Review By Harsimran Kaur
The story of life—do we know how it moves? The incessant tremble of pain invokes pejoratives from the unaccustomed that were once loyal; the lethargy piles on you, the dumb skeleton inside walks aimlessly to reach a cul-de-sac—doors shut as if the story of life has ended. Has it really? We are trapped between the delusional and the judgmental, and believe me this is how we lead life. And, then the paramouncy of pain piles on; pain arising from the disgruntled paradoxes living silently inside us. We let it grow unless it consumes us; what rescues us is our self-worth hidden behind the façade of self-deprecating indulgence.
Whats helps when we are stuck in the confounded pain? Self-talk helps; the silent whispers to one’s ears often help to ease out pain. We distract, re-define and restructure what breaks us, and then look at us; we are on a heuristic ride of self-discovery. The pain melts, the rancid stupor revivifies to something revelatory, and we finally decide to leave the rudderless boat to finally pull the ripcord of relevance.
All these efforts become our story and sometimes the enterprising struggle becomes our story too. The library in the book ‘What you are looking for is in the library’ by Michiko Aoyama is a cornucopia of books that vividly explain life’s secret receipes to assess the significance of one’s existence. The books in the library are given by Sayuri Kamochi, the librarian, considering the relevant chaos brewing inside each visitor.
‘Guri and Gura’, the book where a mice finds a huge egg proves to be a lambent in the otherwise dampening life of ‘Tomoka’. In the fracas of the departmental store, she finds her work frowsty, and that sardonic smile often leaves her amputated on the face. What it teaches her—is life making the best of what you have or just follow the cliché of ‘make hay while the Sun shines’? Will Tomoka slice the bread to her taste or continue to roll the dough in scalar?
Ryo works in the accounts department of a furniture manufacturer. He wants to shape his dream of being an ‘antique seller’. He wants to catch two bones with one hand; the idea to continue with his job is like kneading the dough everyday aimlessly but a fermented bite may leave a lump in the throat. The attempt to wash it down is met with an importunate caterwaul of being an ‘antiques owner’. It’s the book of ‘worm story’ that puts the hives back to the itch. Does Ryo strike a balance in his not so perfect life or continues to dive into the chimera?
The book, ‘Door to the Moon’ finds a profound affinity of how world works. Humans create barriers in front of them and lose insight when there perception takes over reality. Natsumi realizes that Universe is full of imperfections; nothing is stable. Will Natsumi, a mother to a toddler and a former editor, smooth her feathers or throw herself off her scent?
Hinoya’s life is rolling less than a spider on the edge of the wall; ready to fall or eager to uplift. He finds answers in the book, ‘Evolution: A Visual Read’. Will he be able to give his abstract creations a significance of their own? Will his desire to become an illustrator find joy in unraveling the mystery behind observation or the mundane experiments with life capitulate to a clanger?
Masao, now retired, comes across the poetry book, ‘Genge and Frogs’. If there is anything worthy to determine his self-worth, it’s the poetry arabesque. The flow of life never stops and neither it ceases—it is ‘us’ who choose to stand still and glare just like the cantation of words in the poem. Will Masao be able to assess the concatenations to life or will be left to hang disproportionately like a herniated disc clinging to the spine?
The librarian, Sayuri Kamochi, sits in the library and offers these books; perhaps is clairvoyant to understand the crack-jacks of each character’s life.
Is life all about making stories and learning from them? Every penny fallen, every sling of mud removed, every root stranded in isolation, the darkness of the night and the morning opened through a walnut or the heartbreak that scores million tears, and let’s not forget the laughter that hesitates to smile—all this and many more expressions in you and me tell a story. The library of words is inside us; it’s a matter of what we want to hear.
TAKE AWAY
Interesting and illuminating….
4 Responses
This is a great attempt at restoring it when the book review are so good. Thanks for sharing
Thank you, Harsimran Kaur, for the excellent and objective book review of “What are you looking for is in the Library” By Michiko Aoyama. thanks for sharing
Book review are very interesting 🤔
this is really nice book review i am going to read all the books you have reviewed thanks for sharing