Book By: Michiko Aoyama
I read “What You Are Looking For Is in the Library” during one of the most emotionally tangled times of this year, just before I travelled to my home country. At that moment, I was really feeling the weight of stress and frustration: deadlines, emotional distance, and a huge uncertainty about where things were heading. You know those moments when the world keeps moving, but it feels like you’ve forgotten how to keep up? That was me.
When I picked up Michiko Aoyama’s book, I wasn’t expecting much. I wanted something light. What I got was something quietly profound.
The novel is structured around six people who find their lives changed after a visit to a library and an encounter with Sayuri Komachi, a librarian who hands out books that seem completely off — at first. These characters, all lost in different ways, find new directions, confidence, or hope through these interactions. But unlike them, I didn’t get a metaphorical book from a mysterious librarian. What I did get was a kind of warmth and affirmation I didn’t realize I needed.
What I loved most was how Aoyama’s characters never achieve flashy success or make radical life changes. Their growth is subtle, interior, and real. They choose slightly different paths, reconnect with forgotten dreams, or simply accept who they are with a little more grace. And perhaps that was the reflection I needed.
Cover photo from penguin.com.au