[Review Buku] Days At Morisaki Bookshop karya Satoshi Yasigawa

He gave me a giant stack of old books to remember my days at the bookshop. I’ll never forget what my uncle said to me then. “There’s one thing I want you to promise me. Don’t be afraid to love someone. When you fall in love, I want you to fall in love all the way. Even if it ends in heartache, please don’t live a lonely life without love. I’ve been so worried that because of what happened you’ll give up on falling in love. Love is wonderful. I don’t want you to forget that. Those memories of people you love, they never disappear. They go on warming your heart as long as you live. When you get old like me, you’ll understand. How about it—can you promise me?” “I get it. I promise.” I said. “I think this place taught me that. So you don’t have to worry.” (page 65)

“I don’t think it really matters weather you know a lot about books or not. That said, I don’t know that much myself. But I think what matters far more with a book is how it affects you.” (page 91)

Book Details:

Title	Days At Morisaki Bookshop
Writer	Satoshi Yasigawa
Translated by	Eric Ozawa
Publisher	MANILA PRESS
Published	First published in the UK in 2023
Pages	169 pages
ISBN	978-1-786-58323-9
Category	Fiction

This book originally published in Japan in 2010 by Shogakukan Inc.

Blurb:

A tale of families, love, new beginnings, and the comfort that can be found in books.

From the beginning of summer to early spring, I lived at he Morisaki Bookshop. I spent in that period on my life in the spare room on the second floor of the store, trying to bury myself in books. The cramped room barely got any light, and everything felt damp. It smelled constantly of musty old books.

But I will always remember the days I spent there. Because that’s where my real life began. And I know, without a doubt, that if not for those days the rest of my life without have been bland, monotonous, and lonely.

The Morisaki Bookshoop is precious to me. It’s a place I know I’ll never forget. 

Hidden in Jimbocho, Tokyo, is a book-lover’s paradise. On a quiet corner in an old wooden building lies a shop filled with hundreds of second-hand books.

Twenty-five-years-old Takako has never liked reading, although the Morisaki bookshop has been in her family for three generations. It is the pride and joy of her uncle Satoru who devoted his life to the bookshop since his wife Momoko left him five years earlier. 

When Takako’s boyfriend reveals he’s marrying someone else, she reluctantly accepts her eccentric uncle’s offer to live rent-free in the tiny room above the shop. Hoping to nurse her broken heart in peace, Takako is surprised to encounter new worlds within the stacks of books lining the Morisaki bookshop.

As summer fades to autumn, Satoru and Takako discover they more in common then they first thought. The Morisaki bookshop has something to teach them both about life, love, and healing power of books.

Takako patah hati saat pacarnya mengatakan akan menikah dengan wanita lain. Tidak dapat mengatasi perpisahan yang mengerikan baginya, dia berhenti dari pekerjaannya, dan menjalani hari-hari dengan depresi sampai Pamannya tiba-tiba meneleponnya, setelah bertahun-tahun tidak ada kontak dan memintanya untuk pindah ke lantai dua Toko Buku Morisaki. Toko buku bekas yang terletak di distrik Jimbocho, surganya toko buku, jalan yang menawan dengan berbagai toko buku terasa seperti tempat yang menurut Takako tidak cocok untuknya, tapi dia tetap menerima tawaran itu. Tempat ini merupakan toko buku bekas yang menjadi tempat favorit Paman Satoru untuk menghabiskan waktunya, setelah ditinggal istrinya, Momoko. Takako akhirnya menghabiskan waktu di sana untuk membantu menjaga toko buku Morisaki, dia jatuh cinta dengan membaca dan menghabiskan waktu dengan membaca buku-buku di toko buku bekas.

Cerita dalam buku ini dibagi dua bagian. Bagian pertama pencarian kebahagiaan yang diwakali oleh karakter Tokako, dan di bagian kedua fokus ceritanya ke Paman Satoru, dan istrinya—Momoko.  

Saya tahu buku ini, direkomendasikan Kak Na, seorang book lover juga. Begitu lihat cover dan judul, tanpa melakukan riset, baca review dan Googling. Saya memutuskan untuk membelinya.  Membaca buku ini memang awalnya tanpa ekspektasi apa-apa, jadi kesan saya terhadap buku ini sangat senang bisa menikmati salah satu literatur Jepang  yang ternyata ini merupakan salah internasional best seller. Selama ini memang saya baca literatur Jepang karena tertarik judul, tidak melihat apakah buku tersebut hits atau tidak di pasaran.

Baca juga: review buku How We Met

Hal-hal menarik dari buku ini:

• Suka banget sama cover-nya. Buat book lover seperti saya, lihat cover semacam ini memang punya daya tarik tersendiri. Bagi saya bukunya memang patut dikoleksi.
• Judulnya biki penasaran “Days At Morisaki Bookshop” saya pikir cerita yang akan dieksplor bookshop-nya, ternyata tidak demikian, ada cerita-cerita mengharukan dari beberapa karakter dalam buku.
• Siapa sangka, berada di toko buku, bertemu dengan pamannya, mampu membuat Takako bisa move on dari hubungan yang toxic dengan mantan pacarnya. Gimana nggak sakit coba, pacaran lama, tahu-tahu ditinggal nikah. Beruntung  Takako memutuskan resign dari tempat kerjanya. Meskipun tidak berarti langsung bisa melupakan mantannya, malah dia berjuang keras untuk bisa berdamai dengan dirinya sendiri. “If not, I couldn’t move on. No matter how much time passed, I’d ’till be stuck. If my uncle hadn’t given me the chance, I would’ve just been left holding on to these feelings forever.” (page 62)
• Saya suka bagaimana cara Takako menyelesaikan masalah patah hatinya, di mana dia dan pamannya mendatangi mantannya agar meminta maaf. Setelah itu, dia sepertinya bisa berdamai dengan masa lalunya, dan pada akhirnya menemukan dan mendapatkan orang yang tepat untuknya.
• Dari buku ini jadi nambah referensi penulis-penulis  dari Jepang yang baru saya ketahui kecuali Soseki Natsume (lewat karya klasiknya berjudul Botchan)
• Ada cukup banyak referensi buku yang disebutkan dalam buku ini seperti Until the Death of The Girl karya Seisei M., Landscape of The Heart karya Motojiro Kajii, School Girl karya Osamu Dazaii, Book Up The Hill, Friendship by Saneatsu Mushanakoji. Saya tertarik pengen baca buku friendship.  
• Penulisnya telah menangkap dan memahami bagaimana perasaan khusus  yang dapat dihubungkan dengan para pecinta buku atau para kutu buku di seluruh dunia. Yang merasa “Ah, akhirnya aku menemukan buku ini yang bisa memahamiku.” Mungkin karena hal inilah kenapa buku ini mendapat sambutan positif di pasar internasional dan menjadi salah satu buku international best seller, karena memang ceritanya sederhana dan relevan. Saya merasa terkoneksi dengan  ceritanya ketika Takako melahap buku pertamanya di toko buku bekas tersebut. Dia menghabiskan sepanjang malam untuk membaca saking serunya, kemudian tampaknya terjangkit penyakit membaca dan tidak bisa meletakkan bukunya. Pengalaman yang dialami Takako ini rasanya sangat relate dengan saya, dan mungkin para kutu buku di belahan dunia mana pun. Biasanya tuh, kalau kita ketemu buku yang sangat menarik, saking serunya kadang suka lupa waktu, bisa begadang sampai tengah malam, kadang saya baru bisa tidur kalau bukunya sudah tamat. 
• Days at Morisaki Bookshop bagi saya seperti teman yang sempurna bagi pecinta buku dan mereka yang bernafas, hidup, dan melahap buku.
• Ini buku yang sangat nyaman untuk orang-orang yang menghargai buku. Ceritanya hangat, sederhana dan lugas, tetapi juga ada beberapa masalah mendalam seperti kesehatan mental yang dibahas di sini. Bagi saya ini seperti bacaan yang menghibur dan bisa menjadi teman yang mendatangi saya ketika dibutuhkan. Penemuan buku yang membuat kita seakan terhubung dengan tokoh-tokoh yang ada di dalam cerita. Perasaan membaca buku pertama dan tenggelam dalam alur cerita. Percakapan yang dipicu dari buku yang kita baca bersama seorang teman, rekomendasi buku yang kita terima dari orang lain tentang buku apa yang mungkin kita akan sukai. Keinginan untuk memahami orang lain melalui melalui buku yang mereka baca. Buku memuat banyak hal yang terasa relate dan saya menyukai kesederhaannya  yang tersaji di buku ini.
• Tidak banyak alur cerita, tetapi saya sangat senang membacanya. Bahkan saya sangat terharu dengan cerita Paman Satoru dan istrinya. Bagi saya pribadi, buku ini sungguh sangat “heartwarming.”

Baca juga: review buku Educated karya Tara Westover

Pesan Moral:

Dengan membaca buku ini, pesan yang disampaikan salah satunya mengajarkan kita untuk menerima keadaan. Kemudian mengajarkan kita untuk lebih menyayangi diri sendiri, serta penerimaan terhadap kasih sayang yang diberikan oleh orang yang menyayangi kita, misalnya kasih sayang Paman Satoru terhadap istrinya dalam cerita di novel ini.

Characters:

Takako, Hideaki, Uncle Satoru, Aunt Momoko, Sabu, Tomo, Takano, Mrs. Shibamoto, Akira Wada, Haru.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Satoshi Yasigawa was born in Chiba, Japan, in 1977. Days At Morisaki Bookshop, his debut novel, was originally published in 2009 and won the Chiyoda Literature Prize. It was first published in Japan in 2010, the sequel the following year. Morisaki shoten no hibi, a hit Japanese movie based on the book, was released in 2010 to great acclaim.

My favorite quotes from book Days At Morisaki Bookshop:

1. Young people today, they don’t read books anymore. They just play computer games. It’s hopeless. And even if they do read books, it’s just manga or these shallow little stories on their cell phones. Even my son, he’s almost thirty and he still just plays video games all the time. Is that okay? You think so? Absolutely not. They’re only seeing the surface of things. And if you don’t want to be shallow person, then you should try reading some of the wonderful books in this place. (page 18)
2. According to my uncle, the network of booksellers and your personal relationship were a big part of making sure you could bring in new inventory and keep the store from running out of books. (page 21)
3. “Even though we think of it as an independent business, what matters in the industry more than anything are the relationship you have with people. I guess it’s probably true of the world in general,” (page 22)
4. “When I was in twenties, I was always reading. (page 23)
5. I had a feeling we might get along. My mood brightened. (page 27)
6. “The short version is I wanted to see the whole world for myself. I wanted to see the whole range of possibilities. Your life is yours. It doesn’t belong to anyone else. I wanted to know what I would mean to liveclife on my own terms.” (page 30)
7. “That you are doing what you want, and you’re making a living at it.” (page 31)
8. Even now I still go back and forth all the time. But, I don’t know, maybe it takes a long time to figure out what you’re truly searching for. Maybe you spend your whole life to figure out a small  part of it.” (page 31)
9. “So, when you were traveling around and reading all those books, you must have learned a lot, right?” “It’s funny. No matter where you go, or how many books you read, you still know nothing, you haven’t seen anything. And that’s life. We live our lives trying to find our way.  (page 31)
10. “But no matter where she is and what she’s doing now. I want her to be happy.” (page 32)
11. I spent day after day this way as we went deeper into autumn. I have no doubt that my new routine helped brighten my mood. (pag 37)
12. “I think every serious  reader at some point in their life encounters a book like that, and they never forget the experience. (page 39)
13. But seeing the two of them side by side, I could sense that they had the kind of bond that can only come from years spent together in good times and in bad. The feeling was overwhelming. (page 45)
14. I could feel the mistery of life filling my heart. The idea of this child growing up, experiencing so many things for the first time, absorbing so much –all of it brought me as much joy as if it were happening to me. (page 49)
15. It was time to get moving, to look around, and learn what I could from it all. Time to go in search of a place where I belonged, a place where I could say with confidence that I felt right. All the trips I went on, all the books I read, were the consequences of that decision.” (page 50)
16. The joy of realizing that  someone loved me that much made my heart want to burst. (page 50)
17. I guess you could say there long enough to recharge my batteries. (page 89)
18. I’d never gone to the shop, I’d still be living in my life in a daze. I met so many people there, and I learned so many things, and, of course, there were all of the books I discovered. I feel like I finally learned to see something a tiny bit valuable within myself. That’s why I know that I’ll never forget the days I spent at the bookshop.” (page 92)
19. “And I think it’s cute how honest you are. You can’t tell a lie. It makes me wish I had beautiful soul like that.” (page 98)
20. I realized that in my heart I was genuinely delighted to see him again. It’s true. Seeing him made me incredibly happy. It didn’t matter what he felt about me. I was pointless to worry about that. There was nothing I could do to change that fact.” (page 142)
21. In that moment, I loved her from the bottom of my heart. Tears were streaming down my face. I felt like I was finally able to face all the things I hadn’t noticed before, all the things I turned away from. I took Momoko in my arms, and I said “Don’t go over and over again. I need you. Before I saw her I couldn’t have said something as simple as that. (page 144)
22. “Maybe I should cook something special tonight for Takako to show my gratitude.” (page 147)

Happy reading! 🙂

Note: saya beli buku ini di Periplus Bookstore

Jika tertarik dengan buku-buku literatur Jepang, silakan bisa baca berikut ini:

1. Mukjizat Enzim
2. Terapi Enzim 7 Kunci Rahasia Menuju Hidup Sehat
3. Hello, Habits karya Fumio Sasaki
4. Hidup Damai Tanpa Berpikir Berlebihan karya Tsuneko Nakamura dan Hiromi Okuda
5. The Life Changing Magic of Tidying Up Seni Beres-Beres dan Metode Merapikan karya Marie Kondo
6. Goodbye Things Seni Hidup Minimalis Ala Orang Jepang karya Fumio Sasaki
7. Suteru Gijutsu Seni Membuang Barang karya Nagisa Tatsumi
8. Ikigai Rahasia Hidup Bahagia dan Panjang Umur Ala Orang Jepang
9. Berani Tidak Disukai karya Ichiro Kishimi dan Fumitake Koga
10. Berani Bahagia karya  Ichiro Kishimi dan Fumitake Koga
11. The Book of Ikigai karya Ken Mogi
12. Keajaiban Otak Kanan karya dr Shigeo Harayuma 
13. Seni Hidup Bersaja karya Shunmyo Masuno
14. Merakit kapal karya Shion Miura
15. Keajaiban Toko Kelontong Namiya karya Keigo Higashino
16. Pulau Sae karya Mizuki Tsujimura
17. Convenience Store Woman | Gadis Minimarket karya Sayaka Murata
18. The Traveling Cat Charonicles karua Arikawa Hiro
19. Your Name karya Shinkai Makoto
20. Kitchen karya Banana Yashimoto
21. Mirai karya Mamoru Hosoda
22. Freeter Membeli Rumah karya Arikawa Hiro
23. Funiculi Funicula karya Toshikazu Kawaguchi
24. Twenty four eyes – Dua Belas Pasang Mata karya Sakae Tsuboi
25. Pasta Kacang Merah karya Durian Sukegawa
26. FUNICULI FUNICULA: Kisah-Kisah yang Baru Terungkap karya Toshikazu Kawaguchi