Monday, March 4, 2019

Review: The Life-Changing Manga of Tiding Up, A Magical Story (Marie Kondo)

The Life-Changing Manga of Tidying Up: A Magical Story
Title: The Life-Changing Manga of Tiding Up
Series: standalone
Author: Marie Kondo
Publisher: Ten Speed Press
Release Date: June 27, 2017
Genre: Self-Help Fiction
Content Rating: Teen (adult worries)
Format Read: Paperback (library)
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Summary:

From the #1 New York Times best-selling author and lifestyle/cleaning guru Marie Kondo, this graphic novelization brings Kondo's life-changing tidying method to life with the fun, quirky story of a woman who transforms her home, work, and love life using Kondo's advice and inspiration.

Marie Kondo presents the fictional story of Chiaki, a young woman in Tokyo who struggles with a cluttered apartment, messy love life, and lack of direction. After receiving a complaint from her attractive next-door neighbor about the sad state of her balcony, Chiaki gets Kondo to take her on as a client. Through a series of entertaining and insightful lessons, Kondo helps Chiaki get her home--and life--in order. This insightful, illustrated case study is perfect for people looking for a fun introduction to the KonMari Method of tidying up, as well as tried-and-true fans of Marie Kondo eager for a new way to think about what sparks joy. Featuring illustrations by award-winning manga artist Yuko Uramoto, this book also makes a great read for manga and graphic novel lovers of all ages.


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When I first began seriously tidying in 2017, I was greatly inspired by Kondo's non-fiction self-help book, The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up, as well as the sequel, Spark Joy. So you can imagine that when mangaphile me discovered the existence of this manga spin-off last month, I had to read it immediately. To my surprise, what I thought would be little more than an illustrated version of the text book was actually a highly informative fiction story about unlucky-in-love career woman Chiaki, who hires real-life author Marie Kondo to help her tidy her disaster-zone apartment. As Kondo walks Chiaki through the KonMari Method steps, we see how tidying your space can also tidy your life - and give you a new lease on it.

Because it was a manga the book was a quick and fun read, but thanks to being predominantly composed of images it really opened up the KonMari Method for me - I understood the concepts a lot better than I had in the text book. The simple art style will appeal to regular manga consumers as well as non-manga readers, especially those who absorb content better in picture over text form. Also, with a highly relatable main character like Chiaki, and even the start of a sweet relationship for the romantics, it's a great read for those who learn better in story form as well.

Conclusion: A quick, fun and informative guide to decluttering using the KonMari Method. Highly recommend for mangaphiles looking to tidy as well as general self-help readers, especially those who want to try a different medium.

Scribble Rating
5 of 5 Scribbles


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