Being a comic book collector when I was younger, seeing The Life-Changing Manga Of Tidying Up by Marie Kondo naturally drew me to it. The story is quite engaging even for a married thirty-something woman like myself. It is centered on a character named Chiaki, a bachelorette in her late twenties who has amassed clutter in her living space due to clinging to things she thought defined her from her past. Her apartment was so messy she put her garbage on the balcony which prompted her next-door neighbor, an unnamed guy, to knock on her door informing her that the garbage was stinking up his place. After her embarrassing encounter, she decides to hire a professional tidying consultant, KonMari.
To Chiaki’s surprise, KonMari is not a housecleaner/keeper but rather, a life coach if you will, someone whose methods help to identify the core of the problem and the reasons why she has too much clutter. She slowly takes Chiaki on a journey in discovering the painful truth by simply asking her a question, “What kind of life would you like to live here?”
Determined she’s had enough of her messy apartment and inability to hold a relationship, Chiaki goes along with KonMari’s lessons, oftentimes kicking and screaming but the lessons slowly sink in as she realizes there were things she bought and kept she barely even touched for all the wrong reasons, thanks to KonMari’s “Joy Criterion,” which meant keeping only the things that evoke joy in her life and discarding everything else that does not. Chiaki happened to be very sentimental about her past relationships that she collected stuff from what she tried in order to be close to the men in her life. Her interests/hobbies were not truly her own but mere reflections of whom she was with. More substance in the book than what it appears like actual helpful tips in getting one’s house in order (literally) besides the comics.
This is a quasi-self-help book (found this out as I was reading it) in comic form and it is cute and endearing as it is relatable. I read this in one sitting and although it has 186 pages, it was a quick read. It is presented in high quality laminated paperback and would be entertaining for any young adult over thirteen or the young at heart who is appreciative of manga.
I received a free copy of this book for an honest review from bloggingforbooksdotcom
[Image Credit: main image only – Search engine result, Special thanks to the OP]