Days at the Morisaki Bookshop (Satoshi Yagisawa) - Dont even try to read this

Rating: ⭐

What is with books that seem to have a cult following on Instagram and social media, but when I read the book, I am disappointed and feel terribly let down?

Days at Morisaki Bookshop is about Takako, a 25 year old girl who is in a realtionship with a guy at work. One day he casually tells her he is getting married to another colleague in a few days. She is heart broken and naturally in a bad place (but woman, how did you not see that coming? How did you not know that he is cheating on you with another woman you actually work with? How daft do you need to be?). She resigns from the workplace (again woman what sort of a wimp are you?) and, to save money, she decides to take up her kind Uncle Satoru's offer of moving into an empty room in the bookshop that he runs in a district known for second hand book shops. This Morisaki book shop has been in the family for 3 generations and is kind of a family heirloom. Here our girl mopes around for a few months, starts reading books, becomes more involved in the running of the book shop and even makes a few friends. She develops a bond with her Uncle and they confide in each other and share their troubles. Uncle dear makes her seek closure with her ex boyfriend (in a very clumsy totally non-cool manner) and helps her move on. In turn, she helps him unburden his demons surrounding his wife who walked out on him one day 5 years ago without so much as a good bye. By the end of the first part, our girl has found some stability, has gotten a grip of her life and has moved on from her abode at the bookshop into her own place.

In the second part, the Aunt (who had walked out on Uncle Satoru one day without so much as a good bye) comes back suddenly without any explanation and starts living in the same room at the Bookshop. Uncle dear doesnt have the balls to talk to his wife and have an open conversation, so he sets his niece on the job. Now Takako has to form a relationship with the suddenly returned Aunt and try to ferret out information about why she disappeared 5 years back and why she has come back now. There are multiple home cooked meals, drinks, a trip, a trek etc, in the process of ferreting out the information from this Aunt.

It is a small book and a quick read. Quick not just because it has less pages, but also quick because there is really nothing much in it to read, to process, to absorb or to mull over. It is written in a simplistic language (which is quite different from "simple language") and does not contain any depth at all. It could at best have been a short story - but to make it into a book and that too so acclaimed.....I am unable to understand this. I did not DNF it because I kept hoping there would be a big moment where my eyes would go moist and everything would make sense, but no such thing happened. I did not DNF it as it was a short read. Had it been even 10 pages longer, i would have put it away.