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One of the characters in What You Are Looking for Is in the Library described a community as “contacts between people,” further opining that this includes our past and our future. The librarian of a humble community library near Tokyo understands this concept clearly. She is instrumental in assisting patrons to establish connections outside their personal comfort zones. Each chapter is devoted to a single person who finds herself or himself at a crossroads and must consider the question “What are you looking for?”
An incredibly shy and socially awkward young man is looking for an outlet to channel his creative energy. A young mother is looking for professional purpose now that she can no longer perform her original job. A recently retired gentleman searches for meaningful activity now that he no longer has a corporation to assist. None (or others in their own personal doldrums) is familiar with each other, yet each makes their way to the Reference Desk (via a clever variety of circumstances) and obtains just the assistance they need.
Reading how these individuals proceeded with the advice received was absolutely engrossing. There were no cliches, no sudden moments of revelation, and, most satisfactorily, no simple paths for anyone to tread. Each and every one of the main characters had to struggle with indecision and fear and then gather the courage to proceed into the unknown. There were plenty of missteps, and I never knew if any of them were going to ultimately succeed. Eventually, all of them needed to learn some form of trust, but it was widely different in every situation. Over time, characters from previous chapters appeared (often indirectly) in later chapters, thus reinforcing the idea of community first presented by an early character.
This was a thoroughly and completely enjoyable reading experience. The author (and translator) superbly maintained a steady pace as each person slowly found new bearings. I fully admit that I found it a little slow in the beginning, but once I realized that this was intentional, I was able to relax and appreciate not being able to predict the outcomes. A background character wisely taught one person, “Life is one revelation after another. Things don’t always go to plan, no matter what your circumstances. But the flip side is all the unexpected, wonderful things that you could never have imagined happening. Ultimately it’s all for the best that many things don’t turn out the way we hoped.”
What You Are Looking for Is in the Library is precisely that: a collection of unexpected revelations contained within a multitude of circumstances. I cannot recommend it highly enough; if you wish to be surprised and delighted by contemporary literature, this will fulfill that desire.
Rated: Mild. Six mild instances of profanity, four more that were a bit more vulgar.
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