Beginner Japanese Book Club // Now Reading: ひとりぼっちの〇〇生活 // Next: ルックバック

聲の形 (A Silent Voice)

Summary

The story revolves around Shoya Ishida, a former delinquent who bullied Shoko Nishimiya, his deaf classmate, alongside his friends back when he was in elementary school.
(I think posting more of a summary than that gives away too much, so look up more at your own risk (if you’re somehow one of the people who hasn’t seen the film)).

Warning: A central theme of this manga is bullying, so keep that in mind when voting if you’re not comfortable with that topic.

Availability

Book: https://www.amazon.co.jp/gp/product/4063949737/
eBook: 聲の形 1巻 (週刊少年マガジン) - 大今良時 - 無料まんが・試し読みが豊富!電子書籍をお得に買うならebookjapan

Personal Opinion

I think a more serious story would be a nice change of pace for the book club, since many of the past picks have been slice of life or comedic stories. The film adaption was really good, but I’m sure the manga has a lot of details that were cut from the film, so it should still be interesting even for those who saw the film.

EDIT (8/5/2019): Now that I’ve read the whole first volume I don’t really think it’s a great fit for the book club. The difficulty is probably still fine, but the material is pretty depressing, while not having any resolution (since that’s the point of the remaining six volumes).

Pros and Cons for the Book Club

Pros

  • More serious story.
  • Furigana for all kanji, which is typically good for beginner book club.
  • Contains colloquial language, but otherwise seems fairly straightforward.

Cons

  • May feel unsatisfying reading a plot-driven story since we’ll only read the first volume (out of 7).
  • Central theme may be painful or upsetting for some readers.

Pictures

Make sure to open the images in new tabs so the text is clearer.

Pages 7-8

Pages 16-17

Pages 26-27

Difficulty Poll

How much effort would you need to read this book?

  • No effort at all
  • Minimal effort
  • Just right
  • Challenging
  • Impossible, even with everyone’s help
  • I don’t know (please click this if you’re not voting seriously)

0 voters

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