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孤独な夜のココア
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
December 22, 2018
A charming little book that compiles some short stories that center around young women, "孤独な夜のココア" is a nice read, not very challenging, that can be enjoyed by everyone. Tanabe's stories are easy to read (except for the part when the characters speak in Kansai dialect, which makes some sentences a little bit difficult to follow; that's what happens when one gets used to an 'official' grammar for a language...), the writing style is fast but with more depth that seems at first sight, and the storytelling enjoyable. Tanabe introduces the characters in a few sentences and makes them alive, making the reader care for them.
However, these women (who are pretty smart and nice to be with), seem to be a little bit too obsessed for my own taste with love, and more than love, men and marriage. It is not that the stories are boring or the characters become overbearing, but... It can feel a little bit too much (maybe not for others, but on the third or forth time that men appear as a 'futurible' husband, I was, blegh). On the other hand, some of the stories are particularly charming and touching, which more than makes for any shortcomings that may appear in the more 'simple' ones.
The best: a couple of the stories, as the one with the woman that visits her 'bad' aunt and her lover are quite touching; these women work and have an independent mind, which is always nice, and are way more developed than in other books (I know it may sound silly, but if you read the book, it may be clearer)
The worst: the stories are a little bit repetitive, in particular when it comes to all these young women with so much in front of them, but so obsessed with love and finding a man; the Kansai dialect (or Kyoto' once) makes conversations sometimes difficult
Other options: Shion Miura, which I cannot recommend enough, is a great option; Margaret Atwood, Henrik Ibsen, or Jaume Cabré are also more or less 'realistic' authors with great character development
6.5/10
(Japanese original language)
However, these women (who are pretty smart and nice to be with), seem to be a little bit too obsessed for my own taste with love, and more than love, men and marriage. It is not that the stories are boring or the characters become overbearing, but... It can feel a little bit too much (maybe not for others, but on the third or forth time that men appear as a 'futurible' husband, I was, blegh). On the other hand, some of the stories are particularly charming and touching, which more than makes for any shortcomings that may appear in the more 'simple' ones.
The best: a couple of the stories, as the one with the woman that visits her 'bad' aunt and her lover are quite touching; these women work and have an independent mind, which is always nice, and are way more developed than in other books (I know it may sound silly, but if you read the book, it may be clearer)
The worst: the stories are a little bit repetitive, in particular when it comes to all these young women with so much in front of them, but so obsessed with love and finding a man; the Kansai dialect (or Kyoto' once) makes conversations sometimes difficult
Other options: Shion Miura, which I cannot recommend enough, is a great option; Margaret Atwood, Henrik Ibsen, or Jaume Cabré are also more or less 'realistic' authors with great character development
6.5/10
(Japanese original language)
April 26, 2022
女性寫女性，女性寫戀愛感情。
看多了日本男人寫女人，總覺得心裡不是滋味。他們眼中的女人像是連我都無法理解的另一種生物（即所謂想像出來的女性？）。田邊聖子的故事很可愛。
看多了日本男人寫女人，總覺得心裡不是滋味。他們眼中的女人像是連我都無法理解的另一種生物（即所謂想像出來的女性？）。田邊聖子的故事很可愛。
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews