小川洋子 （おがわようこ) Book club

Japanese Reading Book Clubs
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There are a couple of us over at WK who have been talking about starting an 小川洋子 book club.

I recently ran a WK club for her short-story collection 妊娠カレンダー, which I thoroughly enjoyed.

I have a potential list of her books that we could read with the club here.
ミーナの行進 is at the top of my list.

博士の愛した数式 (many may have read it already in English or Japanese or both, but I’m keen to read)
ホテルアイリス, which looks good in a somewhat disturbing way…
密やかな結晶 (have read and loved in English)
人質の朗読会 (nominated over at WK by @nikoru , but not yet read)

So, would people be interested in reading some of 小川洋子’s work with this club?

  • Count me in!
  • Probably will depend on the book, but hopefully
  • Maybe (if not already reading too many other books)
  • I’ll think about it
  • No, not my cup of tea
0 voters

Do you have particular books by her that you’d like to read with the club?

Resources for the club (to add to - feel free to suggest)

List of possible books to read (feel free to suggest more)

ミーナの行進 L30??
博士の愛した数式 L35
ホテル・アイリス L29 ,
人質の朗読会 L34
完璧な病室
まぶた
密やかな結晶
とにかく散歩いたしましょう | L30??
猫を抱いて象と泳ぐ | L33
寡黙な死骸みだらな弔い | L36

Book Proposals

ミーナの行進

Book clubs

ミーナの行進 home thread Starting…TBC

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As I wrote in another thread, I’m very keen to participate, but it will depend on the book. I try to prioritize books I already own. I’m open to other options of course, so let’s see what the club decides.

Read in English a long time ago:
博士の愛した数式
ホテル・アイリス
The diving pool (which contains stories from both 妊娠カレンダー and 完璧な病室 )

Read in Japanese:
妊娠カレンダー

Own in Japanese:
完璧な病室
まぶた
密やかな結晶

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I have apparently managed not to 積読 any of her works. That said, I have been strongly interested in 人質の朗読会 since it was nominated over on WK, and really liked the two books of hers I did read. 博士の愛した数式 and 妊娠カレンダー.

So it really depends on the book that gets chosen. I probably don’t need too much convincing to give another one a try. :grin:

(No promises on adhering to a schedule until October though.)

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Thanks for setting this up! Don’t forget to put the link on the other few threads where this was discussed, I almost missed it (But maybe you’re waiting for a strategic moment! )

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I own only 2 of her books, but if either gets read, I’d be in. :slight_smile:

とにかく散歩いたしましょう | L30?? seems to be an essay collection
猫を抱いて象と泳ぐ | L33 which seems to be very whimsical

and there is a short story of hers in one of my collections: NHK国際放送が選んだ日本の名作 | L30??

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I read half of 博士の愛した数式 last year but never finished it. I do plan to finish it sometime this year, so if you happen to pick it I’ll join in. Anything else would depend on the premise and length, but it’s unlikely I’ll join.

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Nice that you are setting this up here! If I’m not busy with too many book clubs, I’ll definitely try to join.

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I read a few her books in english and liked them enough to be happy to read anything by her. Well, at least attempt to. Most of her work is ranked higher than I read before. So I’m not sure how well ill keep up in practice. But I’m definitely interested.

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I had a look at my book shelves and I

I also read in translation 寡黙な死骸みだらな弔い ( お 51-2) | L36 (Revenge - Eleven Dark Tales (Amazon.com link)), which I highly recommend. It’s paperback only, unfortunately, no available ebook

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:sob:
I could have sworn I had seen it somewhere, but I looked again and I was obviously mistaken. Too bad, “dark tales” is exactly what I’m after. And no ebook is a dealbreaker for me. :frowning_face:

By the way, and totally off-topic, does anyone know what these numbers I keep seeing lately after the title are? Like ( お 51-8) ?

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They’re book numbers from the publisher!
Something like
author’s initial - number of books from that publisher for that initial - number of books for that author

通はやってる読書術！文庫本の背表紙にある「番号」を活用しよう - ブックオフオンラインコラム ,

Sometimes (maybe more recently?) they show up in the amazon titles (hence sometimes showing up in natively)

Also, I’m interested in 小川洋子, but I also have a huge tbr, so am 50/50%, but will happily keep an eye on this club.

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Ah, very interesting, thanks so much! It was driving me crazy. :sweat_smile:

So apparently お 51 means 小川洋子 and 8 means it’s the 8th book by her (always for this specific publisher).

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So here is my proposal for a first book in the 小川洋子 book club

I suggested this recently for a WK club, but it doesn’t look like it is going to get selected, so I’m going to move it over here

ミーナの行進

Author: 小川洋子
Page count: 348 pages (but probably less than this - see below)
Natively link (level 30/31??)

690×242 27.8 KB

Summary

Japanese

【本書の英訳『Mina’s Matchbox』が、
米『TIME』誌発表の「2024年の必読書100冊」
（THE 100 MUST-READ BOOKS OF 2024）に選出】

美しくて、かよわくて、本を愛したミーナ。
あなたとの思い出は、損なわれることがない――
ミュンヘンオリンピックの年に芦屋の洋館で育まれた、
ふたりの少女と、家族の物語。
あたたかなイラストとともに小川洋子が贈る傑作長編小説。
第42回谷崎潤一郎賞受賞作。

English

On sleepless nights, I open the matchbox and reread the story of the girl who gathered shooting stars.

After the death of her father, twelve-year-old Tomoko is sent to live for a year with her uncle in the coastal town of Ashiya. It is a year which will change her life.

The 1970s are bringing changes to Japan and her uncle’s magnificent colonial mansion opens up a new and unfamiliar world for Tomoko; its sprawling gardens are even home to a pygmy hippo the family keeps as a pet. Tomoko finds her relatives equally exotic and beguiling and her growing friendship with her cousin Mina draws her into an intoxicating world full of secret crushes and elaborate storytelling.

Rich with the magic and mystery of youth, Mina’s Matchbox is an evocative snapshot of a moment frozen in time, and a striking depiction of a family on the edge of collapse.

Praise for Mina’s Matchbox

‘I read Mina’s Matchbox like a besotted child, enraptured, never wanting it to end.’ RUTH OZEKI, author of The Book of Form and Emptiness

‘Dreamy and whimsical, Mina’s Matchbox traffics in the themes at which Ogawa always excels: memory, identity, and nostalgia’ Esquire, Best Books of the Summer

‘A conspicuously gifted writer. . . To read Ogawa is to enter a dreamlike state. . . She possesses an effortless, glassy, eerie brilliance’ Guardian

‘Evokes the secret crushes and crushing secrets of girlhood with charm and elegance’ People

‘Immersive and poignant. . . filled with wonder’ Bookpage

‘Beguiling’ New Yorker, Best Books of 2024

‘ The world Yoko Ogawa builds is quiet, warm and it should feel comforting. But there are peculiarities about the whole thing that keep you on the tips of your toes’ NPR, Best Books of 2024

Availability

Paperback: Amazon.jp | cdjapan | Amazon uk
Ebook: Kindle |

Personal Opinion

ミーナの行進 （みーなのこうしん） doesn’t have any Natively reviews, and looks like the Japanese version may be hard to find in print (ebooks are available) . There is a “French edition” on Amazon UK, (which appears to actually be in Japanese. Others have observed similar listings in the past and reliably inform me that they are in 日本語). [Edit: the Amazon JP store seems to have the Japanese paperback in stock now]

But the English translation was published last year and has had a lot of fantastic reviews (see the English summary above).
I’ve read the first short sample chapter on the kindle and it is both engaging and readable.
There are a few pictures (not sure how many as I haven’t bought the full book yet), so the actual total number of pages is probably 330 or fewer.

There is no Natively rating, so it is hard to gauge difficulty and reading speed. My sense from the first chapter is that this is around level 30.

One of my reasons for being keen to read this first is that there is an online book club event focused on the book by the UK Japan Society in November this year - including Yoko Ogawa in person (well virtually). I’m hoping that we will have read the book by then and can take part!

The Japan Society - ONLINE EVENT - The Japan Society Book Club: Mina’s…

So, who is interested in joining for a ミーナの行進 club? Hoping to start in the next month, but if there is enough interest, I’ll poll separately about start date and pace

  • Yes! I’m in
  • Hope so
  • I’ll try to join but not promising
  • Probably not
  • Have already read it, might join for the conversation
0 voters
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OK, looks like we have a quorum for our first book!
I’ll set up a thread and poll about start dates in the next few days

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I’ll keep an eye on this club, but probably won’t manage to take part in the first one, since I have too many other clubs.

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I put the link to the ミーナの行進 page in the main thread above. (Anyone know how to make it a wiki?)

Here it is in case anyone hasn’t found it already

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