We follow again Takako as she continues to live her life around her uncle Satoru’s small second-hand bookshop in Tokyo. Around her, the bookshop remains a refuge for lonely or lost people. The novel follows everyday moments: customers visiting the shop, conversations about books, memories resurfacing, and relationships slowly changing. Gentle and reflective, this story celebrates second-hand bookshops, ordinary human connections, and the way books can help people heal, rediscover themselves, and create bonds with others. I can only agree with that.
“A writer I like left behind a passage like this in one of his books: “People forget all kinds of things. They live by forgetting. Yet our thoughts endure, the way waves leave traces in the sand.” Deep down, I hope that’s true. It gives me great hope.”