The second in the four-volume series, this novel dives deeper into Kinyō-dō, or The Friday Bookshop. This book is set in summer, which means that Fumiya has been working part-time at the bookshop for about four months, and his crush on his boss, Makino,is only growing more serious. He is quickly becoming a solid member of the team, but much of the history behind the shop’s founding members—Makino, Yasu, and Sugawa, whose long friendship began with their Friday Book Club in senior high school—remains a mystery to him, even though he could already sense the shadow of their past in the spring (in vol. 1). Summer in Japan is traditionally a season when the living can feel the presence of the dead more vividly. This book unravels the poignant, haunting memories surounding the Book Club’s missing fourth member, Jin: the sunny, open-hearted friend who was killed in tragic circumstances while traveling around the world when he was only twenty years old.

This novel has the same charm as volume 1—with the shop’s vibrant characters and the threads of connections woven between the characters’ lives and a wide range of books—but it also breaks fresh ground. Instead of falling into a repetitive formula in each chapter, the overarching stories of Jin’s death and Fumiya’s emotional journey drive the entire novel. What the Book Club members have gone through and must continue to live with is extremely painful, but this makes their commitment to welcoming people and guiding them into the world of books all the more moving. This novel embodies what one character says: “In any book, there are always words you needed to hear right at that moment. Or maybe it’s the other way around—you can always find the words you need in any book you open.”
While it is entirely possible to enjoy volume 2 as a stand-alone book, it is a very satisfying sequel for fans of volume 1: the bookshop’s secret past is finally revealed, and the whole story tugs at the heart in surprising ways. It adds more depth to the series and will make you eager to return to the Friday Bookshop in the next volumes.