ミーナの行進
Author: 小川洋子
Page count: 348 pages (but probably less than this - see below)
Natively link (level 30/31??)
Summary
Japanese
【本書の英訳『Mina’s Matchbox』が、
米『TIME』誌発表の「2024年の必読書100冊」
（THE 100 MUST-READ BOOKS OF 2024）に選出】
美しくて、かよわくて、本を愛したミーナ。
あなたとの思い出は、損なわれることがない――
ミュンヘンオリンピックの年に芦屋の洋館で育まれた、
ふたりの少女と、家族の物語。
あたたかなイラストとともに小川洋子が贈る傑作長編小説。
第42回谷崎潤一郎賞受賞作。
English
On sleepless nights, I open the matchbox and reread the story of the girl who gathered shooting stars.
After the death of her father, twelve-year-old Tomoko is sent to live for a year with her uncle in the coastal town of Ashiya. It is a year which will change her life.
The 1970s are bringing changes to Japan and her uncle’s magnificent colonial mansion opens up a new and unfamiliar world for Tomoko; its sprawling gardens are even home to a pygmy hippo the family keeps as a pet. Tomoko finds her relatives equally exotic and beguiling and her growing friendship with her cousin Mina draws her into an intoxicating world full of secret crushes and elaborate storytelling.
Rich with the magic and mystery of youth, Mina’s Matchbox is an evocative snapshot of a moment frozen in time, and a striking depiction of a family on the edge of collapse.
Praise for Mina’s Matchbox
‘I read Mina’s Matchbox like a besotted child, enraptured, never wanting it to end.’ RUTH OZEKI, author of The Book of Form and Emptiness
‘Dreamy and whimsical, Mina’s Matchbox traffics in the themes at which Ogawa always excels: memory, identity, and nostalgia’ Esquire, Best Books of the Summer
‘A conspicuously gifted writer. . . To read Ogawa is to enter a dreamlike state. . . She possesses an effortless, glassy, eerie brilliance’ Guardian
‘Evokes the secret crushes and crushing secrets of girlhood with charm and elegance’ People
‘Immersive and poignant. . . filled with wonder’ Bookpage
‘Beguiling’ New Yorker, Best Books of 2024
‘ The world Yoko Ogawa builds is quiet, warm and it should feel comforting. But there are peculiarities about the whole thing that keep you on the tips of your toes’ NPR, Best Books of 2024
Availability
Paperback: Amazon.jp | cdjapan | Amazon uk
Ebook: Kindle |
Personal Opinion
I have read (and really enjoyed) two of Ogawa’s books in English translation: the Memory Police, and the Professor and the housekeeper. The latter was read previously in the IBC and we recently read 妊娠カレンダー
妊娠カレンダー is my favourite book that I have read in Japanese, with her unique thought-provoking, humorous and poetic writing. I continued to think about the three stories in that book for several weeks after finishing it.
ミーナの行進 （みーなのこうしん） doesn’t have any Natively reviews, and looks like the Japanese version may be hard to find in print (ebooks are available) . There is a “French edition” on Amazon UK, (which appears to actually be in Japanese. Others have observed similar listings in the past and reliably inform me that they are in 日本語). [Edit: the Amazon JP store seems to have the Japanese paperback in stock now]
But the English translation was published last year and has had a lot of fantastic reviews (see the English summary above).
I’ve read the first short sample chapter on the kindle and it is both engaging and readable.
There are a few pictures (not sure how many as I haven’t bought the full book yet), so the actual total number of pages is probably 330 or fewer.
There is no Natively rating, so it is hard to gauge difficulty and reading speed. My sense from the first chapter is that this is around level 30.
Pros and Cons for the Book Club
Pros
- Written for adults
- Natively reviews of Ogawa’s style from 妊娠カレンダー “the style is very clean and not too complicated or abstract, making it rather easy to follow along…” “I’d recommend it to people just starting out reading novels in Japanese. The sentences are generally short and straightforward, most of the vocabulary common.” From the kindle sample, this seems a similar level to that book (level 31)
- There is a widely available English translation and English-language audio-book with Steven Snyder’s translation
- There is an online book club by the UK Japan Society in November this year - including Yoko Ogawa. I’m hoping that we will have maybe read the book by then!
The Japan Society - ONLINE EVENT - The Japan Society Book Club: Mina’s…
Cons
- Not that much furigana apparently (that might also be a positive)
- From the sample chapters, that includes names and place names. But if the book ends up being chosen I will make sure to create an up to date list of these (with readings) as we come across them
