It’s been a year since Yuki Hirano left home—or more precisely, was booted from it—to study forestry in the remote mountain village of Kamusari. Being a woodsman is not the future he imagined, but his name means “courage,” and Yuki hopes to live up to it. He’s adapting to his job and learning constantly. In between, he records local legends—tales pulsing with life, passion, and wondrous gods. Kamusari has other charms as well. One of them is Nao.
Yuki’s crush on the only other young single person in the village isn’t a secret. Yet how impressed can she be with someone at least five years younger who makes less money and doesn’t even own a car? More daunting, she’s in love with another man. Finally finding his place among the villagers, a feeling deepened by his crush, Yuki seems headed for a dream life of adventure and camaraderie—and Nao could be the missing piece of that dream.
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Are you planning to read 神去なあなあ夜話 with the book club?
I tried to start today… I had actually been looking forward to it for the past week or so, but gave up after about three pages. Too tired. Might not have that much time this week, but very likely on the weekend.
I read the first chapter today. We’re reintroduced to everyone, and get to hear the village’s origin legend. Must have been at least a little embarrassing for Yuuki although he is quite thick skinned. Not much seems to have changed so far other than Santa’s age.
In the beginning, I thought, well, I am actually not that much into fairy-tales, but the second part of her narration got me. Sad, yes, but bitter-sweet. “Better to have loved and lost than never to have loved before” type of story, isn’t it. Makes me very curious what will happen to Yuuki and Naoki now!
Oh. I didnt take it as foreshadowing. Interesting I thought the moral, at least according to the locals, was that you need to find “the one” to have good sex
I did not take it as foreshadowing either. The story made Yuuki think of Naoki, so I assume we will be reading more of the two in the next story (and the title suggests that, too). I hope it will be a happy ending when it comes to them.
I have finished reading chapter 2 and chapter 3 - and enjoyed them a lot. Especially chapter 2 and the latter half of chapter 3.
Spoiler chapter 2:
I was relieved that we - as I had hoped for - left the 昔話 of chapter 1 (although it had been better than I first thought) and got back to the present day. The relationship between Yuuki and Naoki starts to develop (yes! ).
What I had not expected was that we would get to know how Miki and Yoki got to be a couple. I was quite (pleasantly) surprised to read how that came about. Might be misunderstanding things here, but opposed to the first book where I felt more pity for Miki because she has to put up with Yoki’s “behaviour” when it comes to female company, it feels much more now as if they are on roughly equal terms. She knew exactly what she was in for and still tried to make it happen, right?
Spoiler chapter 3:
Started off a bit slow, but he is invited to Naoki’s home for the first time () for a cup of tea and a bit of background information on his boss. The latter half ended with such a cliff-hanger that I would like to keep reading into chapter 4 now if I had enough time. What the hell happened in that remote village in the past? Scary…!!
I also read chapter 2. Somehow I had thought that Miki and Yoki had naturally ended up together after spending all their life together growing up, but not so apparently. And yes, there is much better balance between them now that we know. I guess at some point we’ll also learn how Yoki lost his parents, and why there aren’t many elderly people in the village? I assume it must have something to do with the dangers of forestry work, plus their horribly dangerous festivals. Sometimes I think it’s a wonder anyone survives in this village at all. And by the way, will we get to see the forest again, or will the book be about everyone’s love life only?
We knew by now there was something sad coming, but this was really sad. I felt so sorry for ヨキ and 清一. It feels as if it made me understand the two of them and their close relationship much better.
It was moving to get a (possible) explanation of why ヨキ and みき got to be a couple from his (assumed) point of view. When we heard it from her, although she was definitely determined about it, the narration itself felt much more light-hearted to me. This is dead serious now.
I’m so behind! I only now finished chapter 3
I’ll do my best to catch up - I really feel the lack of audiobook, the one for the previous book was so good.
Chapter 3: Until the revelation at the end it was so slow going I was starting to wonder if this book would have a central theme to keep us interested, or we would just be leisurely catching up with the people of the village. Looks like I found the central theme then. Yuuki is so slow - wasn’t it obvious that something happened that wiped out several members of one generation all at once even before he saw the dates? I guess the author wanted to keep us in suspense a little longer. My first thought would be a festival gone wrong, but I don’t think the dates match? A natural disaster would also make sense, but then how come only people in their 30s or so died? (Not that we have confirmation of this, just that the parents of two families died while their offspring survived, and the fact that Yuuki commented on seeing very few people of that generation in the village). It can’t have been an accident related to forestry work, because then the wives would have been spared, I suppose. Intriguing.
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It’s okay, three pages is still a start.
I thought the moral, at least according to the locals, was that you need to find “the one” to have good sex 
).
) for a cup of tea and a bit of background information on his boss. The latter half ended with such a cliff-hanger that I would like to keep reading into chapter 4 now if I had enough time. What the hell happened in that remote village in the past? Scary…!! 
It feels as if it made me understand the two of them and their close relationship much better.
