This book is about an ordinary woman in a small town in coastal Maine named Olive Kitteridge. What does it mean to live and get older? This book gave me ideas about the beauty and cruelty of aging and made me think a lot about how I want my life to be like. アメリカの小さな港町に住むごく普通の女性、オリーヴ・キタリッジの物語。生きるとか、老いとか、とてもシンプルで美しくて、でも残酷なテーマについて、じっくり考えさせられた一冊です。 All the characters in this book were somewhat unlikable because their personalities were depicted so realistically. No one is perfect, that is the truth of being human. Everyone has their negative aspects and everyone can be very self centred. Thus this very very unlikable main character Olive was so convincing and she turned out to be…
I wonder why this book isn’t as acknowledged as it should be? どうして誰も私に教えてくれなかったんだろう？って思うほど、大好きな1冊と出会いました。 This book felt like a masterpiece of historical literature!! 歴史文学作品の傑作！とでも呼びたくなるほど、素晴らしい一冊。 I spotted this cute polar bear cover at Foyles, not knowing the author is actually an Akutagawa prize winner! (* The Akutagawa prize is the most famous literary award in Japan.) この本、日本の芥川賞作家 多和田葉子さんの作品ですが、ロンドンのFoylesで翻訳版を発見し、初めて知りました。かわいいホッキョクグマの表紙が目立っていました。 Reading this book made me feel very intellectual, with it giving off a great atmosphere of pre-war and wartime Russia and Germany as well as an excellent analysis of humans from the polar bear’s point of view. とても知的な気分になります。戦前・戦中・戦後のソ連やドイツを、ホッキョクグマを主人公に疑似体験できるような作品。ホッキョクグマの視点から見る「人間」の姿がとても興味深い。 All these complex topics were introduced in just the right amount and at the right timing…
I was looking for a good historical fiction after I finished my now the most favourite book ‘All the Light We Cannot See.’ This book ‘Dominion’ is a historical thriller recommended by staff at Daunt Books. Although I hesitated to get this due to the massive volume of the book, I am so glad that I manage to read this fantastic novel. お気に入りの本 ‘All the Light We Cannot See ‘を読み終えた頃、読み応えのある、おもしろい歴史小説を探していました。今回レビューするDominionは、歴史スリラー！Daunt Books の店員さんからオススメしてもらいました。すごく分厚くて重い本だったので買うのは躊躇したほどでしたが、買ってよかった。Daunt Booksのオススメはほんと、いつも間違いがない！ The story is written from the viewpoint ‘what if’ Germany won the WWII. It might be a little bit hard for non-British like me to understand difference and contrast of ‘what ifs’ and the reality. I needed…
ノーベル賞を受賞し、日本でもその名が一気に知れ渡ったカズオ・イシグロ。ずいぶん前にNever Let Me Go（日本語版は「わたしを離さないで」）を英語で読んでいて、すごく気に入っていた作家です。 No need to explain who he is. The Nobel prize winner, Kazuo Ishiguro. I have read ‘Never Let Me Go’ before, and it was one of my favourite books. 今作はブッカー賞を受賞した、代表作。 This one, ‘The Remains of the Day’ is his masterpiece, it won the Booker prize. 静かで、情緒ある言葉の流れや空気感が、彼の作品の特徴だと思うのですが、今作はその言葉遣いと、物語の中の風景がぴったりマッチ。SFチックだったNever Let Me Goとは全く違う。まるで、ドラマ ダウントン・アビーの世界にそのまま入り込んだかのような趣のある世界観。 I think his writing is always quite and elegant in style. As well as very atmospheric and nostalgic. The tone of his writing perfectly matches to the personality of the main character, the old British butler. While I read, I felt as if I was seeing and living in a world of Downton Abbey! 主人公の執事がひたすら ひとり語り…
My most favourite book I have ever read 🙂 和書・洋書含め、今まで読んだ本の中で、一番心に残った本です。 Extraordinarily beautifully written. The whole writing sounds like one beautiful dream! Although the setting is at the time during the WWII in France and Germany, I felt the warmth of the story line. とても美しい本です。物語全体が、まるで夢の中のように感じられるやわらかい文章。でも、物語は第2次世界大戦を舞台にしています。それなのに不思議とあたたかいのがこの本のステキなところ。静かで、繊細な文章にぐんぐんひきこまれます。まるでキャラクターと一緒に生きているかのようなリアルさも！ Especially with one of the main character, Marie-Laure, the blind girl, you will feel the sound of the bombings and the smell of the room she stays as if you are seeing her in front of you. 特に、2人いる主人公のひとり、盲目の少女Marie-Laure。彼女の聞く暗闇の中の爆撃の音や、彼女の過ごす部屋の匂いまで、まるで彼女が目の前にいるように感じられるよう。 It is rare to find a book like this, that would stimulate the power of imagination. ここまで想像の力を刺激する本、珍しいです。 There are too many books set during the war, and make…
I currently re-read this now a famous book written by a Nigerian feminist Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie. Very powerful story of a woman who flew to America. Through the life story of the heroin Ifemelu, the reader can experience the struggle of immigrant, race and woman issues. 有名なフェミニストである、ナイジェリア出身のChimamanda Ngozi Adichieさんのこの本を、最近読み直しました。祖国を離れ、アメリカに渡ったパワフルな女性の物語です。ヒロインのIfemeluを通して、移民として女性が生きることの苦労を、人種問題の深さを想像することができます。 I first read this book when I was an undergraduate student a few years back. After the 911, before the Brexit and the Trump administration. The message of this book is vivid and touching even now. Rather, it is more enjoyable reading it right now. この本を初めて読んだのは数年前、大学の学部生の頃。９１１後の、でもBrexitもトランプ政権もまだでした。この本が持つメッセージは今でも鮮明で、胸を打ちます。むしろ、今読むほうがおもしろいくらいに。 So-called ‘polarisation’ of the US is a hot topic nowadays. The existence of ‘immigrants’, ‘racial…
