‘People From My Neighbourhood’ is a new collection of translated short stories by Hiromi Kawakami , published by Granta Books in the UK! This is a collection of mini stories about the people in an unnamed place.All the stories are about 3 pages long and are interconnected. I really enjoyed how the stories sounded ‘ordinary’ and ‘likely’ while at the same time the events in this book were all unusual and quirky. The book was full of characters with unique personalities, detailed with minimal descriptions, but I felt like I still got to know all of them quite well! Kawakami’s storytelling made me feel like it’s not strange at all…
I think your job is something everyone struggles with to some extent. The type of work, the hours, relationships etc. I enjoy my job, but even I feel like I want something easier or perhaps ‘more fun’, sometimes. 仕事って、誰しも何らかの不満や悩みを抱えているものだと思います。それは仕事の内容にかもしれないし、労働時間や人間関係かもしれない。仕事を楽しんでいるつもりの私ですが、時々もっと楽な仕事や、もっと面白い仕事があるはずだ…なんて思ってしまう時もあります。 I first read this book in Japanese when I had just started working in London. I was really struggling to get used to a whole new environment and was exhausted with thoughts of how I needed to commit to the job and prove to others that I could do things well. But this book really ended up making me feel better, telling me – as the title says – There’s No…
The protagonist Kei’s husband – Rei – disappeared 12 years ago. Kei’s life continues, but her feelings have been left somewhere else, along with her memories; she is constantly meditating on her life and her future. One day, she visits the seaside town Manazuru, and as if some magical power is leading her there, she keeps revisiting. 主人公は京、夫の礼は12年前に失踪しました。その後も京の日常は続いていくのですが、思い出に浸り、過去や未来の間をさまよい瞑想しています。ある日、何かの力に導かれるように海沿いの町 真鶴を訪れるようになります。 The book mainly focuses on her relationship with her missing husband, and is told through Kei’s memories and reflections. I really enjoyed the subtle explanations about three women living together in one house; the protagonist Kei, her elderly mother, and her teenage daughter Momo. The story depicts the distance between them…
BUTTER was inspired by the famous crime case of Kanae Kjima in 2009, who was sentenced with the death penalty for conducting a series of murders while taking part in ‘Konkatsu’ (marriage hunting), specifically targeting men seeking marriage. Because of this unusual setting – and her strong personality – the media reported this sensationally, with lurid details about her remarks and crimes; including her sex life and the amount of money she earned from the ex-boyfriends (who she’d killed). BUTTERは、実際の事件をベースに書かれたフィクション、「婚活事件」としてニュースで話題になっていた、木嶋佳苗死刑囚がモデルです。彼女の発言や性格、男性たちとのこと、様々な憶測を盛り込みつつ、センセーショナルに報道された事件でした。 Despite the public curiosity towards the case, a great deal of mystery continued to surround her, in particular regarding how the media described her appearance negatively (or more precisely, the…
Having lived in London for a long enough now to be able to explain the difference between life in Japan and life in the UK, I’d say the sense of societal peer pressure, in particular, is much stronger in Japan. I’m certain everyone in Japan has the feeling it’s just all too much, at one point or other in their lives. However, the overwhelming conformity gradually pushes you back onto the ‘correct’ track to follow. Society just won’t let you drop off the route you ‘should’ take. イギリスと日本の違いについて、なんとなく答えられるくらいには長くイギリスに住んだかなと思う最近、日本の同調圧力は特に大きな違いだなと感じています。きっと、日本でも誰しもが、他人に合わせるなんて「もう充分」と感じることが一度や二度はあると思うのですが、それでもどこかで思い直し、指定されたルートや、正しい道に戻っていく…そんな感覚。脱線なんてさせない、そんな圧力。 Sayaka Murata’s award-winning novel ‘Convenience Store Woman’ was a big success, even in its English translation. However, I felt at times that…
Over the past year, it’s become such a massively hyped book that I even felt a little hesitant to read it at first; however, the unique setting and strong female protagonist made the reading experience extraordinarily fantastic, all in all! アメリカで出版され、英語圏で大ヒットとなった作品。人気すぎて読むのを躊躇ったほど。笑読みだしたらあっという間!ステキな主人公とユニークな舞台設定に魅せられ、ページを捲る手が止まりませんでした。 Abandoned by her family, the protagonist Kya grows up alone in a shack in the swampland. 主人公のカイアは幼い頃に家族に見捨てられ、たった一人で湿地で暮らしています。 Honestly speaking, it took me a while to get into the core plot; the first few chapters of the book in particular were slow going. It sounded like a very typical ‘poor kids from a disadvantaged background’ kind of story, but if you feel the same I did, please do persist beyond…
Are you a ‘feminist’? I think I am. It’s so sad to admit this but there are still so many misconceptions and negative stereotypes associated with feminists. あなたは「フェミニスト」ですか?私自身は自分をフェミニストだと思っています。世間ではフェミニストに対する誤解やネガティブなステレオタイプがまだ多くて、なんだか残念。 Do you support equality of men and women? I expect most of people would answer yes. Can you list some of the inconvenience or problems in society to achieve the equality? Can you at least try to understand what it means for me to make society ‘equal’ despite gender? What are all the frustrations I feel in everyday life? Isn’t society not really even trying to achieve the equality? 男女の平等を支持しますか?きっと多くの人がYESって答えると思うんです。でも、平等を実現するために、社会の不都合さや問題を挙げることはできますか?ジェンダーにとらわれない「平等」って一体何のことなのか、せめて理解するような姿勢を示すことができますか?私が感じている日々の不満はいったい何なのか。社会は本当に平等を実現するための努力をしているのでしょうか・・・ This book explains so much about frustration I feel towards the male…
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…
Because of its catchy title and the very interesting background of the author (she works for convenience store), this book was everywhere when she won the Akutagawa Prize in 2016. 2016年に芥川賞を受賞した「コンビニ人間」、キャッチ―なタイトルと、作者自身もコンビニで働いているという経歴から、すごく注目されていました。 Because I tend to pick the book which is more relatable to myself, this book Convenience Store Woman was something I have been avoiding to pick up. I decided to give it a try when I found out it is finally translated into English… 私はより共感できそうな主人公の本を選んでしまう傾向にあるので、この本はどちらかというと避けてきた一冊。でも今回、英訳が出版されると聞いて、なんとなく手に取ってみました。 Surprisingly, I really enjoyed reading this book. It was about the life of a woman who finds it hard to assimilate with the societal norm to behave ‘normally’ in Japan. The main character works…
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…
Very sad and disturbing book. Violence and creepy scenes. But, it was such a powerful book to make you experience the story. とても悲しくて悲惨な物語。暴力と、気持ち悪くなるようなシーンもたくさん。でも、まるで物語の中の出来事を目の前で体験しているような気分になる、力強い一冊です。 You feel the characters very close to you, while they all are somehow not ordinary. Reading this book made me uncomfortable, thinking about all the discomfort I experienced in daily life. 登場人物たちはどこか「普通ではない」人々ですが、そんな彼らを身近に感じることができるのがこの本のすごいところ。この本を読みながら、私は日常生活で感じる様々な不快感について、考えさせられました。 As the title shows, the main character Yeong-hye is becoming vegetarian (I would say she is more like a ‘vegan’). The story describes the struggles of her family and relatives. タイトルが「菜食主義者」である通り、主人公のYeong-hyeがベジタリアンになることが物語の出発点。(ベジタリアンというより、ビーガンに近い描写ですが。)家族や親戚の困難について書かれています。 The story is divided into three parts, and each part is told by different characters. Although the main character is always Yeong-hye, seeing the story from…
女性の生き方って難しい。 Being women is difficult, especially here in Japan. 「自分らしさ」とか「ありのまま」を謳う広告やメディア、物語が増えてはきたけれど、実際に何のしがらみもなく「私」をおもいっきり出せる状態なんて、ありはしない。人生の選択肢は年々増える一方なのに、結局、子供を産むことや、男性をたてることを望まれるし、「かっこいい」女性は敬遠されがち。「新しい生き方」と呼ばれるものは、今でも難しい選択であることに変わりはない。 Although the social awareness regarding the women issues is raising these days, it is still impossible for me to be 100% ‘myself’ in public here in Japan. In the end, the society always praises ‘the mothers’ who sacrifice their career, those girly women who ‘RESPECT’ men, and the KAWAII, skinny, delicate fashion with spike heels. Every day, subconsciously, I am pretending to play a role of ‘woman’ and compromising the way I behave and act. All those ‘new women’ are still rare species here. 海外に行ったら、もっと広くて寛容な世界が広がっているに違いないと、あまちゃんな私は信じていたのですが… 現実はそう甘くないのよと、そっと教えてくれた本です。 I have believed that the world is broad and there is more liberal and…