What You Are Looking For Is In the Library by Michiko Aoyama - Review

This was one of the books that I got in the swap I did at Christmas, where the person I was swapping with was actually my friend Sarah Beth, which was really nice because it meant we knew each other and it was nice to choose books for Sarah Beth and really lovely to receive books that they really rate. I wasn't sure about this one at all, but was obviously willing to give it a go. My friend Stacey had also read this one and said I should get to it, so I did. As a reminder, I was trying to read all the books I got as gifts for Xmas in February, and I managed it! I'm thrilled that I did this, but it's not even the end of February and I have finished all five books! 

Anyway, this book. It is a book in translation which I always really like to read, although I don't get to many. This one is translated really beautifully which I think added to my enjoyment of the book. 

The book has five different protagonists, all of whom are struggling with something in their lives. They each end up in this one community library, either accidentally or because they're encouraged to go. There, this mysterious librarian called Ms Komachi, who sits needle felting in a little cubby by herself, will find for them several books. Among them will be a curve ball, something they weren't expecting, but which gives them exactly what they need in life. 

The first person is a young woman who works as a sales assistant who needs a push to educate herself a little better. She also makes some kind of rice ball things and maybe ends up starting a relationship with someone she works with. The second person is an accountant - a boring, safe life, but he really wishes to open an antiques store. He has his reasons for that, from his past. Some of his story ends up being reflected in someone else's story further on, too. I liked how all five people's lives were interwoven in this way for the reader to know even if the protagonists themselves don't realise it. 

The third person in the book had my favourite story. She used to be a magazine editor but then got pregnant, and was replaced while she was on maternity leave. She is struggling with life now - it's busy, she has to think about her daughter and deal with all the admin, etc. Her husband is trying, but she feels very alone. She's forty, and I just really liked her story arc. I like how her little section ended up, too. It felt very real for a lot of forty year olds. 

The fourth person is a manga artist, a young man who needs the library to help him learn new things. He's not in education or employment and he's flailing a bit. I liked him, and the fifth person, who is newly retired and isn't sure what to do with himself. 

As I say, all the stories do interweave a bit, in a really clever way. I did mostly like this book, but found it drifted a little bit. I'm giving it three and a half out of five - it didn't quite get to four stars but it was close. 

Convenience Store Woman by Sayaka Murata - Review

I can't even remember where I first heard about this book, but it was a while ago, and I feel like a lot of the bookstagrammers I follow have read it. I added it to my wishlist ages ago and one of my Secret Santas this year sent it to me. I'm really glad they picked it for me; I do keep my wishlist up to date and I'm glad I left this on it for so long because I really enjoyed it and liked reading it. I would read something else by the same author, for sure. 

So Keiko is thirty six years old and she lives by herself in a studio apartment. She works in a convenience store. She has worked there since she was eighteen. She really likes the routine of it, she likes knowing what she should be doing, she likes working out what the weather will mean for what they will sell. She has known since childhood that she is 'strange', so she learns social mores and ways of being from her coworkers. A lot of them are young, student types, and those her age tend to be management. Her parents wish she would get a 'real' job or at least settle down, but she's happy in her lane. 

She is close to her sister, who has just had a baby, and some of her sister's friends. One day she mentions a coworker, Shiraha, to them, and they are overjoyed for her, thinking she's finally met someone. Shiraha needs somewhere to stay after getting fired, and so Keiko invites him to stay with her. Keiko's life is changed but not necessarily for the better... 

I think Keiko is definitely autistic, and I think someone needs to diagnose her maybe and get her some support. I read a negative review of this book which said it was poking fun at autistic people but I really don't agree with that at all. I think Keiko is unapologetically herself and gets even more comfortable with that towards the end of the book. There's a lot about society's expectations of her as a woman nearing forty but I think it's fair to say that she just doesn't care. She's happy with her life and that's fine. 

I'm giving this four out five. I liked it a lot and would recommend it. 

Takeout Sushi by Christopher Green - Review and Blog Tour

Hello and welcome to my blog for my stop on the tour for Takeout Sushi by Christopher Green. It is a pleasure to welcome you to my blog. Please do have a click around and read some of my other reviews. I don't often read books of short stories but when I do I often find myself enjoying them. I was really intrigued by the sound of this book so I signed up for the tour. 

I read this book really quickly and really enjoyed all of the stories, which is definitely a rarity for me. I also really liked the illustrations before each story which give a little hint as to what the story will be about. Definitely check them out too.

I particularly liked the stories set in Japan. About two thirds of them are, but a few at the end are set elsewhere. My favourite ones were the one about the robots, the one about the jogger having a run in with a sports car in the car park, the one about the 'creep' in the cafe, and the one about the man who picks things up on Tokyo streets and keeps a collection. A lot of these stories have stuff in common - they're about world weary people living in Tokyo, in a fast paced city, with long commutes, futons to sleep in, neighbours close by. I liked that they seemed so similar - I could imagine that these people were all neighbours of each other, all involved in the same universe, all just living simultaneously. 

Of the stories not set in Japan I liked the one about the renaissance painter the best. 

It's hard to write good short stories but Christopher Green has definitely managed it. I would read something else by him and I'm giving this collection a very good four out of five. Definitely check it out!