Return to Morisaki Bookshop

Welcome to the Jinbôchô district in Tokyo. It's a rather peculiar place where most of the signs belong to bookstores. My uncle's was an old, single-story wooden building, its weathered facade screaming "used bookstore." The interior was narrow, and it would have been difficult to fit more than five customers at a time. I had crossed its threshold for the first time three years prior.

Days pass gently at the Morisaki Bookstore. Whenever she has the chance, Takako comes to help her uncle and mingle with the residents of Jinbôchô. She knows that a bookstore is not only populated by books, but also by the souls who find refuge there.

To thank her uncle for his generosity, Takako offers him a stay at a hot spring resort. For a time, she is in charge of the place. She then invites her friend Wasada, hoping to formalize their relationship.

But he doesn't have enough time for her, absorbed by his novel project. Is there, however, a better place than the Morisaki Bookstore to share their love... and especially their love of books?

From the same author, Morisaki Bookstore has already captivated over a million readers worldwide.

“A whimsical and tender voice. Satoshi Yagisawa puts his reader in a good mood!” Publishers Weekly

Review from La Librairie du Grimoire Ancien

Return to the Morisaki Bookstore by Satoshi Yagisawa is a delicate sequel that lovingly extends the universe of the first volume, an international bestseller with over a million readers captivated. Published by Hauteville and translated by Anne-Claire Leroux, this novel confirms the author's talent for intimate and comforting stories.

Yagisawa masterfully crafts the Japanese bibliophile novel, in the vein of Mieko Kawakami's The Lovers of the Library or Ito Ogawa's Tsubaki Stationery Store. The author skillfully weaves a reflection on the bookstore as a refuge for souls, a space where books become life companions and catalysts for inner transformation.

The Jinbôchô district, a true character in the narrative, unfolds its unique atmosphere of alleyways filled with used bookstores. The relationship between Takako and Wasada, both book lovers but with different rhythms, accurately explores the tensions between literary creation and shared life. As Publishers Weekly highlights, Yagisawa possesses "a whimsical and tender voice" that puts the reader in a good mood. An ideal read for all lovers of bookstores, Japanese literature, and stories where books save and transform.

— La Librairie du Grimoire Ancien