‘What You are Looking for is in the Library’ by Michiko Aoyama (Review)

After enjoying a trip around Japan in the company of a thirteenth-century woman, today’s Women in Translation Month choice has us returning to the present day, for a slightly more sedate journey. We’ll be making the acquaintance of a number of people, each at a turning point in their life and wondering what to do next. Of course, as all good readers know, there’s somewhere guaranteed to cheer you up when you’re feeling low, and offer some sound (literary) advice to boot. Let’s take a trip, then, to a very special place – and keep the noise down, OK? ***** In a suburb of Tokyo, next to an elementary school, there’s a small community centre offering various courses for local residents, and if you go in, you’ll see a library. Go past the reception desk, and a smiling trainee, and you’ll come to a tiny corner with a sign saying ‘Reference’ hanging over it. There, sitting behind her desk, felting away with her needles, is Sayuri Komachi, the enigmatic librarian at the heart of Michiko…