BookShort
What you are looking for is in the library
By Michiko Aoyama
By Stephanie Miller
I am a sucker for any story that involves books. Publishers surely realize that I’m not alone in this among avid readers. Thus there are dozens of books about books released every year. I was glad to discover that this trend is global. The award-winning Japanese bestselling novel, “What you are looking for is in the library,” by Michiko Aoyama and translated by Alison Watts, was recently released in the U.S. and 14 other languages! It is a delightful collection of intertwined stories, all of which center on a dedicated librarian who asks seriously, “What are you looking for?”
Books recommended by Ms. Komachi change the lives of the recipient.
The librarian denies any magical powers, but she does something rare and special. She listens to each patron’s challenges and worries, giving them the gift of being heard. Then she recommends one or more books that seem incongruous to the topic requested. Inevitably, it’s the unexpected book that sparks new thinking and energy and leads the reader to explore changes in their life.
Astrology for the Corporate Professional
For a rising corporate professional trying to make peace with how motherhood limits her career progression, the librarian suggests a book on astrology. The book helps her discern her own truth in response to a question from a former client. ”Never swerving from a path is not necessarily a virtue—isn’t it better sometimes to be honest about what you really want?”
Children’s Book for the Shop Assistant
A young woman feels stagnant in her role as “only” a dress shop assistant. “You’re amazing,Tomoka,” her old friend from home says, “Going off to Tokyo to become a career woman!”
Tomoka admits the unintended sting in the praise. “When I was at college her admiration made me feel good, it helped light my fire. …Lately I’ve grown tired of being called ‘amazing.’” A children’s book recommended by the librarian helps Tomoka discover new meaning in her independent life.
Niche Markets for the Graphic Designer
A young man let go from a graphic design job is afraid his artistic style is too strange to be valued either commercially or artistically. He is inspired to sketch fantastic skeletal animals while exploring a library book about evolution. He finds affirmation and motivation when told about niche markets. “The [small number] of people who like pineapple in sweet-and-sour pork may be in a minority, but they don’t just like it, they are crazy about it. It’s a question of passion. The majority may not accept something but as long as there are some who do, the existence of that thing—whatever it may be—is protected.”
Fans of collected stories will relish the many ways that characters from previous stories pop up in later ones and how all the stories come back to the central theme: A community library is a place for belonging. As if by magic, you will discover books to help you find and share your singular place in the world.
MicroShorts
‘Our Missing Hearts,‘ by Celeste Ng
In a not-too-distant dystopian future, a network of heroic librarians gather information about children separated from their parents by a paranoid, McCarthy-esque government agency that is highly suspicious of Asians. A Chinese-American mother’s folk tales give her twelve-year old son clues on how to find her after she disappears. His yearning for her compels him to take desperate risks. Meanwhile his journey toward her parallels her own audacious and deadly act to create a public art resistance project. This is a moving story about how supposedly civilized people can ignore and tolerate severe injustice. While incredibly painful and sad, there is also a lot of hope in this novel.
‘Blood from a Stone,’ by Donna Leon
I like to read books about the places I’m visiting. My trip to Venice last year inspired me to pick up one of Donna Leon’s many Commissario Guido Brunetti mysteries. This is the second one I’ve read. I’ve enjoyed both for their quick pace, complex plots, and the wonderful meals that Brunetti enjoys. When a Senegal immigrant is killed while selling fake handbags to tourists, the crime seems straightforward. That is until Brunetti is warned off the case by his boss. This is a fascinating portrait of life for Venice’s immigrants, who are mostly invisible and ignored until they tangle with International forces of corruption and greed.
‘Theory of Bastards,’ by Audrey Schulman
In a future where everyone has an implanted chip in their forehead, performing most of the functions of our current smartphones and more, 33-year-old star scientific researcher Frankie Burk is recovering from surgery to correct her debilitating endometriosis. She joins a prestigious institute to study the mating habits of bonobos in support of her groundbreaking and somewhat subversive theories about why females of many species (including humans) are called by nature to mate with particularly chosen males—who may not be their husbands. Through her observations, we get to know the matriarchal, strict, but happy and companionable society of the bonobos.
She remains behind as part of a skeleton crew to feed the animals during a massive sandstorm that forces the region to evacuate. The Internet goes down, along with any communication or the ability to get food or water. Along with another researcher, Frankie escorts 13 bonobos out into the world, facing danger from natural as well as human predators. Along the way, and as her body heals and strengthens, she begins to learn from the bonobos. Then she tests her own mate-selection theories as she falls in love with her married research partner. Well-written and stark in prose, the best parts of the book are the insights into the bonobo’s complex community and distinctly charming and endearing personalities.
