“More Days at the Morisaki Bookshop” by Satoshi Yagisawa, translated by Eric Ozawa, has been published by Harper Perennial.
In this charming and emotionally resonant follow up to the internationally bestselling “Days at the Morisaki Bookshop,” Yagisawa paints a poignant and thoughtful portrait of life, love, and how much books and bookstores mean to the people who love them.
Set again in the beloved Japanese bookshop and nearby coffee shop in the Jimbochi neighborhood of Tokyo, “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 has 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.
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.
Yagisawa was born in Chiba in 1977. “Days at the Morisaki Bookshop,” his debut novel, won the Chiyoda Literature Prize.
“Ozawa’s translation gracefully captures the author’s whimsical and tender voice. Yagisawa has the right touch for lifting a reader’s mood.” — Publishers Weekly
“Readers will pick this up for the atmosphere of this well-established world. They will turn the last page with a deepened love for this bookshop family and how well they care for each other and their customers and neighbors.” — Booklist