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Some disconnected observations from chapters 10 and 11:
What is the significance of the shiritori game, if any?
I wasn’t totally convinced by the switch from “people have been taken over by a mysterious creature” to “alone in a deserted city” – it felt a bit too much “here’s another horror trope to throw in”
So Aiko did have feelings for Tamon, at least in the past…
I liked Tamon’s dream of the martian canals, even though it was only brief
The moon; are we going to get a title drop at some point (we came close)? Is Tamon’s subconscious trying to tell him something? What effect does the tide have on a water monster anyway? Does anybody else have Pink Floyd playing along in the back of their head?
I was describing this book to someone who doesn’t speak any Japanese and so had to translate the title on the spot and the moment I said, “The Dark Side of the Moon” I was like, "how did I never make that connection before… "
It felt kinda of fluffy to me, trying to show a sense of people being silly to calm their nerves, but maybe one of the authors or books will end up being relevant.
The biggest part of this that is bothering me is that multiple people were supposed to have already been vanished and returned, surely they wouldn’t also be taken? But also deeply interested in what will be seen in the 農協倉庫 (what is that in English? Co-op warehouse?). Surely the warehouse can’t fit that many people!
Also 白雨 being the only other creature around…is the cat the creature’s eyes and ears about town? What’s going on there?
I too want to know what the meaning of the siritori game is. They keep playing it for pages on end. Onda likes her cultural references, but still, it looks like there might be more to it, but I don’t know how. I admit I skimmed over the titles I didn’t immediately recognize, I hope I won’t regret it later.
It looks like what is going on now, with everyone gone, is different to what has been going on so far. Even people already abducted have disappeared. Why? And why were the four protagonists spared? Just because they had boots on? They did open the window, didn’t they? Or did they close it immediately after? And are we to assume that the whole town was sleeping? Aren’t there people who work at night in that town? With shoes on?
Aiko surprises me. I know that she is far from home, in a place where strange things are happening, and it’s natural that they occupy most of her consciousness. But she is a mother. How has she never called to see how her family is doing all this time? No contact with husband or child(ren?), just her mother-in-law. And when catastrophe strikes, and they don’t know the extent of it, how is she not worried about her family? How has no one used the landline to call someone? I’d be on the phone with my family first thing, instead of relying on someone else’s mobile phone and deduce that I’m cut off just because it’s out of range. Land lines are more reliable in times of disaster anyway, and it seems this is a time when mobile phone use is still not widespread.
I hope this doesn’t all end up in a love story between Aiko and Tamon. I’m not interested n that. Why would Tamon have that dream all of a sudden?
I can’t believe I didn’t get the Pink Floyd reference in the title until now
Finally finished this week too! (I can still manage to finish the book this year… )
I’m also intrigued by that! Also, why did they repeatedly point out that る is difficult? I also wonder whether this will come up again…
Yeah, that was quite the leap! Also, having seen the hands and arms of (whom? The husband of the couple living next door?) in the puddle, and then just going inside, and then all are gone, that was a bit of a strange succession. I would rather have expected them to experience the “water monster” coming out of the puddles and crawling everywhere tbh…
But maybe they dissolved, like the neighbour in the hallway who had already disappeared on their second visit?
That’s what I’d call it in any case. Or maybe something like farmers’ association warehouse (depending on how well-structured they are)?
It was pretty obvious to me that that creature was 白雨, but at the same time, why? It seems to be more connected (and more long-lived) than those who had been taken and returned, but how exactly is its connection to the water monster?
I guess they closed it again. But even then, most houses (and especially Japanese houses) are not airtight, so there is always room for the monster to creep in (e.g. through the ventilation like the book mentioned, or through the sewage system (!), or under the doors, etc.)
Same. And both feel way too matter-of-fact to me to suddenly have an affair in the middle of things. But who knows
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