この気持ち、どう表現しよう

こんなにも澄んだ作品はない気がする。

しとしと雨の降る中、タバコとウィスキーを傾けながら読む。
ときどき空を見上げて、何かを思い出して…

一人で本を読んでいるだけなのに、こんなにも世界は広い。

「喪失」は失うことではなく、与えられることなのかなあ



(2008-11-22)

I have lived in Japan for nearly a decade, during which time I have read dozens of books ON Japan but very little Japanese Literature. The main reason was that having encountered many incidents of shoddy translation I was waiting to read Japanese Literature in Japanese. Unknowing of this wish, my girlfriend kindly sent me this Vintage edition translated by Jay Rubin and as both a 'courtesy' to her and a way to understand her better I decided to give it a read. What I could not have imagined soon became crystal clear, firstly the translation is EXCELLENT, Rubin has done an outstanding job, and secondly, Murakami, as story teller of the first degree. Sure, this simple narrative is neither original or outstanding structurally, but it is in other numerous regards. Murakami's strength as a story-teller is his ability to suck you in and hold you there - front row seats all the way. As the plot unravels before your eyes you feel you know these characters he has drawn, that you know them far beyond the surface of which you have been told, that you know their inner core and their deepest hopes and fears. Because the writing is not unnecessarily uncomplicated, the pages just race by and this fluidity means you can finish this in three good sittings. All this leaves you feeling with a strange sense, of actually having know these characters - who could forget the lasting images of Storm-trooper, Midori et al., and in the end, a sense of loss when the final page comes around. All in all, an excellent novel and one worth reading whether you have an interest in Japan or not - actually that's an interesting disparity worth highlighting, the fact that people often read 'Asian' literature because they have an interest in Asia, but seldom read American Literature because the have an interest in America... Finally as an addendum, it should be pointed out that the late '60s backdrop that this is 'supposedly' set against, is no more than a piece of cloth hung from the ceiling to obscure the mess behind - this reads as absolute contemporary literature and with the exception of the odd 'Peace' or 'Right-on' it has no visible setting, nor leaves no particular after-taste. (2008-03-03)

文体の格調の高さ、内容の重みや厚さといったことを求める人には評価されない作品だと思います。ただ単にストーリー展開の楽しさを求める人には絶賛されるでしょう。あまり深く考えないで読めば、かなり楽しめる作品です。 私はまた非常に読むことを推薦する--The Fates by Tino Georgiou (2007-12-31)

"Death exists, not as the opposite but as a part of life."

1987年の村上春樹著「ノルウェイの森」のJay Rubinの英訳バージョン。

原著は、僕が高校生の頃、初めて読んだ純文学であり、洋書は僕が初めて読んだペーパーバックになった。それだけ記念の一冊。

他のレビュアーを見ると意見は割れているけど、英訳バージョンでも、村上氏の軽い文体も、胸が熱くなる独語感も、雰囲気は出てるんじゃないかと思う。

一部、単語のレベルが高くて読みこなせない部分があったけど、またいつかもう一度、この本を手に取りたい思う。その時には、ちゃんと読みこなしたい。 (2007-08-14)

｢ノルウエイの森」は初めて読みましたがこんなに悲しい片想いだとは思いませんでした。物語は主人公Watanabeの親友でありNaokoの恋人Kizukiが突然自殺したことにより心のよりどころを失った２人が毎週日曜日に会い目的も無く都会をさまよい歩く所から始まります。そんなある日精神状態が不安定になってNaokoが泣き止まなくなりWatanabeが慰めようとしたことがきっかけで物語は新たな展開となっていく。テーマは愛というより生と死という感じがしました。Mental illnessで療養所生活を余儀なくされた愛する人への切々とした想いやごく普通の日常が20才の青年のみずみずしい感覚を通して生き生きと描かれています。Jay Rubinの名訳がHarukiの世界をいっそう引き立たせています。英文は中級ぐらいでしょうかページ数は多いですが読みやすかったです。 (2007-03-10)