(Not sure I understand the reference to 400枚. Does that mean 400 pages? (But the Amazon site appears to indicate less than 300 pages for the paperback))
The ミーナの行進 book club has about another 5 weeks to run after this week, so I thought it would be good to see if anyone has any nominations for another 小川洋子 book to read. We’d be ready to start a new book around the end of September/start of October. There were some suggestions made above (including her very recently published new book), but what do people think? If we have more than one nomination we can run a poll.
I’d love to join and I’ll try to nominate something to read
I’m keen to join if I can, but it depends on the book
I’d like to join, but don’t have a preference for book
“Growing up is a tragedy.”
This haunting line describes a boy who stops growing at eleven, mastering chess in secret as “Little Alekhine,” the “poet beneath the board.” A surreal, evocative tale populated by a master living in an abandoned bus, a beloved cat named Pawn, an elephant named Indira locked atop a department store, a girl with a white dove on her shoulder, and an elderly lady. Through this dreamlike world, Ogawa weaves a delicate story of loneliness, creativity, and subtle miracles—quietly beautiful and deeply moving.
I don’t know much about this book apart from the blurb above. I nominated it mostly because I have a copy (e-book).
The impression from reviews online (all in Japanese, there isn’t an English translation), is that it is quiet, mysterious, poetic, and somewhat melancholy.
It looks to be one of Ogawa’s dream-like, magical, otherworldly works.
Any of those I have, my favorite would be 寡黙な死骸みだらな弔い ( お 51-2) | L36 because I remember reading it in translation and I’d like to try it in Japanese too, but I don’t think I’ll be able to run the club (read the book, yes, run the club, no) as I have my hands full with 黒死館殺人事件. Would you be ok for running the club again ?
An aspiring writer moves into a new apartment and discovers that her landlady has murdered her husband. A bereft and grieving mother attempts to connect with her dead son. Elsewhere, an accomplished surgeon’s jealous lover vows to kill him. Desire meets with impulse and erupts, attracting the attention of the surgeon’s neighbor–who is drawn to a decaying residence that is now home only to instruments of human torture. Murderers and mourners, mothers and children, lovers and enemies–their fates converge in an ominous and darkly beautiful web.
Sinister forces collide with a host of desperate characters in this deeply harrowing collection of interwoven tales from Yoko Ogawa, a master of the macabre. Eerie, suspenseful, and wonderfully unsettling, Revenge will haunt you until the very last page.
(No Japanese blurb available on Amazon)
I read this in translation years ago, and I still have rather vivid memories of many of these stories. They’re short, lend themselves well to a weekly format, and link together. I love Ogawa’s more unconventional stories, when you’re not quite sure what’s real and what’s not, and this fits right in. It’s not, despite the title, horror literature, more like really eerie
Pros and Cons for the Book Club
Pros
Short stories fit well into a weekly schedule, and, as always, there’s much to discuss
I’m keen to read that book too - except I think from memory it is only available in paper form?
My reading is improving, but I’m still a bit dependent on my e-reader (partly for dictionary lookups and partly to make the text big enough for me to read!).
How about you nominate it - if we decide to read it, I’ll see what I can do…
Edit… we are writing posts simultaneously, (my post is partly redundant)
Through the will of a publishing company president, the “Creator’s House” provides a workspace for artists engaged in all kinds of creative activities. It was to me, who takes care of this house, that Brahman came—. The story of one summer spent interacting with and watching over this lovable creature given a name meaning “mystery” in Sanskrit.
I picked this book on a whim at my local Japanese bookstore at least 10 years ago, and while I remember struggling with it then, I also remember it as a sweet, nostalgic piece, though on a different level than ミーナの行進. This would be an opportunity to experience a different side of Ogawa’s writing.
Pros and Cons for the Book Club
Pros
Short and not too difficult as far as I remember. Available as an ebook. Won the Izumi Price in 2004. Also, it hasn’t been translated, and I like to use book clubs to discover books I just wouldn’t find otherwise.
As for the club : I can certainly put up the threads, but I can’t 100% commit to actually running it, at least not the way you’re doing with ミーナ at the moment. I would try, because I hate leaving things half-baked, but 黒死館殺人事件 has my priority right now (it’s a lot of work, but most of all, it’s absolutely fascinating !)
To the people on the island, a disappeared thing no longer has any meaning. It can be burned in the garden, thrown in the river or handed over to the Memory Police. Soon enough, the island forgets it ever existed.
When a young novelist discovers that her editor is in danger of being taken away by the Memory Police, she desperately wants to save him. For some reason, he doesn’t forget, and it’s becoming increasingly difficult for him to hide his memories. Who knows what will vanish next?
I’ve read this one in English, and it is stunning. Very strange, but beautiful at the same time. Like a number of Ogawa’s books, it lingers in the memory after you have read it (which is ironic, given the subject matter…)
but we’re so few people that I was rather reluctant to nominate one of them for now. Because if we get maybe zero or one vote for each of the proposals then that doesn’t make too much sense maybe What does everybody think?
In case we decide to read this (though it isn’t exactly winning in the voting). I’ve ordered a copy of the hardback version - hoping the print is slight larger than the paperback… Will hopefully collect when I am in 東京 next week.
Well, it looks as though there is a. a split vote for the next book and b. a fairly small number of us planning to take part. How about whoever leads this one can make an executive decision?
As I said, I can set up a schedule, put up the threads, and run a minimum of discussions. However, I can’t commit to doing much research about the book, the way you’ve done with ミーナの行進 (and I must admit I’m a bit in awe of what you did ). I might, because, after all, sleep is overrated, and I hate doing things half-way, but I can’t 100% promise.
So which books would the both of you like to read ? @domjcw@nikoru
That would be my take on “running the club” as well
I could run the club for 密やかな結晶 if needed (but would prefer not to due to probable time issues). In all honesty I would slightly prefer to read that one, simply because I own it already and am trying to reduce my book pile but then again it doesn’t really matter
BTW we are talking about roughly the same pace as Mina, are we? I‘m not sure how much time I‘ll have but reading at that pace is always feasible (she said)
What does everybody think?
). I might, because, after all, sleep is overrated, and I hate doing things half-way, but I can’t 100% promise.
)