木暮荘物語

by Shion Miura

Kogure Village authored by Shon Miura is the collection of long novels. It collects seven works. Paradise-like relates the dilemma of a flower shop girl caught between two men. Heart and Body is themed the life and mood of the aged. Fruits on the Column, a seemingly ordinary story, tells about the romance between a dog groomer and a gangster. The other four novels are Black Drinks, Holes, Fragments and the Taste of Lies.

267 pages, Tankobon Hardcover

First published November 1, 2010

About the author

Shion Miura (三浦しをん) (1976–) , daughter of a well-known Japanese classics scholar, acquired her love of reading at a very young age. When, as a senior in the Faculty of Letters at Waseda University, she began her job hunt looking for an editorial position, a literary agent recognized her writing talent and hired her to begin writing an online book review column even before she graduated. Miura made her fiction debut a year after finishing college, in 2000, when she published the novel Kakuto suru mono ni maru (A Passing Grade for Those Who Fight), based in part on her own experiences during the job hunt. When she won the Naoki Prize in 2006 for her linked-story collection Mahoro ekimae Tada Benriken (The Handymen in Mahoro Town), she had not yet reached her 30th birthday—an unusually young age for this prize; in fact it was her second nomination. Her novels since then include the 2006 Kaze ga tsuyoku fuiteiru (The Wind Blows Hard), about the annual Ekiden long-distance relay race in which universities compete, and the 2010 Kogure-so monogatari (The Kogure Apartments), depicting the lives of people dwelling in an old rundown wooden-frame apartment house. In 2012 she received the Booksellers Award for the novel Fune o amu (The Great Passage), a tale about compiling a dictionary. A manga aficionado, Miura has declared herself a particular fan of the "boys' love" subgenre about young homosexual encounters.

Source: http://www.booksfromjapan.jp/authors/...

Reviews

[Angel 一匹狼 · Rating 3 out of 5]

I love Miura's writing style and how she creates characters that feel alive and that you want to see what happens to them and how their stories develop. Here, in "木暮荘物語" we have another good example of her writing, in this case a compilation of short stories that are all related to people who live or have some kind of relationship with an old building called Kogure (木暮) (荘 is used in words like 別荘 which means 'second house', 'villa') in which different kind of people live: a university student; the owner, an old man who decided to go there to relax and disconnect; a woman that works in a flower shop... There is humor, there is human touch, there are feelings and there is some creepiness too (sometimes I feel Miura's a little bit 'obsessed' with some topics; also, I sometimes also feel she writes better male than female characters, but that might be just me).

In any case, if you are a fan of the author, read it. If you have never read any of her books... Look down.

The best: I really like her writing

The worst: some creepiness that might be off putting

Alternatives: Miura has heaps of good stories to choose from: "神去なあなあ日常" or "月魚" are really good options

7.5/10

(Japanese; original)

[Dana · Rating 4 out of 5]

A collection of short stories about people who live in this apartment.
Each story is pretty short, but I got hooked and it was very easy to read. Again, each story was short, but they did not feel shallow. Each story had an impact and gave me a life lesson

[Nura · Rating 4 out of 5]

When your lover leave you without a word will you keep waiting for him to come back? or will you find another lover instead?

In a perfect love story, the girl would be waiting, even if it takes years. In real life, maybe the girl been waiting for quite sometimes, but then decided she had to move on with her life, right? I can't disagree with Mayu's decision on this matter. Mayu had been dating Itou for a half a years since Namiki left her three years ago. And suddenly Namiki come back. This is when it got a bit dramatic and comedic. Even though Itou is handsome and nice, I prefer Namiki since I saw him holding a camera on the front page. And those picture he give Mayu was totally nudge my romantic heart. aaaw... me wanna hug that cutey pie when Mayu said the parting words: "As always, right from the start, he told me that one day he would disappear. The view of the world were spreading in his eyes... when he was like that, both he and the pictures he took... seem to shine. That's why I knew that he and I lived in a different worlds."

***

My favorite quote said by Nojiko-san
"You get to know yourself in a land where there is nobody else."

4 star for the cute graphic and a bittersweet love story...