“What you are looking for is in the library” is an inspirational feel-good book by Japanese author Michiko Aoyama that incorporates magic realism through interconnected short stories. Five characters who are facing crossroads in their lives and need a nudge in the right direction, find themselves at one point or another, in front of the desk of Mrs. Komachi, the Reference Librarian. She is a physically imposing yet comforting presence with an uncanny ability to tap into “what your are looking for” and use her magic computer to generate a list of books: the ones requested and one that is completely unrelated to the others. The oddball book and the bonus gift -a mini-plush figure Mrs. Komachi gives to go with the books- leads each character onto their respective soul-satisfying journey.

The author presents stories from Gen Z to Baby Boomer in order to showcase the librarian’s ability to bridge all generations: 21 year-old Tomoka, a sales girl who is faced with adulting and a work-crush for the first time; 30 year-old Hiroya, a quintessential starving artist with a Manga obsession who, like Tomoka, is facing adulting 101 issues but with crippling anxiety (A caveat to Christian readers, the Hiroya story might be offensive); 35 year-old Ryo, an accountant who yearns to start his own antiques shop but is too fearful; 40 year-old Natsumi, a careerwoman trying to balance late motherhood, her marriage and a career change; and 65 year-old Masao, a retiree of the Honeydome Cookie Company that doesn’t have a hobby or know what to do with himself in retirement. It’s good for him that the librarian met her husband over some Honeydome cookies. Unbeknownst to each character, their lives are intertwined by the library at the Community House.

I highly recommend this enjoyable read. It’s a three olive martini with a twist! It gives hope to anyone in a rut or looking to make a change in their lives. It is chock full of wise anecdotes and some unusual translation choices from its original Japanese give the book an air of Asian authenticity. The author’s writing is crisp and direct whereby the plot is eloquently delivered. “What you are looking for is in the library” is reminiscent of the “Before the coffee gets cold” series by Toshikazu Kawaguchi and “Elsewhere” by Yan Ge. For readers who enjoy closure, all dilemmas and questions of “whatever happened to?” are neatly resolved by the end of the book.

This was a good read although it did get a bit repetitive by the middle of it. I really liked how the characters connected the librarian's strange recommendations to their life. A nice quiet read that I'd recommend.

This was an interesting read. I loved that we have a library and a librarian who can see exactly what her patrons need by reading their souls.
I found the characters intriguing and related to many of them who were at a crossroads in their life.
Our librarian is helpful in guiding them to books or programs that can help them find their way to just what they might be looking for.
An interesting read.

Thanks NetGalley for this ARC.