What You Are Looking For Is In the Library. Michiko Aoyama. Translated by Alison Watts. 2020/2023. 304 pages. [Source: Library] [adult fiction, realistic fiction, books about books, novellas]
First sentence: When Saya sends a text to tell me she has a new boyfriend, I instantly write back: What's he like? But all she replies is: He's a doctor.
Premise/plot: This newly translated novel contains five interconnected novellas. Different protagonists. Varied problems. But all come to the same community library and meet the same reference librarian. Each is recommended a list of books with one quirky book recommendation tagged onto the end that doesn't quite meet their stated search needs. Each receives a gift--something felted--from the librarian. All lives are changed, though perhaps not as dramatically as one might expect. The changes mostly come from within.
This novella collection celebrates books, libraries, and LIBRARIANS.
My thoughts: I definitely enjoyed this one. And it went a long way in helping me out of my slump. I don't know it I will stay out of my reading slump. I've been struggling the past few weeks with staying engaged with what I am reading. I loved the focus on BOOKS and reading. I thought the characters were well-developed within the novella format. In fact, you might argue that you learn more about these characters in under a hundred pages than you do some books in four hundred pages.
© 2023 Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews
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