I’m not done yet but TIL that 引き出し can be written 抽斗. What the f. I know this doesn’t make much of a difference in the mess that is the Japanese writing system, but still, it feels wholly unnecessary.
Finished! My theories were completely wrong, but that’s part of the fun of reading. At least I wasn’t completely wrong that 深冬 is writing books in the future. Tamaki really is even more toxic and unlikable than I initially thought .
I finally finished! I should have been done a few days ago but work and life, you know I liked this book a lot and it was a fun mix of genres. I’d be interested in reading more books by this author, especially as I think someone said they typically write mysteries.
That’s what her wikipedia page said! Also that she worked part-time in a book store while trying to make it as an author, which I think is relevant to the current book .
She has two mysteries that ranked well in a few mystery related prizes: 戦場のコックたち and ベルリンは晴れているか. Both take place during the Second World War, apparently. I assume the style will be widely different from the one in this book.
Oh dear, that is less exciting for me unfortunately. I tend to not like war stories very much. Even stories just set during the war tend to not be my thing.
I liked the book as well! The story and main character seemed overly simplistic at first but it got more interesting around the midway point. But in the end, this whole thing happened because mr priest didn’t have the common sense to explain that the books were given to him before taking them, and didn’t have the nerve to explain afterwards?? Seems a bit far fetched.
Also stupid question but I was a bit confused by this sentence: 文体は、先ほど読み終わった本に似せれば良かった。What is it referring to exactly? She (?) should have copied the style from the book we just read? But she did right? It’s the exact same thing. But “れば良かった” grammar means “should have” (done something that wasn’t done), right? I’m confused >_<
So I reread that section and thought, “huh, yeah, weird.” so went off searching if there are any other meanings or grammar tricks there and all I could find was this maddeningly vague Stack Exchange post which at least makes more sense here. It kinda makes sense (は・が distinction), but I also feel slightly suspicious of it because I’ve never seen it that way before.
Thanks for looking into it! But yeah I’m still somewhat confused. Even in your link, the ~ばよかった looks like a hypothetical scenario, which I can’t make sense of here. Maybe @Naphthalene has some insight?
I have returned the book to the library a while ago, so I can’t check, but isn’t that the part where she is commenting on how her father was writing entirely new books for ひるね? In that case, it just means “he could have just pastiched the books he had just finished reading”.
Ah, or maybe it was how she solved the whole thing at the end by writing the book with the same title as the actual book we are reading? I don’t remember much, so I’m just guessing, but she would be just saying that she would have had less trouble writing the book if she had made it in the style of one of the books she finished reading. In that case (again, can’t remember) it also serves as a 4th wall breaking wink from the author meaning that what she wrote isn’t the same thing as what we read.
It is! The only meaning is “would have been better to~”, which means it didn’t happen.
I liked this book a lot and it was a fun mix of genres. I’d be interested in reading more books by this author, especially as I think someone said they typically write mysteries.
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