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??)
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
