Please use spoiler tags for major events in the current chapter(s) and any content in future chapters.
When asking for help, please mention the chapter and page number. Also mention what version of the book you are reading.
Don’t be afraid of asking questions, even if they seem embarrassing at first. All of us are here to learn.
To you lurkers out there: Join the conversation, it’s fun!
Read-along Sessions
Come and read from the previous week’s section, join in the chat about this book (also the previous book, possible future books, WK reviews, all things Japan-related, what else you did on the weekend, etc) or just lurk and listen. Readers of all speeds and abilities welcome - we are here to help each other out. Reading sessions will be held every Sunday at 9:30pm JST.
Week 2 session (in your timezone): Sunday, October 20, 2019 12:30 PM TZ
Participants
Mark your participation status by voting in this poll.
I’m reading along
I have finished this part
I’m still reading the book but I haven’t reached this part yet
You know what would be cool? If someone could sum up what happened in the section in detail.
I feel like that would provide a good jumping off point for discussion, and help people with comprehension (ex: if you misinterpreted a part, or got an entirely different impression). There’s been a couple of times (in other clubs) where I had something to say about a part but totally forgot about it by the time I was done with the reading.
Guess I’ll share my take on some parts which were more difficult for me than the rest.
Summary
部屋のすみに息づき、押してくるそのぞっとするような静けさ、子供と年寄りがどんなに陽気に暮らしていても、埋められない空間があることを、私は誰にも教えられなくてもずいぶん早くに感じとった。I perceived very quickly, though no one told me about this, that no matter how cheerfully a child and an old person live together, there is a space that can’t be filled, the spine-chilling silence, which breathes in the corner of the room and pushes itself towards you. I hope that’s right.
「そうですか？」ないとは思うけど、セントバーナードとかだったらいやだな、と思った。Is that like an abbreviation of her asking 「そうですか？」 and narrative “そうではないとは思うけど”…? Looks funny.
「あの子ね、かかりっきりで育ててないからいろいろ手落ちがあるのよ。」This became clear after I found out that かかりっきり is 掛かり切り - “being devoted, spending all one’s time and energy on”
そのことを体にしみ込ませた目をして歩いている。Is “目” something like “viewpoint” here? I walk [live] with that viewpoint penetrating my body.
(Almost at the start of this week’s reading)
「十分しか抜けられないなら、電話入れればいいと思うんだよね。」
I am not really able to follow this part of the conversation. What’s 雄一 exactly talking about here?
At 9%
男だった頃でも顔だちがよかったからかなりもてたらしいけど、なぜかこの変な顔の。
I am not sure I understand the の at the end of this part correctly. Does this mean 雄一 finds his “mother”'s face in the photo strange and doesn’t understand why it was considered good looking back then? Or am I misunderstanding something?
At 10%
となりに人がいては淋しさが増すからいけない。
I have no idea what that から is doing in that sentence (nor am I sure what the sentence means exactly…) “There are people next to me, so the loneliness shouldn’t increase”? I am not sure that makes sense…
I am confused by the second half of this dialogue. 人ごと seems to mean “other people’s affairs” and 思えない could either mean “cannot think” or “to not seem, to not appear likely”. I had initially thought this meant “for that reason, he cannot think of your or other people’s problems”, but that seems contradictory considering 雄一 seems to be actually concerned with helping Sakurai. What am I missing here?
本当に暗く淋しいこの山道の中で => truly dark and desolate, inside this mountain trail
自分も輝くことだけがたったひとつ => ???
やれることだと知ったのは => knowing the things I could do (???)
いくつの時だろうか => ???
Any help is appreciated!
Might be just me, but I am finding this book quite harder than コンビニ人間…
“If she couldn’t slip out other than for 10 minutes, she should have just called”
At 10%
Can’t remember the context, but the sentence should mean:
“People being around increases loneliness, that’s why it won’t do”
At 12%
She looks similar to the のんちゃん that died.
Going for literal here:
“That’s why, about you, it doesn’t look like he’s interacting with strangers” = “That’s why, it seems like he feels close to you”
At 14%
Again, trying to be literal and with the same structure:
In this truly dark and desolate mountain path, lighting our own is the only thing, realizing that we can do that, when was it. = When was it that I learned that in this dark desolate path, the only way I can light is my own.
One question for anyone who can help.
Near the start of the Week 2 reading: とたたきで靴をぬぎながら彼は言った。
In the read aloud session we had more than one plausible suggestion for what たたきで might mean. Does it refer to where he takes his shoes off (on a concrete floor), the manner in which he taking his shoes off (with a clatter?), or something else again?
よろしくね。
たたき is the part of the entrance of Japanese houses that is under elevated, where you are supposed to leave your shoes.
Just look at google images for 玄関のたたき.
(It might come out with just たたき too)
Edit: just read he rest of your message So, yes, the entrance. で indicates position.
Thanks!
So, yes, the entrance. で indicates position.