Hi! One my (23F) older coworkers (62F) recently lent me 'What you are looking for is in the library' by Michiko Aoyama as she thought I would like it as much as she did. It was a pretty hopeful and inspiring quick read (if we ignore the constant fatphobia). As I'm not usually one to read the sweet and inoffensive type of stories, I'm really struggling to find something with that feeling to offer her that both of us could enjoy. I already asked help to my local library's recommendation service, but they only recommended me "cozy books" from japan and korea, I liked the idea of a change of pace each chapter, but these premises just felt like the copy/paste of each other. I am looking for something in that vein emotion wise not a trope by trope clone of it.
At first I was going to go with Becky Chambers' Monk and Robot series but the french translation chose to go with inclusive writing for the main character (iel) and hippie generation or not she's definitely not progressive enough for that.
She's a french woman in her sixties so no french book please she probably read all of those already, unless it's something that only got popular recently like 'I Who Have Never Known Men'. Foreign books would be best but no japanese or korean book if it's clearly part of the quote on quote cozy story genre.
Genre books like sci-fi and fantasy are fine as long as they are literary leaning and not too tropey (no quote on quote cozy fantasy or complex systems please). No plain romance please, it's fine only as long as it remains an after thought within the character's wider story.
We share a love for books, cats, life as single women and summer life in the countryside/mountain.
Some books I love that could have been perfect mood and prose wise if they had not been so damned depressing or nightmarish a.k.a total opposites emotion wise from what I'm looking for : 'Stoner', by John Williams ; 'The Wall', by Marlen Haushofer ; 'I Who Have Never Known Men', by Jacqueline Harpman, Annihilation, by Jeff VanderMeer.
Some books that could have been great emotion wise, had they not been meant for children or mega famous already : 'Anne of Green Gables', 'The Hobbit', 'The Little Prince'.
The only book I currently have on my tbr that could (maybe) fit the part is 'A month in the Country' by James Lloyd Carr.
Feel free to list as many books you love as you can I will do the sorting myself.
I'm changing workplace the 24th of june so this is a pretty urgent one, sorry for the rush, and thank you so much for the help !!!!!!!
by xenillith