Days at the Morisaki Bookshop

Takako is the protagonist and narrator of Days at the Morisaki Bookshop who undergoes a journey of self-discovery while staying with her uncle. In the beginning of the novel, Takako’s boyfriend Hideaki breaks her heart by admitting that he is planning to marry another woman. 

Takako, who already suffers from a lack of confidence, descends into a deep depression, during which she stays away from the outside world and other people. Though her uncle invites her to stay at his bookshop in the hope of lifting her spirits, his plan does not initially work, as Takako stays in her room and sleeps: “My routine didn’t change much once I’d settled in. I would open up first thing in the morning, tend the store until my uncle arrived and relieved me of duty. Then I would trudge upstairs, bury myself in the covers of my futon, and sleep” (21). Takako does the bare minimum to survive and earn her keep, otherwise sleeping more than half the day away. She does this to avoid thinking about Hideaki and her own feelings. She is not confident enough in herself to confront them and move on, and therefore shies away from actually living her life.