Books From Around the World || Japan

Welcome to the very first article of my new series, "Books From Around the World", which embarks on a reading journey across borders, cultures, and perspectives. This idea that has been on my bucket list for years and will stay there for quite some time as I aim to read a book by an author from every country on this planet. Along the way, I'd like to discover new perspectives, celebrate diverse storytelling, and explore how literature is celebrated and lived in different countries. 🌍 Let's get started with Japan.

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And that's a wrap. I close the book and think for a second. This book was such a joy to read and it made me feel a certain way, a feeling I felt before.

I just turned the last page of the book "What You Are Looking For Is in the Library", a lovely collection of five short stories that are connected to each other. While reading it, I reflected on the language of the book, the storytelling, and the character development, and it reminded me of several books I have read from Japanese authors in recent years. Interestingly, I have read quite a few, and they all took place in a coffee shop, a bookstore, or a library, which was also a conscious choice of me because I love books set in bookstores.

I realized that the language used in these books is somewhat similar—it's simple and direct, without a lot of fluff but with a lot of meaning, conveying the message in a clear way. I'm wondering how much the translation of these books impacts and changes the language, and if my perception would be the same if I could read it in Japanese.

The stories typically start with a person who's not completely happy with their life, feeling trapped in a job, relationship, family situation, or another challenging circumstance. The coffee shop, library, or bookstore becomes a place of refuge that creates a space, bringing people into their life who provide clarity and understanding to their situation in a subtle, gentle manner. Throughout the story, the protagonist reflects on their life and decisions, and through the influence of new people and places, they slowly adopt the changes that needed to be made. It's a story development without dramatic twists —no deaths, murders, or expressions of hatred or anger, yet the story remains engaging; you are part of it and want to know how it ends.

I want to emphasize that I am not trying to categorize all books by Japanese authors in the same way; I'm simply expressing a sentiment I experienced while reading these books.

Here are the three books that I recently read:

What You Are Looking For Is in the Library - Michiko Aoyama

This book is a collection of five stories. Five people struggling with life's challenges - a failed dream, motherhood, career decisions, retirement. Many of us might relate in one way or another, and while the protagonists discover the answers to their struggles in the library, we can join them on their journey to gain clarity. Along the way, we might discover some truths for ourselves.

After reading one particular chapter, I decided to put a poetry book on hold at the library. Although poetry never truly interested in, I'm curious to see how it makes me feel.

Days at the Morisaki Bookshop - Satoshi Yagisawa

I'm not sure how I should start this book review. This book also impacted me in a particular way, yet I think it's probably the one with the smallest impact of the four books I'm presenting today. It's a short novel about a woman who loses her boyfriend and her job and starts working at her uncle's bookstore. The weird uncle she never thought much of. And guess what? The story takes unexpected turns, the uncle's past had pieces to it that no one in the family knew of, and she found some answers for her broken heart in the bookstore.

There's a second part to this book "More Days at the Morisaki Bookshop", and I'm still intrigued to read that one as well.

Before the Coffee Gets Cold - Toshikazu Kawaguchi

You might have seen this series in your local bookstore. Kawaguchi's novels focus on time travel. This particular book tells the story of a coffee shop in Tokyo that allows its customers to travel back in time, as long as they return before their coffee gets cold. Driven by the question "What if?", customers of the coffee shop travel back in time, embarking on a personal journey in an attempt to rewrite their past.

The book doesn't leave you untouched, because it makes you reflect about whom you would go back in time to; is there someone you would like to speak to? An apology left unsaid? A gesture of love or gratitude that was never passed on?

I still need to read the other books in this series to see how these books are all connected.

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Now I'm curious to hear from you, have you read any books written by Japanese authors? How did they make you feel? Did you experience a similar feeling like I did or was it something completely different?

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🌍 This article is part of the series “Books From Around the World” - a reading journey across borders, cultures, and voices. The series introduces authors and books from around the world, with the goal of reading at least one book from each country on our planet.

Your fellow book lover,

Nina