Questions About Men Without Women

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Answered Questions (11)

Would someone please provide a phonetic spelling of the Japanese "translation" of the Beatle's song "Yesterday," only the lines that appear in the book? If Philip Gabriel could oblige, that would be ideal. Hoping there is a good reason Jay Rubin did not translate any of these stories. The reason I am thinking of is not very flattering to my favorite author but preferable to Rubin being dead.

Kate The lines that appear in the book are not part of the actual Yesterday song by The Beatles. The Japanese phonetic translation of:
Yesterday / Is two da…moreThe lines that appear in the book are not part of the actual Yesterday song by The Beatles. The Japanese phonetic translation of:
Yesterday / Is two days before tomorrow / the day after two days ago
is: Kinō ashita no nichi maedesu nichi go no yokujitsu.
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In the story Schehehazade her job is "support liaison". Is that common profession. in Japan? She is said to be a housewife but having sex is part of service. Seems like a big cultural difference.

Lynn I don't think it's an actual legit job. That story was about illicit underworld activities, and I got the feeling Schehehazade was hired as a "support…moreI don't think it's an actual legit job. That story was about illicit underworld activities, and I got the feeling Schehehazade was hired as a "support liaison" by the criminal group who was providing the guy a safe house to lie low until the "heat" dissipates. The source of the heat isn't explicitly stated that I can recall, but I think the reader can presume they're trying to evade law enforcement or else another gang. I don't know that it's wise to draw assumptions about the whole culture based on a short story about criminals.(less)

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What's with the ending of Kino?

Anu Batkhurel I assumed that Kino finally accepted how much pain his wife's betrayal caused him. …moreI assumed that Kino finally accepted how much pain his wife's betrayal caused him. (less)

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in the first story, "Drive my car", is the driver the daughter of the actor? And what does the end imply? That he in unable to find out why his wife cheated on him with so many men?

Megan Brien The good thing about this book is that you can take whatever message you want from it! My interpretation was that the driver, Misaki, is not Kafuku's …moreThe good thing about this book is that you can take whatever message you want from it! My interpretation was that the driver, Misaki, is not Kafuku's daughter (his daughter died three days after being born), however she reminds him a lot of the person his daughter could have been, and he maybe begins to see her as a daughter figure. I think the end implies that through talking to Misaki he feels a certain closure over the situation with his wife. In those moments when Misaki is driving him around, he can stop being an actor and just be a human. She enables him to just breathe and enjoy the calm before he goes back into the storm. He doesn't need to know why, he can be at peace with not knowing when he's with Misaki - her driving soothes him. She takes on the burden for him during those rides. That's what I took from it, at least! Again, each story is open to interpretation.(less)

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What is the age group for reading this book?