socialist utopias, dusty books, hypersomnia

are a few of the things you'll find in this Japanese novella

Fiction, 2010

A few months ago, I was out for drinks with someone who told me that the famous Shakespeare and Company bookstore allows struggling writers to stay there for free as long as they help with the shop's upkeep and read one book a day. Upon further research, the founder, George Whitman, called the enterprise "a socialist utopia masquerading as a bookstore". The writers who come to stay are known as "Tumbleweeds" after the dry and bushy plant that, according to Whitman, "blow in and out on the winds of chance". Since its opening in 1951, the shop has hosted around 30,000 tumbleweeds. 

Days at the Morisaki Bookshop follows this exact premise, except the store in question is in the Jimbocho district of Japan, and the novel's Tumbleweed is a young woman named Takako. After her ne'er-do-well boyfriend dumps her to get married to another lady, she quits her job, limits human interaction, and spends her days sleeping in her tiny apartment. She's smart and knows her savings will run out soon (especially with the cost of city living), but she just can't seem to stay awake long enough to change her predicament. A stroke of luck in the form of a phone call from her uncle arrives. Satoru, the uncle, is one of those distant relatives you hung out with as a child but have no memory of as an adult. He runs a bookshop and, upon hearing about her situation, invites Takako to come and live there to save on rent. 

Having no other prospects and an overwhelming desire to end the call, she reluctantly agrees. What follows is a story about taking your time to heal, and being lucky enough to have a support system that allows you the space for it. It's short, sweet, and simple, but it is a powerful reminder that stepping away from Life™ as you know it isn't an act of cowardice, but one of rare and great courage. 

Song - Change - Big Thief  

Film - Kiki's Delivery Service