天国の本屋

天国の本屋 was actually the first book i kept reading because i enjoyed the contents more than just the learning experience. It´s about a college graduate, who doesn´t really have any goals in life and (also because of that) can´t find any work. One day he is kind of forcefully transported to heaven, but not as we know it. All people who have died under the age of 100 go to heaven and stay there until they are 100 years old and get reincarnated. The story is now basically about him finding work there in a bookstore as well as his purpose in life. There is also some romance in it, especially the latter half.

I found this book moderately difficult. It´s neither aimed at foreigners nor young native children, so expect a good load of Kanji and even N1 grammar scattered about. Furigana is only used for rare readings or some odd words. Finally, there are some LONG ASS sentences in there sometimes that can completely humble you (read: me), lol. Thus, i would not read this as a first native book, but it´s a good choice after you´ve gone through the often suggested beginner books. It´s also moderately short in length, though there are no real chapters, just a bit of space every now and again. Lastly, there is a second book in this series, though i don´t know much else about it.

I liked the story and a few characters (there aren´t a lot to be fair). Even had to shed a manly tear at some point. Granted - when it comes down to it, it´s pretty basic in themes and structure but honestly that´s more you than can expect nowadays anyway.

Overall, pretty good read. I would recommend this book for people around solid N2 level.