Totally forgot about the book starting so soon . Just (panic) bought it digitally and will get this week’s reading in this weekend.
The cover blurb left me quite intrigued, but it’s super short. So let’s see what it can do with these few pages.
So if the start is 18th of October, we have one week to read chapters 1-2 and a week from now start the next chapters, did I get it right? (I’m a total shinmai here)
Yes the “official” start is the 18th. From this point onwards you have 1 week to read the contents of the week and discuss them here. Then a new thread for week 2 will be created. Repeat until the book is finished.
Some people like to pre-read and start a discussion right at the beginning of the week. Some people finish when the week ends and use the thread more for questions + reading theories of the first group. Others fall a little behind (life happens) and read after the week is officially over. You can still ask questions or theories after the week officially ends. All these are valid ways to use the bookclub.
The most important point is engaging with other readers in these threads and keeping at it. At least as long as you enjoy the process.
I find it really motivating to have someone I can share my thoughts about the book with. Plus, people help me if I fail to break down a sentence.
Edit: and some people are scared of spoilers, so if you pre-read be real careful about your comments
i’m reading the paperback version and i’m happy to report: i was so excited to get started on this book that i read both of the chapters today (even despite having makeup classes on a freaking saturday )
there was some new vocab that i had to look up, and some readings that i had to double-check, but it wasn’t too bad. as for the grammar? first time seeing 〜ざるをえない xD i was like, whaaat the hell is that??
now as for the story (idk what is a major event so better safe than sorry): first of all, i wonder what exactly happened to ishikawa and what was the relationship between him and our protagonist (other than that they were stealing together). also, tachibana was kinda vague in his warning, so i can’t really imagine how the events will unfold! exciting times~
I didn’t expect such a detailed explanation. Thank you so much! I’ve been enjoying reading in Japanese for a long time now and the idea to join this book club was to enjoy reading together. It seems that I found the right place for that
So I read the first chapter. I think this is not a spoiler so I’ll ask, what do you think the protagonist meant by (the daydream like tower)? 古い白昼夢のような塔
it confused me a little too. i’m guessing the exact meaning and symbolism of the tower will become clearer as we read along, but to me it gives this feeling of being seen, insignificant, and judged from above. idk, maybe i’m reading too much into it, but since it always showed up whenever he failed, that’s the vibe i got!
i do wonder though if this “tower” imagery ties back to whatever happened to our guy
It has to tie back to something from his past. I got this vibe that he’s running from something and this tower is there to remind him of this thing, but our guy chooses to ignore it.. or does he.. Well, I guess we’ll find out soon enough
Chapter1.
The writing somehow feels a little disjointed, at least in the first chapter.
It jumps around so much, and he moves through multiple stations, trains, and stores, checks out multiple targets and pickpockets 2 times in what feels like 3 pages
And on the other hand, we know nothing about him other than he knew someone named 石川.
At least I’m learning about some luxury brands, and I didn’t know that there’s something called a 見送り切符.
Chapter 2:
Feels similarly disjointed.
And another new character 立花. We still don’t know our protagonist’s name, right?
Their conversation was also hard to follow, I’m not sure if I understand who is speaking what in all cases.
Because of the whole interaction with the 痴漢 and his thoughts during that interaction, our protagonist feels real antisocial. Probably a plus in his line of work.
I finished this week’s reading, but I think I’m needing a second run. It felt a little like a fever dream.
It for sure symbolizes some feeling he has when he fails his craft. Why it’s a tower, I don’t know. I think @slighlty_better_than sums up the possible feeling of the tower pretty well.
yep, i’m pretty sure we don’t know his name yet! i also had no idea about 見送り切符, and had to check the brand names too xD
for me the conversation with tachibana was easier to follow compared to the lengthy pickpocketing description – especially the 右手/左手 switches had me going ?? and had me rearranging the mental image in my head multiple times
That was something for sure! Never heard about those.
It exists in several countries: Platform ticket - Wikipedia
In those countries your ticket is checked before you enter the platform, and so you need to have something that allows you to enter the platform, even if you don’t want to board a train.
What took me by surprise was that he apparently stole three wallets although we only witness two of them… there was a phase where his vision got blurry - did he do the third robbery on autopilot during that time? I feel like this might get him into big trouble at some point
As far as I remember, he felt watched when he pickepocketed the two wallets. But didn’t find anything when looking around. So, I thought 立花 might have “reverse pickpocketed” the wallet into his coat. 立花 only said he was following him since the 痴漢 incident but he might have spotted him the day before already. I’m fuzzy on their conversation but I remember him saying he has something to do with 株 as well and the wallet belonged to some 証券会社会長…
That the wallet will get him into trouble in the future: I also think so. Would be rather random of the author to dangle an unused Chekhov’s gun in our face
Should probably really reread and understand the parts before creating wild theories though.
Okay, had some time to reread chapter 1 at last. Now it all makes sense. I was apparently way too tired last time reading .
I take everything back that I wrote in my last post.
I now think so, too. Especially when he pulls out the wallet, he thinks “まただ”. So it seems it sometimes happens to him that he pickpockets without remembering it.
I’m glad that I’m not alone in finding these first two chapters somewhat disorientating and confusing.
I’m not sure if it is the writing style, but so far this feels harder than any of the recent IBC reads.
I found the pickpocketing sequence in the first chapter hard to follow, but at least I could mostly work it out on second read through. But I could only follow about half the conversation with Tachibana even re-reading. (I really struggled to work out who was saying what, which didn’t help)
Hoping that it is going to get easier…
PS on re-reading a third time (with some chat-GPT help), I was struck by the repeated threat looming from tall buildings. There is the tower in the mist in the first chapter, the steel tower that flashes past in the train, the threatening buildings looming overhead in the second chapter. The main character seems to have some serious mental issues. (I discovered, on searching, the term ‘batophobia’, which might be applicable (no, it doesn’t relate to こうもり)).
Glad everyone else thought this was a fever dream. I was like “am I just tired? Why is this so confusing?” and likewise was getting really confused by all the hands-going-where talk (and with which fingers!?).
This is my second book by the author and the other one also had some very fever dream chapters interspersed with more regular ones. I’m gonna guess we won’t stay in this POV forever.
I was surprised by the ‘scientific’ approach of pickpocketing
which fingers to use, knowing the bends a train would take …, but I was confused by the scene in the train. I didn’t understand the building ‘passing by with a loud noise’, and who stealed from whom (and how exactly) in the train.
Then I bought the English translation to check. The stealing maneuver was still not clear, but at least I understood what went on on the train, who took what and afterwards who said what in the conversation with 立花.
A bit late to this, but glad I could catch up just as Week 2 starts.
I’m really quite bad with these “I have a dark past and it keeps haunting me” types of storytelling. The whole tower symbolism thing, the 無意識 pickpocketed wallet, the falling out with his co-conspirators… Oftentimes this give the author some kind of excuse to be obnoxiously vague until way late into the plot, haha.
I’m guessing the protagonist has some kind of double personality thing going on, based on what’s been going on so far… which I’m both excited and dreadful for at the same time; that makes for a good story but I’m having a hard time as it is with this writing style. I just hope we don’t have to deal much with unreliable narrator shenanigans.
This is quite a fun read though! Glad I picked this as my first book club ever to join here
Finished this week. This was a bit tough at times, but glad to see everyone else was confused by the style I followed along most of the action and dialogue pretty well, but the philosophical musings lost me a bit- during the 痴漢 interaction when he was musing about different types of men or whatever I was a bit lost.
As for the tower, the most obvious symbolism that comes to mind first is hubris, as in the Tower of Babel. He mentioned that he only sees the tower when he fails in his task of pickpocketing, so the hubris interpretation could be valid. I also thought about the Panopticon, which has a central tower. Prisoners in the Panopticon don’t know whether or not they are being watched by the guard in the tower, so they end up surveilling themselves/their own actions. I think, with the motifs in this book of cameras, eyes, and the feeling of being watched when a tower comes into play (he sees a tower on the train before the 痴漢 interaction, then 立花 reveals that he was watching that interaction), this interpretation could also fit very well.
I’m intrigued by this book, and it’s not very long, so will probably keep reading.
. Just (panic) bought it digitally and will get this week’s reading in this weekend.
)
I followed along most of the action and dialogue pretty well, but the philosophical musings lost me a bit- 