[197th] Michiko Mamuro's bookshelf "From a sinking ship, with love: The dream collection" by Otsuichi, Eiichi Nakata, Asako Sanshiro (author), Hirotaka Adachi (work commentary) / Asahi Shimbun Publications
Known as the "original charismatic bookseller," DAIKANYAMA TSUTAYA BOOKS, who recommends books in a variety of media including magazines and TV.
In this series, we take a peek into the "bookshelves" in the mind of our most popular concierge.
Please enjoy it along with his comments.
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"From a Sinking Ship, With Love: The Genmu Collection"
Otsuichi, Eiichi Nakata, Asako Sanshiro (author), Hirotaka Adachi (work commentary) / Asahi Shimbun Publications
Click on the image to go to the purchase page.
Click on the image to go to the purchase page.
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Otsuichi, Eiichi Nakata, Asako Sanshiro, and Hirotaka Adachi. You can read this anthology whether you know the relationship between these four people or not.
The first three authors submitted works, and Adachi added explanations at the beginning of each one, such as, "It could have been rejected," "It's one of my favorites," "I was asked to write it by an editor I know who moved to Amazon," and "Apparently, the title was chosen from memories of an album he used to listen to when he moved to Tokyo." I couldn't help but smile like Ouki from Kingdom and think, "Wow, how did he know about such detailed and simple episodes that only the writer would know?" Ooh.
The title story is about an older sister evaluating her parents' current situation and future prospects while considering her younger brother's future, wondering which of their parents to go with after their divorced father or mother. Not only this story, but in all of the stories included in the collection, the characters seem to be on a "sinking ship."
The protagonist of "Five Minutes of Eternity" is paid by the most unpopular boy in class to pretend to be his friend. "A Deserted Island and a Book" is the story of a man who is literally stranded at sea. The ship has already sunk! "Go Buy Bread," as you can easily imagine from the title, features a small, timid boy who is targeted by delinquents. "The Phone is Running Away" is just as the title suggests, a story about a woman whose smartphone is so slippery that she can't make calls. There are also miracles, sci-fi elements, and "dead" stories, and plenty more to choose from. One that I recommend is the horror story "The Person in the Background" by Asako Yamashiro.
The narrator, a woman in her twenties, takes part in the filming of a low-budget late-night drama in the mountains as an extra, without any celebrities.
The lead actress, Ms. S, plays a delusional runaway girl who wanders along forest paths in frilly white summer clothes that are not suitable for mountain hiking. But as filming progresses, strange things start to happen. "You're in the way! Get out of the way!" "Shut up!" "You were the ones who did it!" -- troubles arise, and the cameraman, sound engineer, and Ms. S's manager all shout in anger one after another. Even though there was no one there.
"When you work as an extra, you're expected to be part of the background. You have to behave in a way that doesn't draw anyone's attention, blends in well, and makes you disappear. We're not characters who live in the world of the film, but part of the background art set." The narrator's thoughts are very similar to those of "the rest of the crowd" on the mountain...
The highlight of each story is that at the end, the protagonists release their feelings towards someone. Whether it be a friend, family, a monster, or the dead, they send their hearts flying straight out from the place where they were sinking.
Just as Stephen King's works, no matter how twisted they may be, depict "LOVE" at their core, I think Otsuichi and his colleagues are writers of love in various forms.
The first three authors submitted works, and Adachi added explanations at the beginning of each one, such as, "It could have been rejected," "It's one of my favorites," "I was asked to write it by an editor I know who moved to Amazon," and "Apparently, the title was chosen from memories of an album he used to listen to when he moved to Tokyo." I couldn't help but smile like Ouki from Kingdom and think, "Wow, how did he know about such detailed and simple episodes that only the writer would know?" Ooh.
The title story is about an older sister evaluating her parents' current situation and future prospects while considering her younger brother's future, wondering which of their parents to go with after their divorced father or mother. Not only this story, but in all of the stories included in the collection, the characters seem to be on a "sinking ship."
The protagonist of "Five Minutes of Eternity" is paid by the most unpopular boy in class to pretend to be his friend. "A Deserted Island and a Book" is the story of a man who is literally stranded at sea. The ship has already sunk! "Go Buy Bread," as you can easily imagine from the title, features a small, timid boy who is targeted by delinquents. "The Phone is Running Away" is just as the title suggests, a story about a woman whose smartphone is so slippery that she can't make calls. There are also miracles, sci-fi elements, and "dead" stories, and plenty more to choose from. One that I recommend is the horror story "The Person in the Background" by Asako Yamashiro.
The narrator, a woman in her twenties, takes part in the filming of a low-budget late-night drama in the mountains as an extra, without any celebrities.
The lead actress, Ms. S, plays a delusional runaway girl who wanders along forest paths in frilly white summer clothes that are not suitable for mountain hiking. But as filming progresses, strange things start to happen. "You're in the way! Get out of the way!" "Shut up!" "You were the ones who did it!" -- troubles arise, and the cameraman, sound engineer, and Ms. S's manager all shout in anger one after another. Even though there was no one there.
"When you work as an extra, you're expected to be part of the background. You have to behave in a way that doesn't draw anyone's attention, blends in well, and makes you disappear. We're not characters who live in the world of the film, but part of the background art set." The narrator's thoughts are very similar to those of "the rest of the crowd" on the mountain...
The highlight of each story is that at the end, the protagonists release their feelings towards someone. Whether it be a friend, family, a monster, or the dead, they send their hearts flying straight out from the place where they were sinking.
Just as Stephen King's works, no matter how twisted they may be, depict "LOVE" at their core, I think Otsuichi and his colleagues are writers of love in various forms.
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DAIKANYAMA TSUTAYA BOOKS Literature Concierge
Michiko Mamuro
【profile】
She is the "original charismatic bookseller" who recommends books in various media such as magazines and TV. She has a serial in the magazine "Fujingaho", the online magazine "Tabiiro TABIIRO", and Asahi Shimbun Digital's "Honya no Hon". She is also active as a book critic, and her paperback commentaries include "Tiny Stories" (Yamada Eimi/Bunshun Bunko), "Motherhood" (Minato Kanae/Shincho Bunko), "Meandering Moon" (Sakuragi Shino/Futaba Bunko), and "Staph" (Michio Shusuke/Bunshun Bunko).
