Yashvi Peeti is an aspiring writer and an aspiring penguin. She has worked as an editorial intern with Penguin Random House India and HarperCollins Publishers India. She is always up for fangirling over poetry, taking a walk in a park, and painting tiny canvases. You can find her on Instagram @intangible.perception
Have you ever moved to a city that you’ve always dreamed of living in, and realized that it isn’t what you dreamt of? Have you endlessly delayed a passion project because it may not be the most financially appealing decision?
Have you struggled to juggle both your career and family as a new parent? Have you had periods of unemployment where you felt discouraged? Are you experiencing retirement and feeling a bit lost?
The five characters in Michiko Aoyama’s book feel all of this and more. They are all at different stages of transition and experience varying levels of stuckness and hope. What You Are Looking For Is In The Library is written in five short chapters with narratives that interweave and blend into each other. It is a fairly easy and engaging read, and definitely one to get you out of a reading slump!
What You Are Looking For Is In The Library by Michiko Aoyama
I enjoyed this novel so much. The characters navigate meaning and meaninglessness through the book. They all stumble into the local library for various reasons. They are all of different ages and genders and hold different hopes and dreams. Each of their lives is made better by the interaction they have with the librarian. She is a wise lady who gives them a suggested list of books they asked for, and one more that doesn’t quite fit the request. This unexpected book finds its reader at the right time. It helps them explore and unlock what they are looking for. The librarian is seen felting throughout and gives a meaningful felted piece to the people who make it there. This is the kind of adorable whimsy I love reading and stumbling across in life.
Released in 2020 in Japanese and translated into English in 2023 by Alison Watts, this book is an absolute delight. You ponder and wonder along with the characters while feeling like they are gently holding your pinkie finger. The stories and the ways they overlap are comforting. Books and community are at the centre of the positive changes in the characters’ lives. The narratives may wrap too neatly sometimes, but I liked reading a hopeful book where things work out.
Read This Book
One book recommendation to help you cut through the noise
To give you a tiny peek into the ideas held in this novel, here are some of my favourite lines:
On perspective:
“You told me that if you only ever look in front, your view will be quite narrow. So whenever I feel stuck or don’t know what to do, I try to broaden my view. Relax my shoulders and walk sideways like a crab.”
On uncertainty:
“In a world where you don’t know what will happen next, I just do what I can right now.”
On interconnectedness (one character speaking to another about being separated by a window versus being in the same room):
“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.” Mr. Ebigawa looks into my eyes. “This is how I see it, Mr. Gonno. I believe that every kind of contact between people makes them part of society. And that goes beyond the present moment. Things happen as a result of our points of connection, in the past and in the future.”
The words speak for themselves. I imagine some things may be lost in translation but so much of it still shines through. This book found me at such a wonderful time, and writing this piece is making me want to re-read it. I’m in the middle of the tide of change, and I want it to hold my hand. I hope it holds yours.
English (US) · 