Title: More Days at the Morisaki Bookshop
Author: Satoshi Yagisawa
Series: Days at the Morisake Bookshop #2
Page Count: 177
Publish Date: July 2, 2024
Publisher: Harper Perennial
Buy More Days at the Morisaki Bookshop at Amazon
Synopsis:
Set again in the beloved Japanese bookshop and nearby coffee shop in the Jimbochi neighborhood of Toyko, More Days at the Morisaki Bookshop deepens the relationship between Takako, her uncle Satoru, and the people in their lives. A new cast of heartwarming regulars have appeared in the shop, including an old man who wears the same ragged mouse-colored sweater and another who collects books solely for the official stamps with the author’s personal seal.
Satoshi Yagisawa illuminates the everyday relationships between people that are forged and grown through a shared love of books. Characters leave and return, fall in and out of love, and some eventually die. As time passes, Satoru, with Takako’s help, must choose whether to keep the bookshop open or shutter its doors forever. Making the decision will take uncle and niece on an emotional journey back to their family’s roots and remind them again what a bookstore can mean to an individual, a neighborhood, and a whole culture.
More Days at the Morisaki Bookshop
The post may contain affiliate links. This means that should you make a purchase after following one of these links, I may receive a small commission at no extra cost to you.
My Review:
After reading and liking Days at the Morisaki Bookshop, I wasn’t initially sure if I would read more books if they came out. However, when I spotted the sequel available at the library, I decided to give the audiobook a try.
Set 3 years after the first book, we get a quick reintroduction to the book shop and characters. This mini refresher was helpful as I could reacquaint myself with the characters before fully diving into the story.
For much of the first third of the book, we have a heavy focus on Takako’s aunt and uncle, Momoko and Satoru. There are some parts involving the bookstore, including an observation of a customer who dresses shabbily but buys expensive books.
However, the bookshop itself feels more of an afterthought than anything else. This seems counter to the “More” in the title and left me a little disappointed. I wasn’t going to give up because there was still half of the book left at this point, but it did leave me a little less enthusiastic to continue.
When we do finally get to where the bookshop plays a bigger role, while Kakako looks after it while her aunt and uncle go on vacation, there continue to be facets that overshadow it. Namely, when it comes to friendships and relationships.
As for the narrator, Catherine Ho, she didn’t give the characters distinct voices, so they all seemed to blend into one another while speaking. I also found that it was far too easy to walk away from this book, and then I’d have to remind myself that I was listening to the audiobook and go back to where I had wandered off.
Unfortunately, this book fell flat. The focus on relationships, drama on several fronts, bogged down with multiple layers of miscommunication, loss, and grief, left me wanting something else. Granted, much of this is hinted at in the synopsis; however, I had hoped we would, in fact, spend more days at the bookshop versus anything else, but that wasn’t what was in this book.
I highly doubt that I will pick up another book in this series if it does continue, which is unfortunate in a way, because the premise of the original story appealed to me, but if the books and bookstore aspect are barely in it, then I’m not keen to read it.
That being said, I am certain that this book will resonate with a lot of readers who crave this type of story, so if you are that kind of reader, I suggest checking this one out.
I hope you enjoyed my review of More Days at the Morisaki Bookshop. Have you read this book?
Buy More Days at the Morisaki Bookshop at Amazon
