhat of a failure. Hiroya has this sense of himself which manifests when he is invited by his class to unearth a time capsule that they had buried before graduating. He only wants to go in order to retrieve the note he wrote, which he believed said something along the lines of him becoming a famous artist. When he reads that letter, it only says that he wants to become someone whose art leaves an impression on others. At this, he realizes that the expectation he thought his younger self had for himself wasn't as intense as he thought. And after reading a book on evolution that as recommended to him by Sayuri, he finds his passion for creating art once more. He is no longer going to allow his past failures to determine his future, and I thought that was so incredibly inspiring.

    I love each of the messages that these character's stories tell. I thought Aoyama's writing and prose were so beautiful. I fell absolutely in love with her ability to tell a compelling story and to make me feel so attached to characters that I spent so little time with, something that authors of longer books have trouble doing. I really hope to read more of her work in the future because I'm so in love with this book.

Nov. 16, 2024 – Nov. 17, 2024

★★★★★

Favorite Quote: “There are so many things to do, but I won’t make the excuse that I have no time anymore. Instead, I will think about what I can do with the time I have. One day is going to become tomorrow.”