In Tokyo, there is a neighbourhood with the highest number of bookstores in the world. It is called Jinbocho where book lovers can browse to their heart’s delight and where hunters of first editions or autographed copies prowl the bookcases. The Morisaki bookshop, a small family-run shop, is so packed with books that barely five people can fit inside.
Books crowd the shelves and invade every corner of the floor; when a customer arrives, the owner, Satoru, immediately pops out from behind the counter. Recently, his wife Momoko has joined him, and often, in her free time after work, their niece Takako also helps out. For the first time, the girl does not feel lonely; she has new friends and new rituals to keep her company: the annual Jinbocho festival, the café around the corner, or an unexpected visitor.
Because, as she has discovered, a bookstore is populated not by the characters contained in the books, but also by those who frequent it. And those stories create bonds. As a sign of gratitude, Takako gives her aunt and uncle a trip, promising to look after the shop while they are away.
Everything seems to be going swimmingly, but then why is Satoru behaving so strangely? And what does that woman with the red umbrella want who has appeared at the end of the street? How many other stories, emotions, and treasures does the Morisaki bookshop hold?Loved by thousands of readers worldwide, More Days at the Morisaki Bookshop is a story of hope, friendship and the healing power of books. Will we see you in the bookshop this summer?PRAISE FOR DAYS AT THE MORISAKI BOOKSHOP:’Brims with genuine charm

‘So über-zeitgeisty that it might have been written this morning, yet it is far more than merely topical or trendy, as deep moral, political, social, cultural, architectural and lingual problems collide throughout this short novel. A contemporary gem.’ SpectatorWelcome to the Japan of tomorrow. Here, the practice of a radical sympathy toward criminals has become the norm and a grand skyscraper in the heart of Tokyo is planned to house wrongdoers in compassionate comfort – Sympathy Tower Tokyo.

Acclaimed architect Sara Machina has been tasked with designing the city’s new centrepiece, but is riven by doubt. Haunted by a terrible crime she experienced as a young girl, she wonders if she might inherently disagree with the values of the project, which should be the pinnacle of her career. As Sara grapples with these conflicting emotions, her relationship with her gorgeous – and much younger – boyfriend grows increasingly strained.

In search of solace, in need of creative inspiration, Sara turns to the knowing words of an AI chatbot…Awarded Japan’s highest literary prize, Sympathy Tower Tokyo is an extraordinary novel from one of the most exciting new voices in world literature. Partly inspired by conversations with an artificial intelligence, it offers an extraordinary defence of the power of language written by humans, a touching exploration of the imaginative impulse, and an often hilarious send up of our modern world’s unrelenting conformity. ‘A bold interrogation of crime, punishment and redemption’ Economist’Stuns and illuminates.

Sympathy Tower Tokyo is an ode to language and possibility and the ongoing question of how to be in an ever-changing world.’ Bryan Washington, author of Memorial’A brilliantly ambitious struggle and mediation on language, thought and existence. A wondrous book’, Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah, author of Chain-Gang All-Stars