Spotlight on: Days at the Morisaki Bookshop by Satoshi Yagisawa
“From late summer to early spring the next year, I lived at the Morisaki Bookshop. I spent that period of my life in the spare room on the second floor of the store, trying to bury myself in books. The cramped room barely got any light, and everything felt damp. It smelled constantly of musty old books.
But I will always remember the days I spent there. Because that’s where my real life began. And I know, without a doubt, that if not for those days, the rest of my life would have been bland, monotonous, and lonely.
The Morisaki Bookshop is precious to me. It’s a place I know I’ll never forget.
When I close my eyes, the memories still come back to me so vividly.
It all began like a bolt of lightning out of the clear blue sky. No, what happened was more shocking than that, more shocking even than seeing frogs raining from the sky in a downpour.” ― Excerpt, Days at the Morisaki Bookshop by Satoshi Yagisawa, translated by Eric Ozawa
What booksellers are saying about Days at the Morisaki Bookshop
- Books about bookshops can be an absolute delight and Days at the Morisaki Bookshop by Satoshi Yagisawa did not disappoint. Takako is suffering from an extreme broken heart and an offer from her distant uncle to come live above his bookshop seems out of the blue. When reluctantly agreeing, she has no idea how much her life will change. This book was a joy to read.
― Rachel Watkins from Avid Bookshop in Athens, GA | Buy from Avid Bookshop
- Days at the Morisaki Bookshop is a lovely slice of life novel. An ode to books and how they can and do in fact change our lives for the better. It’s a heartwarming and comforting story and will make you long for a place you’ve never been and people you haven’t met yet but will surely come to love. I fell in love with Takako, the way she grows throughout the book and her sense of humor. I’ll certainly read it again as I’d like to spend more time with it. It’s a lovely book!
― Aicha Barry from Birch Tree Bookstore in Leesburg, VA | Buy from Birch Tree Books
- Calling all booklovers! This short, sweet, charming, and delightful story is the perfect love letter to books and bookworms everywhere. We follow our protagonist, Takako, as she makes a major change in life and goes to work at her uncle’s small, used bookstore. Here she discovers a passion for reading that is sure to resonate with anyone who fancies themselves a bibliophile. With themes touching on family and self-acceptance, this book is a comfort and a joy to read.
― Elizabeth Findley from Epilogue Books Chocolate Brews in Chapel Hill, NC | Buy from Epilogue Books
About Satoshi Yagisawa
Satoshi Yagisawa was born in Chiba, Japan, in 1977. Days at the Morisaki Bookshop, his debut novel, was originally published in 2009 and won the Chiyoda Literature Prize.
