What You Are Looking for is in the Library

by Michiko Aoyama

“There is no ‘why.’ It’s just the way things turned out. Isn’t it a good thing to want more great books in the world? I want to read them too.”

“Seitaro, you have to get published. To make Nishiya eat dirt.” Seitaro laughs softly and shakes his head again. “People who make fun of me now won’t stop, no matter what the future brings. They’ll always find some angle to attack me with. But don’t worry, I’m okay with it. I don’t care what people who’ve never read my novels think.”

“Seitaro, don’t you worry sometimes you might get old without ever getting your novels published?” His eyeballs roll to the corners, like he’s digging through the files in his brain. Then he speaks. “It’s not like I’m not worried, but Haruki Murakami debuted at thirty. Knowing that kept me going all through my twenties.” “Uh-huh.” “But when it started looking like I couldn’t count on that, I panicked and looked around for another role model. Jiro Asada made his debut at forty.” “Great. So you got a ten-year reprieve.” Seitaro laughs. “If I miss that deadline there are probably others. There’s no age limit on a writing debut.