Book Review: Days at the Morisaki Bookshop by Satoshi Yagisawa
Days at the Morisaki Bookshop by Satoshi Yagisawa is a quiet, comforting novel that celebrates the healing power of books, the solace of solitude, and the unexpected connections that can bring us back to life. Yagisawa’s story is simple on the surface, but its emotional resonance lingers long after the final page.
The novel follows Takako, a young woman who is reeling from heartbreak and burnout. When her eccentric uncle offers her a place to stay above his secondhand bookshop in Tokyo’s Jimbocho district — a real-life haven for book lovers — she reluctantly accepts. What begins as a temporary escape slowly becomes a journey of rediscovery, both of literature and of herself.
Yagisawa’s prose, translated with elegance and clarity, captures the stillness and quiet rhythms of Takako’s days surrounded by old books and quirky customers. There’s little drama in the conventional sense, but that’s part of the novel’s charm. Instead of plot twists, we’re offered moments of gentle introspection, healing conversations, and the kind of inner growth that feels both authentic and deeply earned.
What stands out most is the novel’s tenderness — toward its characters, its setting, and its belief in the quiet magic of everyday life. It’s a love letter not just to books, but to the people who find themselves within their pages.
Days at the Morisaki Bookshop is perfect for fans of Before the Coffee Gets Cold or The Little Paris Bookshop. It’s a short read, but one that speaks volumes about resilience, community, and the way stories can help mend a broken heart.
In a world that often feels rushed and loud, this novel is a gentle reminder to slow down — and let a good book change your life.
About Days at the Morisaki Bookshop by Satoshi Yagisawa
The wise and charming international bestseller and hit Japanese movie—about a young woman who loses everything but finds herself—a tale of new beginnings, romantic and family relationships, and the comfort that can be found in books.
Twenty-five-year-old Takako has enjoyed a relatively easy existence—until the day her boyfriend Hideaki, the man she expected to wed, casually announces he’s been cheating on her and is marrying the other woman. Suddenly, Takako’s life is in freefall. She loses her job, her friends, and her acquaintances, and spirals into a deep depression. In the depths of her despair, she receives a call from her distant uncle Satoru.
An unusual man who has always pursued something of an unconventional life, especially after his wife Momoko left him out of the blue five years earlier, Satoru runs a second-hand bookshop in Jimbocho, Tokyo’s famous book district. Takako once looked down upon Satoru’s life. Now, she reluctantly accepts his offer of the tiny room above the bookshop rent-free in exchange for helping out at the store. The move is temporary, until she can get back on her feet. But in the months that follow, Takako surprises herself when she develops a passion for Japanese literature, becomes a regular at a local coffee shop where she makes new friends, and eventually meets a young editor from a nearby publishing house who’s going through his own messy breakup.
But just as she begins to find joy again, Hideaki reappears, forcing Takako to rely once again on her uncle, whose own life has begun to unravel. Together, these seeming opposites work to understand each other and themselves as they continue to share the wisdom they’ve gained in the bookshop.
