The wise and charming international bestseller and hit Japanese movieabout a young woman who loses everything but finds herselfa tale of new beginnings, romantic and family relationships, and the comfort that can be found in books.Twenty-five-year-old Takako has enjoyed a relatively easy existenceuntil the day her boyfriend Hideaki, the man she expected to wed, casually announces hes been cheating on her and is marrying the other woman. Suddenly, Takakos life is in freefall. She loses her job, her friends, and her acquaintances, and spirals into a deep depression. In the depths of her despair, she receives a call from her distant uncle Satoru.An unusual man who has always pursued something of an unconventional life, especially after his wife Momoko left him out of the blue five years earlier, Satoru runs a second-hand bookshop in Jimbocho, Tokyos famous book district. Takako once looked down upon Satorus life. Now, she reluctantly accepts his offer of the tiny room above the bookshop rent-free in exchange for helping out at the store. The move is temporary, until she can get back on her feet. But in the months that follow, Takako surprises herself when she develops a passion for Japanese literature, becomes a regular at a local coffee shop where she makes new friends, and eventually meets a young editor from a nearby publishing house whos going through his own messy breakup.But just as she begins to find joy again, Hideaki reappears, forcing Takako to rely once again on her uncle, whose own life has begun to unravel. Together, these seeming opposites work to understand each other and themselves as they continue to share the wisdom theyve gained in the bookshop.Translated By Eric Ozawa
