Michiko Aoyama: What you are looking for is in the library (Penguin Random House 2023)
Tomoka is 21 years old and works as a sales assistant in a women’s clothing store. She doesn’t find her job exciting and would rather switch to an office job, but she doesn’t know how to use the computer.
Ryo is 35 years old and works in the accounts department of a furniture manufacturer, but he has wanted to open an antique shop since he was a teenager.
Natsumi is 40 years old and has a two-year-old daughter. She used to be a magazine editor, but she was transferred to another job after giving birth.
Hiroya is 30 years old and unemployed. He draws very well, but he hasn’t been able to find a job. He can’t find his place in the world.
Masao is 65 years old. He worked in the sales department of a cookie company for 42 years and has just retired. He is faced with the fact that he doesn’t know what to do with his life.
What do they have in common? A library and a conscientious librarian.
The characters and their life situations may be familiar to all of us. They are concerned with questions like: How can I make my work more exciting? Can I have a family and a career at the same time? Is it possible to start something new even in old age? The solutions to their problems do not miraculously fall from the sky, but they find them through reading and getting to know themselves. The story clearly shows how important it is to live in the present and be open to the beauties of the world and to positive things, but also to be able to recognize new opportunities. It was surprising to me how emotional the seemingly withdrawn and serious Japanese can be. The story also shows how much connections the residents have in a single district. Perhaps it could be summarized as follows: you don’t always have to push forward in life, sometimes it’s worth looking sideways.
After graduating from university, Michiko Aoyama became a journalist for a Japanese newspaper based in Sydney, and then returned to Tokyo to become an editor of a magazine. This book of hers was an immediate success in Japan and also around the world and was translated into more than 20 languages.
