12A猫で学んだこと-Memoir-

...What are you learning now?

Discrepancy and Empathy -Can you understand what you don't understand?-

I feel Japanese people disliked peculiar existence in social community, so people with such peculiarities tended to hide it and pretend to be so-called a normal person. They however also wanted to be acknowledged and accepted by society.

 

In this entry, I'd like to introduce two books describing this kind of emotional conflicts.

Book Girl and the Suicidal Mime: Mizuki Nomura: 9780316076906: Amazon.com: Books

Amazon.co.jp: “文学少女”と死にたがりの道化 (ファミ通文庫): 野村 美月, 竹岡 美穂: 本

[plot]
The protagonist is a listless, but talented writer. He is ordered to write an improvisation by his senior in Literature club after school almost everyday to her content. One day, a girl like a puppy asked him to write a love letter to her one-way-love person on her behalf. Though not enthusiastic, he accepted the offer and tried to write it. However, she hided a secret and he caught in a trouble...

 

This book is the first-book of the Book Girl series. Sorry that I am not able to convey how interesing and intriguing this book is. Suicidal Mime in the title worried that he could not share the emotions with which the majority could feel, so he tried to pretend to be a normal person and become Mime intentionally. However, he could not help but feel shame for deceiving the other people and could not tolerate himself and desired to suicide.

The protagonist writer also has secrets and traumas and the story is written for his perspective. With reference to Classic literature and memory of his own traumas, he tried to understand other people's emotions. That is a deep-analysis of human's thought.

Please read this book and know how a person feel sympathy and empathy for other people and enjoy a literature book.

 

Amazon.co.jp: 晴追町には、ひまりさんがいる。 はじまりの春は犬を連れた人妻と (講談社タイガ): 野村 美月: 本

(Sorry, I think currently this book is only available in Japanese, ...(CURRENTLY!))

 

[Plot] The protagonist was a university student starting to live himself this winter. Confused with his solitary life for the first time, one day he met a married woman in the park at midnight. Communicating with her, he changed a little by little.

 

The protagonist boy tend to love a married woman from the time when he was a pre-schooler. A beautiful but reticent girl in this story tend to love the elders since she was just a pupil. The communication between them is very interesting. Both of them acknowledges that they are regarded as peculiar person, but they also are enthusiastic to acquire what they want.

 

It is very difficult to understand other people's feeling. She told him that she loves one old man whose death is approaching and want to present at his deathbed. There is another middle-aged man who have affection for her and asked the protagonist to introduce himself to her. The protagonist accepted it and introduced him to her. However, she was irritated and angry at the protagonist. She criticized him by questioning him, whether even he did the same thing if he knows she loves a man whose age is near to her. Continuously, she argues that he assumes that romantic relationship with a similar age partner is normal and desirable on the basis of his way (and majority) of thinking. She pointed out he does not understand her completely.

 

I felt a little unnatural for the dog in the story who looks like the existence in Fantasy though other settings are within the realm of reality. However, basically this book is about a warmful communication between people in local community as you can imagine easily that this kind of interaction surely exists in local community in Japan!