This book was picked to be the Horror Club’s August read, but since it’s by 恩田陸 (her debut)、it does double duty as part of the Onda Riku club too.
We will be reading this book informally, which means there’s no strict schedule or weekly thread. All discussions will take place in this thread here. Make sure to always mention up to where you’ve read and hide anything revealing behind spoiler tags.
The plan is to read it over August 2024, but reading earlier or later is absolutely fine. Do what works best for you.
Discussion Rules
Please mention which chapter your comment is meant for.
Please use spoiler tags liberally, both for referring to the book’s contents and for speculation of your own. Label your spoilers accordingly so that people know when it’s safe to view them.
When asking for help, please mention the chapter and page number. Also mention what version of the book you are reading.
Don’t be afraid of asking questions, even if they seem embarrassing at first. All of us are here to learn.
To you lurkers out there: Join the conversation, it’s fun!
Optional Schedule
While this is an informal club and everyone is encouraged to read at the pace that suits them best, some people prefer having a schedule to follow. Feel free to use this or ignore it completely
Week
Date
Reading
Ebook percentage
Week 1
July 29
up to chapter 1, “二人は慌てて席を立った。”
17%
Week 2
August 5
end of chapter 2
35%
Week 3
August 12
end of chapter 3
56%
Week 4
August 19
up to chapter 4, “秋は妙な気分になった。”
75%
Week 5
August 26
end of book
97%
Member List
Are you planning to read 六番目の小夜子 with the book club?
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Reading Progress
If you like, you can mark your progress here. You can update as often as you like.
I’m looking forward to this! I feel like ghost stories in summer is typically Japanese, whereas for the UK, I’d associate them with autumn/winter. So it will be fun to try a spooky summer read
I strangely find myself in the mood for horror more in the summer than in winter. Is it the Japanese influence? Who knows
I do hope the book proves to be spooky enough! Looking forward to it too.
Didn‘t feel in the mood to tackle the pile of work I urgently need to address, and didn’t feel in the mood to continue the アンダーグラウンド | L33 interview I‘m currently reading, so I decided to start this new book - what can possibly go wrong?
Read the prologue and like the book already! It is a pretty easy read so far, feels quite a bit easier than 月の裏側 | L33 so far, maybe it’s at the level of 木洩れ日に泳ぐ魚 | L31.
The story is very straightforward and minimalist, we only learn what we absolutely need, which gives me very clean and fresh vibes, if that makes sense? Despite there being quite some foreshadowing going on, it’s somehow a good atmosphere. Which is a bit strange, but all the more interesting…
I’ve only just started chapter 1, but it’s been enjoyable so far. Seems like a book that’s easy to binge.
Prologue
I’m intrigued. Onda Riku has a way to get me hooked in just a few pages. I wonder how the tradition started?
Chapter 1
I liked how she was referred to as 彼女 while she was acting as the 6th Sayoko. Now that I’m thinking about it, did we ever get proof that that was the main character? I feel like they’re the same person, but I’m not sure anymore if we actually got irrefutable proof, or if I just assumed they were the same person and took circumstantial evidence as fact. I should pay closer attention when reading
And what’s up with the other Sayoko? My first thought was ghost or something similar. Maybe she’s the reason the tradition got started in the first place? But she seems to exist like a normal person and she wasn’t there the previous 5 times, so I don’t know what to think. Maybe I’m just way too paranoid.
I decided to start this to see what I think of it, but I’m not rushing through it (we don’t officially start for a few more days after all) and I’ve landed at 10% done (partly through chapter 1).
Maybe it’s because I’ve been listening to Invert (the sequel to Medium) on 聞き放題*, but the description of this new サヨ子 as being sooooooo beautiful is making me roll my eyes so hard. Enough with girls being deeply interesting for nothing but being pretty, I need more substance. Her having the flowers, likely decorating the school with them, and being same-named as the tradition is interesting, but I really hope we don’t keep getting reminded of how pretty she is
*For those not familiar, the MC’s looks are given overly generous page space and repeated ad nauseam as if we’re going to forget between sections
That was my plan exactly! And I followed it fine for the first 20 pages or so, but then the book all of a sudden shifted into second gear, and I finished the remaining 30 pages of Week 1 in one go
So, let’s see where we stand: From the volleyball game we know that 沙世子 is the サヨコ who brought the roses, as she is the one with the key, and from the description in the prologue it seems that it was also her who fetched the flower vase (and presumably placed it in the classroom. Did she also affix the tulips to the other rooms’ entrances?) so this all checks out. We don’t know yet who is the 「彼女」from the prologue with the tulips. First I thought that it was 雅子, but from the drinking fountain scene we know that it must be somebody else. Is she in the same class as 沙世子？I didn’t pay too close attention as to how the volleyball teams were established, but if it’s only their class, then 彼女 should be in the same class. Is it maybe 容子?
I also like our team of 秋 and 由紀夫 - despite them following the classic trope of “smart one needs a dumb projection space so that he can spell his thoughts out loud”. I like how attentive 秋 is and how much he tells us about his classmates. Why did 雅子 react so strongly to the flowers in the classroom?
Even though I plan to read the ebook, it’s really nice that Amazon delivered my physical copy (+ some other “light” reading) on the first day of the book club !
Maybe? I feel like it’s probably a student we’ve met, and the only three female students I can remember are 雅子, 容子, and 沙世子. So based on that she’s the most suspect at the moment. Although it could also have been a student that was mentioned before but tends to blend into the background. Or maybe they weren’t mentioned and we have no hope at guessing their identity.
There’s also the possibility that 彼女 doesn’t always refer to the same person, although that short passage towards the end of this week did feel like it was told from the perspective of number 6.
It was 九組 vs 十組. If 沙世子 is the one that placed the flowers in the classroom, does that mean 彼女 could be from a different class instead? I guess at this point I’ve no clue but I’m suspicious of everyone.
My thoughts exactly! So I guess we can only wait and learn…
My feeling is that 「彼女」is exactly the same person each time, namely the real #6.
Ah, thanks!
Same! I tried to think “broad” and to see who might potentially be her, that’s why I currently don’t know better than that it could be (almost) any girl from 九組 or 十組.
Chapter 1 ~23%
So we finally have a name. Funny thing is, I did consider that 彼女 could be male and then dismissed that thought as too paranoid. That’ll teach me to be overly trusting. Apparently there is no such thing as being too paranoid.
I have to say with how involved 秋’s family is in this I’m a bit disappointed it’s not him.
I’ve finished chapter 1. I’m going to try to read something else for a bit so more of you can get caught up. It’s hard though. I want to know what happens next!
End of chapter 1
I wasn’t disappointed for long. Excited to see what 秋 is going to do now.
沙世子’s idol status has reached other schools. It’s rather hard to believe and feels a bit ridiculous if I’m being honest. Is she actually that beautiful, or can the people around her detect something supernatural and just ascribe that feeling to beauty?
This is getting exciting. Before, the story had more of a mystery vibe, but we might actually get some horror from now on.
I was thinking that he is the perfect detective (i. e. an outsider to the events) with all this background knowledge, but then… things happened xD
The window-rattling scene was already a slight touch on horror, so let’s see what comes next! The final reveal that 沙世子 died 12 years ago is an interesting pointer. Let’s see what Onda Riku makes out of this…
BTW is is just me or is anybody else also thinking that the story is a bit … hmmm … flat? one-dimensional? straightforward? gasp well-written but meta-level-boring?
I guess I really grew out of teenagers’ books, huh?
I can sort of see what you’re getting at. If I had to put in words how I feel about this book I guess I’d say it reminds me a bit of a book you pick up at the airport bookstore and then finish very quickly. It’s fun to read, and when you see it you might fondly remember your trip, but it’s not some deeply profound book that’s going to change the way you’re thinking. There are books that I vividly remember reading even years later and I doubt that this is going to be one of them. But that’s okay as well, sometimes a “lighter” book like this is just what you need.
Sooo I wasn’t even going to read this book because I’m not such a big fan of horror… But then that 50% point back campaign happened, and I do like 恩田陸, so I am curious about her debt work. Well, here I am.
Chapter 1 spoilers!
Lots of fun stuff happened this chapter. Very smooth read, and nothing too horrible happened yet… I might be okay reading this. I like that the chapters are a season each! Summer’s really short compared to the others… The season approach makes me super curious to find out more, not gonna lie!
I was also happy about 秋 taking over the role of サヨコ, I’m sure he’ll be quite proactive. I’m expecting the fact that the transfer ghost is so popular to become important somehow later.
I don’t think I’ll stick to the schedule at all btw. Glad it’s unofficial.
)
Those blurred blobs are really tempting. 
I like that the chapters are a season each! Summer’s really short compared to the others… The season approach makes me super curious to find out more, not gonna lie!
