Us re-reading ATTWN may backfire on us. 
I need to be careful not to let my knowledge of that book inform my assumptions on this one. I normally don’t have that problem when I read, but when I’m filling in gaps in my knowledge via a non-native language… Well, my brain likes to take shortcuts.
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Just going to throw my two cents in that it the narrator was indeed saying “I will go above the law and punish them”, rather than “they are above the law.”
(Sorry, probably slow to the conversation because my time zone is ahead of most people’s.)
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Hmm I didn’t take it like that so much as some things the law doesn’t address. An example being like ‘moral’ wrongs and the like
Also no worries, we’ve got 2 weeks for this discussion and I don’t think anyone has yet completed the whole reading
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I’m likely going to be taking it nice and slow myself; having two weeks for essentially the first chapter means I don’t have to rush to read after a long day at work. Might end up being mostly weekend reading for me; I’ll have to see…
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Ooh it’s interesting seeing everyone’s thoughts on the prologue; I’m definitely gonna take another look at it as well, as I haven’t actually read And Then There Were None but I still got the impression that it’s kind of a “fixing the law’s wrongs” thing, so who knows! I have read something else where that sort of thing is talked about so maybe that’s influencing me instead 
Anyway cool to see that it can spark so much discussion already! I agree that it’s probably just pretty open to interpretation so far, but if I come up with any other insights I’ll let you know 
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Okay I’ve looked at it again and I think you guys are right, there’s not really a specific indication that it’s about seeking revenge where the law failed, just that the punishment that they’re exacting goes beyond the law and what it’s capable of. So yeah I think it could totally be that the targets are above the law, or that the law didn’t do enough for the perpetrator’s satisfaction, but it could also be grudges completely unrelated to legal issues; it’s all very much up to interpretation from the prologue I think.
Looking at it again did remind me of some other stuff that stood out; did seeing 分って throw anyone else off? I kept looking at it like “this looks weird but I don’t know why” until I figured it out haha. Idk it might not be that weird to write it that way but it sure caught my eye.
More on an actual discussion note: what did you guys make of the whole 筋書 vs. 枠組 thing? I tried looking up Japanese definitions and it still seemed like there was a lot of overlap. The best I could kind of figure is that 筋書 seems to be more about like…
a predetermined course of events, while 枠組 is more the framework behind it? So saying it’s not about predicting and controlling every little thing that happens since that’s impossible, but setting the framework for things to occur within. Idk, I kinda faked it till I made it with that one
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[quote=“natarin, post:26, topic:1133”]
The best I could kind of figure is that 筋書 seems to be more about like…
a predetermined course of events, while 枠組 is more the framework behind it? So saying it’s not about predicting and controlling every little thing that happens since that’s impossible, but setting the framework for things to occur within. Idk, I kinda faked it till I made it with that one
[/quote]
I had the same though process of being like “these seem like the same thing”??? and came out after looking at a few J-J definitions thinking similar to you. I found one definition of 筋書 that is - * 演劇や小説などの大体の内容を書いたもの。あらすじ。「芝居の―」whereas the definitions of 枠組 all seemed to revolve around being a kind of framework as you mention. So yeah, 筋書 seems a bit more planned out??? especially as the next bit is all about being able to improvise etc. but I’m also not 100%!
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An outline is different from a framework. You can use a framework to draw multiple outlines. In the case of a plan, an outline would be a rough description of what takes place when, while the framework would provide all the possible things that may happen without order or details. (I think it helps if we picture a framework as a grid of dots, and an outline as some or all of these dots connected in a specific way). So a framework is much more flexible, but also more vague, than an outline. At least that’s how I see it.
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For some reason I hadn’t even noticed that one
I did notice the 行なおう, though 
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I’m reading on and there are a couple of interesting words I’ve never come across before and it reminded me of a useful trick.
If you come across a noun and you can’t get a good idea for it, look it up on Google images.
鎧戸 (よろいと) came up and good old Google images helped me get an idea of what these were (wooden slat shutter doors) better than the dictionary 
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it seems you are not the only one wondering. 
１．
「たら」→事物の状態や性質などを強く断定する意を表す助動詞「たり」の未然形。
「ん」→意志・希望の意を表わす助動詞「む」の音便化されたもので、終止形。
「と」→引用の格助詞。
「神になろうと欲する」とは若干ニュアンスが異なります。
厳密には、「神であろうと欲する」です。
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Are we sure this book is grade 30? I am weirdly struggling with it.
I have read higher graded books that felt a lot easier. (looking at you 俺がいる, 本好き & 夏へのトンネル)
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It’s current level on natively is only on the basis of only two people grading so I’m guessing it’s either just a bit off (or the book will get easier after the first few chapters). I expect it might change level after we all get through it! At least so far, it seems a good bit more tricky than 海辺のカフカ(33) or すべてがfになる(35)…. but also I feel like those books are way overleveled for their actual difficulty 
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Yeah, I’m with sycamore; with only two people having graded the book, its level is probably not all that accurate. That’ll be a nice side effect of our book clubs here: if we get lots of people reading all the way through the book, that’ll end up being a huge boon for gradings for a book.
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It’s hard to know for sure but I think I’ve read the farthest so far (have ~20 pages left of the reading) and it does get significantly easier. I’m currently inclined to mentally place it around ~32 due to slightly more flowery writing in general + the breadth of the vocab.
I’ve read both 本好き and 夏へのトンネル and IMO those probably got bumped as high as they did due to pretty extensive vocabulary being used. Grammar wise they’re simpler (admittedly I think I read 夏へのトンネル last year so grain of salt). This book has trickier grammar.
Admittedly I dropped that book early because of animal cruelty scenes, but that book was hard to grade because you have incredibly smooth, easy to read scenes intermixed with stiff military reports. But I agree, in my mind it’s closer to just being 30, not 33. Without the military stuff it’d be even lower. The WK club is wrapping up soonish though I think? So soon will get a new influx of grading
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I have to agree with you guys, the vocabulary used is certainly in the N1+ range (having studied a lot of this vocab in the last year or so lol) and the grammar is a solid N1 in places. There’s a lot of it too. I’d personally put this at about level 40-45. (It’s more difficult than some books that are graded 44)
It’s really great practice though! The writing is really good and I’m intrigued by the mystery. (Will have to read And Then There Were None once we’re done.)
If anyone’s stuck or confused about some of the language we can help each other too. 
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Hmm, to me that means those grade 44 books were graded too high. I’m not sure if you’re past the prologue yet, but the majority of chapter 1 (I’m about 10 pages from finishing it) is pretty typical adult novel fare. I would consider for example 64 | L39 and 人間椅子 | L36 to both be significantly harder, although it seems to be settling to around the same difficulty as something like 容疑者Xの献身 | L32
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Yeah, I’m a way into chapter 1 and it’s easier than the prologue, but basing on the vocab used it should be in the N1+ range I think.
I think the books you referenced are probably graded too low. But I realise now we’re both basing our grades on different personal systems. Hmm, I didn’t think about that influencing the grades before…
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You mean 云って, probably? - but yeah, took me a moment. At first I was hoping it was a bit of a character quirk of エラリイ’s since he seems to be a rather ‘in the face’ intellectual type, but it’s also in the narration. Oh well. 
I’m only up to chapter 1 part 2. So far I really like the writing, and I thought the setting of the scene and character introduction were really nice.
I like the nerdy mystery club nicknames. They add a certain flair! Also, I wasn’t expecting everyone to be students still. In my head the scene on the boat suddenly got a distinctly detective conan-y style overwrite. 
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No, there really was a 分って early on in the Prologue: (分っている。－人は、神にはなれない）
An alternative way of spelling, apparently.
I’ve seen 云う a lot in a book or two, I don’t remember where. I think it may have been in 三毛猫ホームズの推理. Maybe mystery writers tend to prefer it? 
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