Read, Connect, and Heal

Books. Reading. Libraries. Studies have repeatedly shown that reading can provide several benefits. One of the more palpable benefits of reading is its ability to exercise the brain and expand the horizons of one’s imagination, transporting us to different worlds, realms, and dimensions. This in turn helps improve creativity and even one’s own writing. Many aspiring writers were influenced and inspired by renowned writers to pick up the pen. Even successful writers often credit writers before them for their writing. Reading has helped them develop their skills while expanding their vocabulary; this is a universal benefit. Reading also provides fresh insights and wisdom which leads to a semblance of enlightenment. Picking up a book is also a healthy way to reduce stress and unplug from the daily stressors in life. It provides an escape from one’s quotidian existence.

A book’s ability to provide an escape from the chaos of daily life is what makes reading and books a popular theme in literature. What better way to read about literature than by integrating it into a work of literature? In Markus Zusak’s The Book Thief, books were an escape from the tumult of the Second World War in Nazi Germany; interestingly, several books were burned during this period. On the other hand, Ray Bradbury’s Fahrenheit 451 paints a portrait of the future where books were outlawed. In Sara Nisha Adams’s The Reading List, while working at the library, Aleisha found a list of books she had never heard of before; the list includes literary classics such as Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice and Louisa May Alcott’s Little Women. She did not expect that this unexpected encounter would change her life and perspective. These are just among the heaps of literary masterpieces capturing the essence of literature, libraries, books, and reading in general.

With the vast landscape of Japanese literature, it is not difficult to find books exploring similar subjects. In the past few years, a spate of translated works highlighting the role of books, libraries, bookshops, and reading have been made available to Anglophone readers. Among them are Satoshi Yagisawa’s Days at the Morisaki Bookshop (2010; trans. 2023) and its sequel More Days at the Morisaki Bookshop (2011; trans. 2024); and Sosuke Natsukawa’s The Cat Who Saved Books (2017; trans. 2021). These books resonate with hopeful messages amid the tumult of contemporary existence. Even some works by popular writer Haruki Murakami feature libraries, including his latest novel, The City and Its Uncertain Walls (2023; trans. 2024). Adding her voice to this growing list of Japanese books about libraries and books is Michiko Aoyama with her novel What You Are Looking For Is in the Library.

Life is one revelation after another. Things don’t always go to plan, no matter what your circumstances. But the flip side is all the unexpected, wonderful things that you could never have imagined happening. Ultimately it’s all for the best that many things don’t turn out the way we hoped. Try not to think of upset plans or schedules as personal failure or bad luck. If you can do that, then you can change, in your own self and in your life overall.

Michiko Aoyama, What You Are Looking For is in the Library

Originally published in 2020 as お探し物は図書室まで (O sagashi mono wa toshu shitsu made), it was made available to Anglophone readers in 2023 through a translation of Alison Watts. A novel in the form of short stories, What You Are Looking For Is in the Library is set in the fictional ward of Hatori in Tokyo and introduces five major characters; their individual threads comprise the five chapters of the novel. The novel opens with twenty-one-year-old Tomoka Fujiki. Living alone in Tokyo, she worked in the women’s clothing department at a general merchandise store called Eden post-university. Her work provides enough to sustain her. However, she does not find any sense of fulfillment in her job. Instigated by her frustrations in her career and in the customers she deal with, Tomoka opened up to her coworker Kiriyama. Sympathetic to her struggles, Kiriyama suggested that Tomoka visit the Hatori Community House.

To cultivate a new skill, Tomoka took Kiriyama’s advice. She enrolled in a computer course at the community center. This decision would be a life changer, particularly after a chance encounter with Sayuri Komachi, the librarian of the library adjacent to the center. Tomoka wandered into the library to look for computer-related books. Komachi provided some recommendations but one title stood out, a children’s book called Guri and Gura. It was an unexpected recommendation but one that would play a germane role in altering Tomoka’s life. The narrative shifts to Ryo Urase, a thirty-five-year-old accountant working for a furniture manufacturer. Like Tomoka, Ryo was frustrated with his work where he was often misused by his boss and coworkers. Along with his girlfriend Mina, they visited the library where Komachi again provided interesting recommendations, including a book on worms.

Following the same structure as the first two stories, the third chapter introduces forty-year-old Natsumi Sakitani. She worked as an editor for Mila magazine but lost her job after giving birth. While she loved her child, she was unable to find fulfillment in her new job, exacerbated by the nonchalance of her husband. The one solution to her dilemma: the library. As the title suggests, What You Are Looking For Is in the Library. Komachi recommended Door to the Moon. It was literally a door for a fresher perspective for Natsumi. The fourth chapter charts the story of thirty-year-old Hiroya Suda. A lingering sense of being lost cripples him. He felt alone although he lives with his mother. He is unemployed despite going to a school for illustration. There is a term used in Japan to refer to individuals like Hiroya: NEET which stands for “not in employment, education or training“.

Everybody is connected. And any one of their connections could be the start of a network that branches in many directions. If you wait for the right time to make connections, it might never happen, but if you show your face around, talk to people and see enough to give you the confidence that things could work out, then ‘one day’ might turn into ‘tomorrow.

Michiko Aoyama, What You Are Looking For is in the Library

The course of Hiroya’s life would change with a chance encounter – the novel was brimming with this – with Komachi while wandering into the Hatori Community House library at the most opportune time. A conversation about old manga series ensued and was followed by a list of book recommendations. The final chapter focuses on sixty-five-year-old Masao Gonno. Recently turning sixty-five, he retired from his job at a cookie company. For over four decades, he worked for the cookie company. His initial reaction to his retirement was one of relief. He did not have to report to the office. But with retirement came drastic changes. Worse, this change left a gaping hole in his persona. He had no friends and only had his wife to turn to. It was his wife who recommended that he attend a go class at the community center. The rest, they say, was history. He found himself wandering into the library where he encountered Komachi.

While their stories did not intersect, each character found a commonplace at the juncture when they encountered Komachi. Each one had a lingering concern. They found themselves at a major intersection in their lives. Some were exhausted with their current circumstances, particularly with their jobs. Most of them left a sense of being lost. Some have detached themselves from their friends and even family. Some were yearning for something new or better yet they couldn’t find the heart to pursue it. This critical juncture transformed into a pivotal one when they wandered into the library where they encountered Komachi who initiated the conversation with the straightforward question “What are you looking for?” They were unsure of what they wanted at first but Komachi always found the right answer. She has an intuition, an uncanny intuition that allows her to understand the concerns of the people who walk into her realm.

Each story was suffused with tenderness which made readers gravitate toward these characters. Their concerns were varied and linked to the specific phase of their lives. It helps that the characters come from diverse backgrounds, ages, careers, and relationships. Anyone and everyone could relate to their concerns. The characters’ dilemmas reflect our own. Most of us are unsatisfied with where we are right now. We want to walk out of these situations and pursue our passions however we cannot muster the courage to do so. We often forget how to enjoy our lives because of the burdens placed on our shoulders. This impairs our vision. We want escape. We are in want of a fresh perspective. We need genuine connection, or perhaps a good book. Komachi possesses the answers or rather the books she recommended contain the answers to their concerns.

Belonging is an ambiguous state, you know. Take this place, for example. We can both be in the same place, but having that sheet of glass between us makes us feel as if what is happening on the other side is irrelevant, doesn’t it. Remove the partition, however, and instantly you become part of the same world. Even though it is all one to begin with.

Michiko Aoyama, What You Are Looking For is in the Library

Komachi’s recommendations seem unusual at first but these are books the characters didn’t know they needed, the same manner they found themselves ambling toward the library and its mysterious custodian. Her recommendations were profoundly impactful despite the characters being initially skeptical about her perplexing recommendations. What You Are Looking For Is in the Library underscores the often-overlooked role libraries play in the community. The characters were searching for meaning and direction after finding themselves stuck in impasses. When the characters found themselves in personal impasses, it was toward the library that their feet led them to. However, libraries are not only mere repositories of vast knowledge about a plethora of subjects and wisdom. They are also crucibles for establishing genuine connections. They are safe havens for the tired and weary, for the ones who want to slow down. The same holds true for books.

All of the novel’s wonderful elements were astutely and dexterously woven together by Aoyama. She fitted the various pieces together. The novel did not come across as fragmented even though the chapters can be read separately. They were thematically connected and the library was also their nucleus. It was an accessible read brimming with tenderness and warmth. She crafted individually interesting and well-fleshed-out characters with different circumstances the readers could relate to. However, one small detail, or the seeming lack of it, lingers. Sayuri Komachi remained an enigma. Her character was mostly underexplored. Aoyama provided glimpses into her character. We get to know her only through her interactions, albeit brief, with the characters and other library users. This could be deliberate on Aoyama’s part to keep the shroud of enigma on her.

In a fast-paced world where we yearn for genuine happiness, connections, meaning, and contentment, libraries, books, and reading provide an alternative. Overall, What You Are Looking For Is in the Library is a heartwarming read containing a timely reminder for us to slow down and look after ourselves. The library, through its custodian Komachi, provided the struggling characters with what they needed at a critical juncture in their lives. The story is centered on the meaning of community and the role of libraries in building positive relationships through the cultivation of open communication and small acts of kindness. The characters, in the process of gaining fresh perspectives about life and themselves, also rediscovered the value of meaningful connections. Simple, straightforward but altogether delightful read, What You Are Looking For Is in the Library is a reminder of the simple pleasures of reading, genuine connections, and libraries.

Singles are envious of those who are married, and married couples envy those with children, but people with children are envious of singles. It’s an endless merry-go-round. But isn’t that funny? That each person should be chasing the tail of the person in front of them, when no one is coming first or last. In other words, when it comes to happiness nothing is better or worse – there is no definitive state

Michiko Aoyama, What You Are Looking For is in the Library
Book Specs

Author: Michiko Aoyama
Translator (from Japanese): Alison Watts
Publisher: Hanover Square Press
Publishing Date: 2023 (2020)
No. of Pages: 300
Genre: Literary

Synopsis

What are you looking for?

So asks Tokyo’s most enigmatic librarian. For Sayuri Komachi is able to sense exactly what each visitor to her library is searching for and provide just the book recommendation to help them find it.

A restless retail assistant looks to gain new skills, a mother tries to overcome demotion at work after maternity leave, a conscientious accountant yearns to open an antique store, a recently retired salaryman searches for newfound purpose.

In Komachi’s unique book recommendations they will find just what they need to achieve their dreams. What You Are Looking For Is in the Library is about the magic of libraries and the discovery of connection. This inspirational tale shows how, by listening to our hearts, seizing opportunity and reaching out, we too can fulfill our lifelong dreams. Which book will you recommend?

About the Author

Michiko Aoyama was born on June 9, 1970, in Aichi Prefecture, Honshu, Japan. She graduated from Seto Nishi High School. She credited her time at Seto as formative for the rest of her life. When she was fourteen, her dreams of becoming a writer started because of her love for reading. She studied sociology at Chūkyō University in Nagoya. Post-university, she took part in a working holiday program in Australia where she became a reporter for a Japanese newspaper based in Sydney.

When she was twenty-five, Aoyama returned to Japan and then worked as an editor for Japanese magazines in Tokyo. To focus on her writing career, she left her job. In 2017, she published her first book, Mokuyōbi ni wa kokoa wo (Thursdays in the Café under the Cherry Trees). She made her literary breakthrough with お探し物は図書室まで (2020, O sagashi mono wa toshu shitsu made; trans. 2023 What You Are Looking For Is in the Library). The book was shortlisted for the Japan Booksellers’ Award, was a Time Book of the Year, a Times bestseller, and a New York Times Book of the Month. Her latest novel, リカバリー・カバヒコ (2023, Rikabarī kabahiko) is set for release as The Healing Hippo of Hinode Park in 2025.

Aoyama is married, has a son, and lives in Yokohama