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How Solvej Balle turned 18 November into one of literature’s most arresting time loops

2025-12-01 23:45:38

Writer Solvej Balle achieved literary stardom in her native Denmark with the publication of her 1993 novelIfølge loven. Today, that fame has spread with the English-language translation of her seriesOn the Calculation of Volume. The first volume was shortlisted for the International Booker Prize 2025 earlier this year.While the books have been decades in the making, the narrative revolves around only a single day. The story follows an antiquarian bookkeeper named Tara Selter, who is stuck reliving 18 November. You might think that re-experiencing the same day is dull but in Balle’s hands, it is always compelling. Here, Balle discusses her unique time-loop narrative, whether the novel is a love story and why she picked 18 November.You began writing the series 10 years after deciding on the title. Had you already planned that this would be a seven-book series? At what point did you realise there was so much material in a single day?I initially thought that it would just be a novel. But that’s a very vague term, isn’t it? I knew it wouldn’t be a short story and I thought of it as a single book. I wrote bits and pieces at the start – just fragments. After I began writing it properly, around 1999 or 2000, I envisioned it as a two-volume book. Later, I imagined that there would be four. I realised in about 2017 that there would be seven books when I started to see very different pieces, all with certain themes or atmospheres. Has writing the series changed how you experience time in the real world? Yes, especially with ageing. I have grown nearly 40 years older over that time. I knew early on that Tara Selter was going to be there for a long time and that she would age. At first I was trying to understand what it meant to age but it’s hard when you are 25 or 26. I interviewed people and asked them what it is like. Later on, as I started to see signs of ageing on myself, I thought, ‘Oh my goodness, this is research.’ I had to understand firsthand what it’s like to have an ageing body to write the story. Did you ever have any doubts about whether the concept of repeating the same day would work?I certainly knew from the beginning that it was a stupid idea. I tried to throw it out many times because in the 1980s, there was a certain doubt about writing from a concept. I often felt that I had to let go of it but it kept coming back. I realised that there was something in it that I wanted to know more about – the philosophy of the repetition; what happens if the day repeats itself. I hadn’t yet seen the filmGroundhog Daybecause it didn’t exist at the time, so I never thought that things would simply click back – that everything would be the same each day. I knew that Tara would age and that she would move from place to place. When I finally watchedGroundhog Day, I was certain that I wouldn’t write it in the same way. It felt as though someone had researched for me about how not to do this. There were so many philosophical questions in it that I wanted to embark on. And if ever I felt bored, I would let it go. I’ve started many projects and I believe that when you start something, you’re not required to finish it. If it can’t keep you ticking, there’s no point. To what extent do you look at the books as stories about relationships as much as they are a philosophical reflection on the meaning of time?I thought of the first book as nothing other than a love story. But suddenly, all sorts of details came in that were not part of the plan. It is as if the love story were dissolved in the mechanics of time. What was your reason behind the choice of the date? Originally, the date was 17 October. I thought that for a very long time, even after I began writing the story 25 years ago. Yesterday, I was sitting near the sea and looking up at a cloudless October sky. I have had this feeling many times: October is too crisp, too sharp and too clear. I needed something more blurred. There was too much machinery in October and when I landed on 18 November, I realised that it worked much better. November gives more than it promises. We don’t expect much of it, so when it gives us something wonderful, we are rather surprised because it’s the kind of month that we need to get through.You’re now working on the final book of the series. How does it feel to approach saying goodbye to a project that has been so significant in your life? Some time ago, I would have said, ‘It’s great that I can see the end of it because I’ve been working on it for so long.’ But I’m not sure. I think I will miss Tara Selter, though I don’t think she will miss me. 

Culture

Perfectly in tune and en pointe: ‘Black Sabbath – The Ballet’

2025-12-06 12:38:13

Spot the odd one out: “Ozempic, the Cookbook”; “Trappist Monks Sing the Hits”; “From Cicero to Starmer, a Guide to Oratory”; “Black Sabbath – The Ballet.” Yes, they’re all completely insane but the final one – a choreographed musical drama that mixes plié, demi-pointe and the heavy-metal legends behind “Paranoid” and “War Pigs” – is actually real. What fresh hell is this? Well, a devilishly good one.On Wednesday evening, I attended the first night of a short London run of the Black Sabbath ballet at Sadler’s Wells before it heads to the Edinburgh Festival. I love Sadler’s Wells and warmed to this broadened church even more. Usually I’d see some well put-together ballet students peering bright-eyed into the auditorium, while men named Hilary listen with performative rapture to women named Hillary over white burgundy in the foyer. But on Wednesday, there were long-haired, black-clad metal fans rubbing shoulders with corduroy and amber necklaces. What a joy to hear snakebite and black being ordered – the ingredients for which had been purchased specifically for this run (Pina Bausch fans being more inclined to lemon kombucha). And then? Let’s relevé and let’s rock!Off the bat: ‘Black Sabbath – The Ballet’ strikes the right chord(Image: Johan Persson)Black Sabbath – The Balletis a joint effort between Birmingham Royal Ballet’s director, the great Carlos Acosta, and that other magus of the stage who you might not have expected to see in the same room, Black Sabbath’s lead guitarist and main songwriter, Tony Iommi. On stage, it’s a fruitful and beguiling mix of young dancers – in sheer black leotards or 1970s-style denim streetwear – and a Tony Iommi-alike leather-clad guitarist (charmingly played by Marc Hayward), who pierces the excellent contemporary classical score by Sun Keting with his Black Sab riffs. The ballet hangs together by virtue of the virtuosity and wholehearted performances of the sinfonia, guitarist and – pick of the lot – the dancers. The piece is at its best plotting Sabbath’s formative period in a very industrial early-1970s Birmingham, in which Iommi and fellow bandmates Geezer Butler and Bill Ward are gainfully, painfully employed in jobs noisy, dangerous and factory-related; while Ozzy Osbourne, after working in an abattoir, is doing a little jail time for burglary. The score is repetitive, loud and percussive – echoing the pounding rhythms of the metalworking machine that would deny Iommi, already an excellent guitarist, of the tips of two of his fingers. It’s true: no Black Sabbath, no heavy metal. The choreography is stark, precise, hypnotic and the dancers phenomenal. Later, there’s a black swan leitmotif, a likely portent to excess and addiction. “Paranoid”, moi?!Centre stage: The dancers stole the show(Image: Johan Persson)You get the classics – “Paranoid”, again, “War Pigs”, “Iron Man”, “Black Sabbath” – but it’s not a jukebox ballet. It’s a strange beast, that, like the possibly apocryphal bat whose head Osbourne was said to have bitten off on stage, is not quite all there but definitely contains a lot of blood and guts – and can certainly fly. That evening, Iommi slinked on stage for the encore of “Paranoid” and the house erupted, enraptured. The quiet man of the world’s once-loudest band, blinking happily behind his blue-tinged shades. Perfectly in tune and somehowen pointe. Want more stories like these in your inbox?Sign up to Monocle’s email newsletters to stay on top of news and opinion, plus the latest from the magazine, radio, film and shop.Your EmailSubscribe

Culture

Putting Southeast Asia on the map: Art Jakarta’s Tom Tandio on what’s driving Indonesia’s creative scene

2025-12-16 23:01:17

With the international art world dominated by juggernauts such as Art Basel and Frieze, standing out on the scene can be difficult. For the director of Art Jakarta Tom Tandio, the only way to achieve this is to be distinctive. “If you look at how Frieze and Art Basel run their programmes, a lot of the same galleries are participating in both fairs,” says Tandio over an iced tea in the lobby of Artotel Thamrin – an Indonesian hotel brand that decorates its spaces with the works of local artists. He admits that international mainstays are excellent but they can feel cold and lack a sense of place. You could be in a vast conference centre in Hong Kong, Miami or Basel and barely feel the difference between the events. Though Art Jakarta also takes place in a convention centre – Tandio moved the fair from its original home at The Ritz-Carlton soon after assuming his position as director – the number of booths is capped at 80 to prevent visitors from feeling overwhelmed.Fair play: Tom Tandio(Image: The Leonardi/Art Jakarta)For the director, helping Jakarta to stand out on the international stage means highlighting its strengths as a bustling hub for regional trade. To participate in the fair, galleries must either be from Asia or present Asian pieces. “We want to make sure that Art Jakarta is a 100 per cent Asian event,” he says. “We have to find a unique angle and this is the perfect event for people who want to focus on Asian artworks.” Indonesian galleries take pride of place and account for about half of this year’s 75 participants. Pillars of the city’s contemporary art scene, such as Roh Projects, are given space to breathe, out of the shadow of big Western players. This year Roh will display a monumental sculpture titled “Object Permanence (Intro)” by artist Aditya Novali, an architectural engineer by training who lives and works in Surakarta, Central Java. Japan’s Kaikai Kiki Gallery and Taiwan’s experimental stalwart TKG+ are among the regional institutions taking part. A few major European names are willing to play by the rules too. Esther Schipper will present almost entirely South Korean artists (represented by its new branch in Seoul), including Anicka Yi and Hyunsun Jeon.Tandio’s formula seems to be working. When he started his role in 2019, Art Jakarta only hosted a single fair. Now it also organises Art Jakarta Gardens, a thriving outdoor show that was originally designed as an accessible event for people during the coronavirus pandemic. Next year sees the launch of Art Jakarta Paper, a fair dedicated to works on paper – prints, sketches, photographs or books – where canvases are banned. Indonesia’s wider art scene is thriving as well. Programmes such as Art Subs in Surabaya and the Ubud Art Ground are also attracting big crowds. Globally recognised museums are admittedly still thin on the ground but it’s only a matter of time before the gaps are filled. Indonesia’s vast size and growing economy indicate that there is a network of knowledgeable local collectors and some deep pockets to sponsor projects and attract talent. In 2017 businessman Haryanto Adikoesoemo opened Museum Macan, a bold contemporary-art space, and appointed its new director, Venus Lau, in 2024. A respected writer and curator, Lau moved from Shanghai to Jakarta after leading and advising various major art institutions across China and Hong Kong.Before taking on Art Jakarta, Tandio was a regional director of Art Stage Singapore – the forebear of the current Art SG. His experience with the two fairs offers an insight into why Singapore has struggled for decades to secure a spot on the international art calendar and make Jakarta and Manila’s creative scene appeal to serious collectors. Foreign artists and buyers attend Art Jakarta but locals still rule. “Not having to fly everyone in has been the biggest difference,” he says.Even the recent anti-government protests – another contrast to Singapore, where public demonstrations are almost unheard of – shouldn’t throw the occasion off its stride. Unrest often inspires great art. With Indonesia’s economic rise set to continue and its capital attracting greater interest as a tourist destination, Art Jakarta is destined to become internationally celebrated. 

Culture

How Broadsheet founder Nick Shelton is bringing his Australian city-guide formula to London

2025-12-23 19:57:18

Like many Australians, Nick Shelton worked as a barista in London in his early twenties and found the UK capital to be “a dynamic, cosmopolitan metropolis”. In 2009, after returning to his home country, he founded the city-guide company Broadsheet. It initially focused on highlighting what to eat, see and do in Melbourne, then expanded to Sydney, Brisbane, Adelaide, Perth and, in 2022, New Zealand. Now, Shelton is back in London and bringing his discerning eye to the city that sparked that sense of possibility.(Image: Evening Standard/Hulton Archive via Getty Images)“We focus on reportage and questioning why something is worth knowing about,” says Shelton. “It’s not about churning out bits of ‘news’.” He also believes in print, which is “where we can control who we are as a brand and as a publisher”.Broadsheet London’s first paper edition is out now, available for free in cafés, hotels and other businesses.Broadsheet isn’t the only organisation newly attempting to document London. In the past year, several digital newsletters have appeared, including London Centric, which is among the UK’s top local news products in terms of subscribers. The site, which began as a one-man operation run by formerGuardianmedia editor Jim Waterson, has 30,000 subscribers, 3,500 of whom pay a monthly fee for exclusive investigations, event invites and access to the editor.It relies on shoe-leather journalism: being out and about and talking to people. “This is a brilliant city,” says Waterson. “That’s the voice I want London Centric to have – laughing at the preposterous nature of the city, rather than despairing that it’s beyond saving.”Five outlets reportingreputably on London:1.BroadsheetAussie Nick Shelton’s new launch covers hospitality and leisure.2.London CentricEx-Guardianjournalist Jim Waterson’s deep-dive newsletter publishes agenda-setting investigations.3.The LondonerManchester-based Mill Media moved south to start this promising capital-focused website.4.The FenceA London-based magazine packed with satire, fiction and proper reporting on the capital.5.The SliceNews and culture across the borough of Tower Hamlets in east London, founded by Tabitha Stapely and dedicated to community journalism.To read Monocle’s excellent city guide to London, taphere.

Culture

‘The Winter Warriors’ by Olivier Norek tells the unknown stories of Finnish soldiers and their quiet heroism

2025-12-09 09:04:47

The Winter Warriors, French writer Olivier Norek’s first historical novel, tells the story of ordinary Finns who fought during the 1939 Soviet invasion of their country, taking up positions across icy plains and forests. Despite the harsh conditions, they managed to repel the enemy’s winter advance, relying on white camouflage outfits, ingenuity and the skills of a brilliant sniper, Simo Häyhä. Norek spoke to Monocle about the deep research that the book required and why this front of the war – little known internationally – was so historically important.Illustration: Simon BaillyTo write ‘The Winter Warriors’, you travelled to Finland to experience living there during the winter months. What did you learn?It helped me to understand that the Finnish soldiers were in an impossible situation. When the temperature drops to minus 40C, you become paralysed. The cold doesn’t just make you shake – it attacks you. You can’t protect yourself, you can’t think. And yet the Finns were able to come up with strategies and stay in the snow to fight for hours without moving.I was a field cop and like to think of myself as a field author today, so I wanted to know how the Finnish snipers were able to stay in the snow for so long. One thing that I had to do was get drunk on the same alcohol that the soldiers did – it helped to keep them warm in the snow. I also got hold of the same gun that they used and went into the forest to practise shooting with it. I knew that to write about it I had to know the bang of the gun going off, how it recoils and the smell of the powder.What first inspired you to write about this war?Not so long ago I was in the south of France and heard Vladimir Putin’s voice on the radio. He was kindly reminding us that he had nuclear weapons and that he wouldn’t hesitate to use them if we supported Ukraine. It scared me but I knew that fear was fed by ignorance, so I wanted to find out more about Russia’s relations with the rest of the world in the last century. That’s when I learned about this forgotten war that took place over 105 days in minus 51C weather. I also discovered the name of Simo Häyhä, who was apparently the best sniper of all time. I knew that I had the ingredients for an incredible story.Why does what the Finns achieved in 1939 matter to the rest of the world?It happened in 1939, at the very beginning of the Second World War. At the time, Joseph Stalin and Adolf Hitler knew that one day they would have to fight one another but they didn’t know when. So when Russia tried to invade Finland, it was like a preview for Hitler of any future confrontation with Stalin. He was able to see what conflict with Russia would be like. They had everything that they needed to win, from arms and tanks to soldiers – yet they didn’t succeed. So when Hitler saw that, he thought that Russia was a weak giant. It was after this that he decided to send four million Nazi soldiers into the Soviet Union to start Operation Barbarossa, precipitating the beginning of the Third Reich’s fall.That’s why I think we have to thank those Finnish soldiers because without them, our borders and maybe even our language and culture wouldn’t be the same as it is today. I felt ashamed that we had erased a story that had potentially changed the course of history. It was one of the reasons why I wanted to tell the story exactly how it happened. I invented nothing.Tell us about the reaction to the book in Finland.When I visited the country after the book’s publication, I was received by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. We organised some signings in bookshops and they were completely full; we had to find chairs from other shops because there weren’t enough. On the third day of the visit, we heard the Finnish president say that there was a book written by a French author that everyone must read. That was incredible.Finnish people are humble and secretive. I think that they weren’t able to write a book about how they had been heroes during that war. They needed someone from the outside, someone foreign, to say that. So this isn’t my story, it isn’t my culture or my heritage and these soldiers aren’t my brothers in arms. I’m just the messenger. I want to ensure that this story will never be forgotten.There is humour in the book too.I worked with the military in former Yugoslavia during the war in the 1990s and was later a policeman in Paris’s Seine-Saint-Denis, an area with one of France’s highest crime rates. If you want to survive mentally – if you want to have a family life and exist with all of this horror and violence – you have to have a wonderful sense of humour. In fact, humour, love and friendship are stronger when there is death all around you because you realise that you don’t have much time. You think that today might be the last day, this laugh the last laugh or this kiss the last kiss. You need to be with people.Do you see echoes of today’s geopolitical situation in the story of the war?Yes. It’s a historical book but also about men and women – about courage, resistance and fighting for what’s right. This is very important: when Russian soldiers are serving in Ukraine, they are fighting because they have received orders to do so. But like the Finns in the Second World War, the Ukrainians today are fighting for their houses, their land, their nations and the ones they love. That is a just cause. When you have that on your side, you are almost indestructible.There are many differences between the Finnish and Ukrainian war efforts. When Finland was attacked in 1939, they were totally alone. Today, Ukraine has the support of Europe. But there are parallels because it isn’t just the fight of an army of soldiers – it is a war that involves everyone in the country. Men and women, soldiers and farmers: the entire nation is part of the war effort.Tell us about the star of your book, Simo Häyhä.For Finnish people, Häyhä is on the level of Napoleon Bonaparte or Joan of Arc – very, very famous. So everybody has a story to tell about him. I worked with soldiers, veterans and snipers and found his diary. I spent two and a half years with my feet in the snow, trying to get as close to his character as possible. He wasn’t just a legend – Häyhä was a myth. There was something supernatural about the way that he could stay still in such cold weather, just waiting for the Russian snipers to move and reveal their positions. And he could make shots at about 500 metres. Nowadays, the best snipers can’t explain the shots that he made because they seem impossible. But there are witnesses to prove that he did perform these feats. I think that it was because he wasn’t shooting with his eyes so much as with his heart, his courage and his rage.When Häyhä was about 80 years old, a German journalist asked him whether he was a hero. And Häyhä replied that he just did what he had to do, like the rest of the Finnish soldiers around him. Like every Finn, he was very modest. I liked him because he wasn’t a murderer or assassin. He was just a man who defended his country.This interview was first broadcast on Monocle Radio’s ‘Meet the Writers’, hosted by Georgina Godwin. Head to Monocle Radio for more.About the intervieweeAward-winning crime novelist Norek started his career as an aid worker in Yugoslavia and Guyana, followed by a stint as a policeman in Paris. He is the co-creator of French TV seriesLes Invisibles.

Culture

How Wonderfruit founder Pete Phornprapha built Asia’s most global festival

2025-12-13 00:52:47

Wonderfruit, Asia’s answer to Burning Man and Glastonbury, is preparing to host its 10th edition in Thailand this December. The festival’s founder, Pete Phornprapha, joined us at The Chiefs conference in Jakarta earlier this year, where he spoke about his formative experiences in the 1990s rave scene and the dangers of limiting the genre of music that you dance to. (Image: All Is Amazing)How would you describe the unique proposition of Wonderfruit?It’s a five-day, 24-hour, fully immersive celebration of culture in Chonburi, a province located just one and a half hours from Bangkok. It’s not just a music festival – it’s also a living, breathing cultural experiment. We own the land where the festival is held; we have planted more than 30,000 trees using the Miyawaki method; and we create permanent structures that allow for deep cultural exchange. We must be the most multicultural gathering of 28,000 people anywhere in the world. You go to Burning Man and more than 80 per cent of its attendees are American. At Glastonbury, I would say 90 per cent are from the UK. We attract a truly global audience and we’re not just showcasing culture – we’re actively creating it. We collaborate with architects, musicians and cultural practitioners to experiment and innovate.What was the initial market gap that inspired the first event?When I came back to Thailand in 2010, there was a lot of news about the environmental crisis and I became a bit scared. I wanted to become part of the dialogue rather than just listening to it and I thought that culture would be an interesting way to engage people. We began producing short films, none of which we shared publicly, and then it just catapulted into assembling a gathering.(Image: Courtesy of Wonderfruit)(Image: Courtesy of Wonderfruit)How have you scaled the festival since that first gathering?Organically. We do very little marketing and PR. We have seen remarkable growth from the likes of India, China, Japan, South Korea, India, Indonesia and the rest of Southeast Asia. France is now our largest contingent from Europe; it beat the UK last year. The only country where numbers are down is Thailand. Connecting to the local audience is very important to us and it’s something that we need to improve.The festival is like a vibrant, 24-hour village. We host continuous cultural programming that blends music, art and environmental consciousness. About 70 per cent of our visitors fly in for Wonderfruit and most of them stay for five days, either camping or lodging in unique accommodations such as our Slow Wonder bungalows. Locals tend to book rooms in hotels nearby, spending about 10 hours with us at a time.(Image: Courtesy of Wonderfruit)What pricing have you landed on for stays in the Wonderfruit Village?A five-day pass costs about $280 (€240), with accommodation options ranging from free tent pitching to $5,500 (€4,717) bungalows. Interestingly, we’ve noticed that as the years progress, fewer people opt for free camping and the more expensive options are increasing in popularity.Are you looking at international expansion?We’ve been asked many times to bring Wonderfruit elsewhere, with particular interest from Japan. It’s not something that we’re closing the door to but the result wouldn’t be Wonderfruit. We would have to spend extensive time in Japan to understand the country and explore how to express the same kind of wonder and culture in a local context. (Image: Courtesy of Wonderfruit)And finally, there’s something we’ve been wondering.Are young people still dancing?They certainly do at Wonderfruit. But what’s important is that we dance to all genres of music. It gives us enormous joy to see people dancing tomor lam, which is similar to Thai folk music. When Wonderfruit started, you would only hearmor lamin taxis and in the countryside.

Culture

Contrary to what you might have heard, Europe is a 21st-century success story

2025-12-03 01:26:38

Listen to the critics and you would think Europe was finished. Too bureaucratic, they say. Cannot agree on migration. Moving at glacial pace while Silicon Valley races ahead. It has become such a tired narrative that we have almost started believing it ourselves.But here is what the doom-mongers miss: Europe has quietly become one of history’s most remarkable success stories. We are talking about a continent that has created unprecedented prosperity while maintaining social cohesion and projecting influence. This transformation represents a fundamental shift in how we should understand European power and potential.Consider what Europe has survived over just the past decade and a half. The eurozone nearly collapsed under sovereign debt. Britain walked away. A pandemic shut down the global economy. War returned to European soil for the first time in generations. Each crisis was supposed to be the final nail in the coffin. Yet here we are: institutions intact and co-operation deeper than ever, constantly adapting and finding pragmatic solutions. Not bad for a region that supposedly can’t get its act together.True colours: Copenhagen shows Europe at its best(Image: Hilary Swift/Bloomberg via Getty Images)Walk through Copenhagen, Vienna or Zürich and try to argue this is a continent in decline. European cities dominate every quality-of-life survey worth its salt (read Monocle’s here). The trains run on time. You can get decent healthcare without going bankrupt. A bright kid from a working-class family can still make it to university. These are not small things – they are the stuff that determines whether ordinary people can live decent lives.Innovation? Please. We are not trying to be Silicon Valley – and that is exactly the point. While others chase the latest app or cryptocurrency bubble, European companies are solving real problems. BioNTech helped to save the world during the coronavirus pandemic. Novo Nordisk is tackling diabetes and obesity. ASML builds the machines that make computer chips possible. Airbus keeps people flying. Our renewable-energy sector is reshaping how the world powers itself. This is not flashy disruption – it is the kind of deep, patient innovation that moves civilisation forward.Even our supposed weakness – all that regulation – has become a superpower. General data protection regulation (GDPR) did not just protect European privacy; it forced tech giants everywhere to change how they handle data. Our environmental standards, consumer protections and competition rules get copied around the world. Europe is second only to the US in economic clout and miles ahead of China in per-capita wealth. Ten of the world’s 20 most competitive economies are European. Luxembourg, Norway and Switzerland all outproduce US workers per hour, while still taking proper lunch breaks and holidays.Sure, we have problems. Our capital markets are a mess of national silos. The birth rate is falling. Getting 27 countries to agree on anything can feel like herding cats. But these are fixable problems, not existential threats. Integrate financial markets, get smarter about attracting talent from abroad and commit properly to green investment. None of this is rocket science.The real problem is in our heads. We have internalised the decline narrative so completely that we cannot see our own success. Meanwhile, the world is shifting around us. The US is tearing itself apart over culture wars and conspiracy theories. China is staring down a demographic cliff and drowning in debt. Against this backdrop, Europe’s combination of prosperity, stability and openness starts to look pretty attractive.The 21st century will not belong to whoever has the loudest voice or builds the biggest military. It will belong to whoever can integrate diverse societies, create sustainable prosperity and maintain democratic institutions under pressure. Europe has been quietly mastering these skills for decades. The only thing missing is the confidence to recognise what it has accomplished.Professor Arturo Bris is a Monocle contributor and director of Switzerland’s World Competitiveness Center. He is the author of ‘SuperEurope: The Unexpected Hero of the 21st Century’. Want more on Europe’s potential? Read how the continent could gain from a US brain drain. This story originally appeared in The Monocle Minute…Monocle’s free-to-read daily newsletter. Sign up to get insight from Monocle in your inbox every day.Your EmailSubscribe

Culture

Far from a closed book, Tokyo’s T-Site matters more than ever

2025-12-16 07:29:35

I’m generally averse to recommendation lists. Every city has been Google Doc’d and mapped to death, especially Tokyo. And yet there’s one longtime Monocle favourite where I always send visitors: Tsutaya Books in Daikanyama, better known as T-Site. Not only is this a design pilgrimage – Klein Dytham’s three-pavilion architecture is handsome – but it makes a convincing argument for what bookshops should be. The space itself tells you everything. There are generous proportions and sight lines that encourage wandering. An afternoon here doesn’t require purchasing anything. Lingering is the point.Walk into any section and the depth is beyond considered; it’s obsessive. Not twelve books on Japanese ceramics but first editions, contemporary practitioners, historical surveys, exhibition catalogues and the design magazine profiling a specialised kiln town. Architecture doesn’t end at Tadao Ando monographs and cycling doesn’t stop at Tour de France photography: every interest gets treated with the sincerity of a specialist shop.Breathing space: A bookshop to peruse at a leisurely pace(Image: Kohei Take)The magazine walls are a telling sign. Hundreds of titles serving micro-interests that elsewhere exist only as newsletters or Reddit threads. There are publications devoted to specific prefectures, particular menswear styles, individual craft traditions, niche sports and specific schools of graphic design. These survive in print because Japan still has an appetite for focused cultural production. There are razor-sharp editorial points of view, supported by actual advertising markets. Essentially, the internet hasn’t atomised everything.Then there’s Anjin, the café. First editions are shelved as wall décor and there’s museum-quality mid-century furniture that you’re meant to use and sink into. It’s a common space, open to anyone, that depends entirely on this rare quality of ambient respect. There are no ropes, no defensive design, no “please don’t touch” placards. Just an expectation that people will behave properly – as the architects, designers and curators intended. Most Western cities would require guards or else it would be vandalised within a week. Here it simply exists, beautiful and accessible.Leafing through: More magazines the merrier(Image: Kohei Take)T-Site also stays fresh through rotating exhibitions and thematic collaborations. A corner featuring Scandinavian design some months ago now pivots to Japanese folk crafts. The space curates like museums do collections, understanding that a bookshop isn’t a fixed repository but an ongoing showcase.Most such shops optimised themselves into irrelevance – bestseller tables, Moleskine notebooks, corporate sameness. T-Site works because it takes seriously every aspect of what a bookshop can be. Transactional, yes, but also communal, curatorial, atmospheric and aspirational. It’s a place reflecting the density of urban interests rather than flattening everything to algorithmic popularity.Here’s why it matters: most bookshops died because they stopped being interesting, not because people stopped wanting them. T-Site should be the standard.Colin Nagyis a Los Angeles-based writer and strategist. For more opinion, analysis and insight, subscribe to Monocle today.And if you’re after extra tip-offs in Tokyo, take a look at ourCity Guide.Read next:In a digital age, why reading print media matters more than everWant more stories like these in your inbox?Sign up to Monocle’s email newsletters to stay on top of news and opinion, plus the latest from the magazine, radio, film and shop.Your EmailSubscribe

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