What You Are Looking For Is in the Library: A Novel

by Michiko Aoyama

Overview

Notes From Your Bookseller

A love letter to libraries and librarians, What You Are Looking for Is in the Library follows five individuals who find themselves motivated to make necessary changes in their life by the literary recommendations of an enigmatic librarian. Warm and thoughtful, this is comfort fiction at its finest.

A TIME BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR

A WASHINGTON POST BEST FEEL GOOD BOOK OF 2023

For fans of Before the Coffee Gets Cold, a charming, internationally bestselling Japanese novel about how the perfect book recommendation can change a readers’ life.

What are you looking for? So asks Tokyo’s most enigmatic librarian. For Sayuri Komachi is able to sense exactly what each visitor to her library is searching for and provide just the book recommendation to help them find it.

A restless retail assistant looks to gain new skills, a mother tries to overcome demotion at work after maternity leave, a conscientious accountant yearns to open an antique store, a recently retired salaryman searches for newfound purpose.

In Komachi’s unique book recommendations they will find just what they need to achieve their dreams. What You Are Looking For Is in the Library is about the magic of libraries and the discovery of connection. This inspirational tale shows how, by listening to our hearts, seizing opportunity and reaching out, we too can fulfill our lifelong dreams. Which book will you recommend?

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781335005625
Publisher:	Hanover Square Press
Publication date:	09/05/2023
Edition description:	Original
Pages:	304
Sales rank:	3,232
Product dimensions:	5.40(w) x 7.10(h) x 1.10(d)

About the Author

Michiko Aoyama was born in 1970 in Aichi Prefecture, Honshu, Japan. After university, she became a reporter for a Japanese newspaper based in Sydney before moving back to Tokyo to work as a magazine editor. What You Are Looking For Is in the Library was short-listed for the Japan Booksellers’ Award and became a Japanese bestseller. It is being translated into more than fifteen languages. Michiko Aoyama lives in Yokohama, Japan.

Editorial Reviews

A delightful, gentle unfolding of stories that offer hope and joy to those who find themselves in a pivotal moment in life.”—Kirkus

“A comforting read filled with serendipity and simple wisdom, this is a celebration of community, connection, and the transformative power of libraries.”—Booklist

“There’s more to Aoyama’s novel than kindness. There is a subtle, provocative thread about misremembering; a pageant of interesting jobs; and a suite of mature, cooperative relationship. [T]he novel is an undeniable page-turner, its mechanism energized by a simple question, posed again and again by the uncanny librarian, Mrs. Komachi.”—Robin Sloane, New York Times Book Review

From the Publisher

★ 12/22/2023

Originally published in Japan in 2020, this best-selling novel has been translated into over 20 languages. Set around a local community center near an elementary school, each of the five chapters is narrated in first person and describe how a librarian, Sayuri Komachi, comes to transform the narrator's life. After each reference interview, Komachi presents a list of book recommendations, plus a random felted object that she has made (a frying pan, a cat, a globe, a plane, a crab). The magical part of each story is how these objects perfectly tie in with each patron's outcome and how every booklist includes a title that seems a bit out of sync with the original query but comes to play a big part in helping patrons find what they are looking for. VERDICT Aoyama's story is reminiscent of positively told stories, which could be made into an episode of The Twilight Zone, with the librarian as the main protagonist working her magic in each encounter. The storytelling is engaging, much like Sayaka Murata's Convenience Store Woman, making this book a fast read. Bibliophiles and book groups looking for a feel-good story will certainly find it here.—Shirley Quan

Library Journal

2023-07-13
A series of interlocking vignettes follow Tokyo residents who find themselves at the local library.

The Hatori Community House is located adjacent to an elementary school. It houses meeting rooms, a kitchen, and a library. Small but well stocked and boasting a full-time reference librarian, it is this room—and the librarian, Sayuri Komachi—around which each of the stories rotates. All of the library’s patrons are floundering, and a few words and a book recommendation from Ms. Komachi, as well as a little “bonus gift,” set them on the path to seeing more clearly what it is that they hold valuable. (Think a fictional Marie Kondo who doesn't recommend paring down a life cluttered with fears but rather helps a person discover their own way forward.) There is Tomoka, 21, who left her small country town for junior college in Tokyo and now works in the womenswear department of a local general store, feeling unfulfilled and adrift. Ryo, 35, works in the accounts department of a furniture manufacturer but has long dreamed of opening an antiques shop while being terrified of the uncertainty of such a venture. Hiroya, 30, unemployed and living with her mother, trained as an illustrator but has too much anxiety to find and keep a permanent job. Natsumi, 40, a former magazine editor, feels sidelined after returning early from maternity leave after having found herself unexpectedly pregnant at 37. And Masao, 65 and newly retired, finds himself adrift after 42 years of focusing solely on his work to the detriment of hobbies, social connections, and his relationships with his wife and child. Each character is wrought with care, as are their blossoming realizations about how their futures can develop despite their worries.

A delightful, gentle unfolding of stories that offer hope and joy to those who find themselves in a pivotal moment in life.

Kirkus Reviews

This poignant audiobook features five deceptively simple parables about how libraries inspire the pursuit of one's passions. Each of the interconnected stories is narrated by a single narrator who portrays a member of Japanese society whose current existence is unfulfilling and unsuccessful. The international narrators bring a blend of accents that highlight the vast differences between the characters portrayed, including socioeconomic aspects not limited to Japanese culture. These include the plight of 65-year-old retiree Masago, thoughtfully narrated by Shiro Kawai, and 40-year-old former magazine editor Natsumi's dilemmas as a working mother. Each narrator brings a fresh viewpoint and portrayal of Sayuri Komachi, the larger-than-life librarian who appears in every story. She gives each protagonist the perfect book to encourage them to follow their aspirations. M.F. © AudioFile 2023, Portland, Maine

OCTOBER 2023 - AudioFile