Oh man I love that second story. So far the connecting thread seem to be that the stories are connected to some kind of factory work.
I was instantly absorbed in the writing of this story even though I had to look up a ton of special words. I mean it really can’t be efficient to have that large amount of different shapes to produce… Some of which I don’t even know the English word for.
While reading I also constantly was reminded of the game “What remains of Edith Finch”. There’s a scene where you play a fish factory worker that has to perform the same action all the time and you start dreaming about other stuff on the side. This story gives me the exact same vibe. (Btw highly recommend playing if you haven’t)
I would HATE to have a landlord like that. I’m so happy mine doesn’t give two shits what I do as long as I pay on time.
I don’t even exactly know, and therefore can’t articulate why I love this story so much more then the first…
This night reminds me of a similar job I did when I was a student: Quality control for Chicken Nuggets There were several production steps, and so a number of people worked on the same conveyor belt, ensuring the quality of the intermediate products. I didn’t work there for long because it was really far from my home and I couldn’t get there by public transport for the morning shift, so I quit after maybe two weeks, but I still remember it vividly.
Isn´t she a bit over-qualified for standing at the conveyor belt and watching A´s and g´s passing by? If I remember correctly she says at the beginning of her story that she studied something like food science and she is reading books to further improve in this field.
Caught up! Page 48 in the paperback copy I have, so the 47? wasn’t far off.
This writing style really is a delight, it just sucks you into the atmosphere. I’m curious if this landlord relationship will develop. Also interesting how she’s playing down the skull crushing boredom of her job and how no one talks
A Japanese acquaintance I made worked in medicine manufacturing. She said someone she went to school with, who had the necessary schooling in chemistry and pharmacology, when he joined her company, was assigned an inventory position. Which is to say, he didn’t use his degree at all. He just did reports and inventory work. She was aghast because what a waste, right? But she said he took it in stride and was of the traditional Japanese work mentality where the company knows best, I guess? She didn’t get it so either so it’s obviously not everyone who thinks that way. I’ve also seen reference in other books/movies/etc to people just joining a company and basically being assigned a role once they join which is…mind boggling to me
I looked up her qualification as I was unsure. At the start of the story she said that 高校の食物科を卒業した私
As far as I can tell this is a vocational high school food science/catering certificate. So I suspect that it probably often leads to fairly low level catering jobs for graduates. On the other hand, she says that there were other, better jobs that she applied for, but she kept missing out because of her poor performance at interviews
Food factories appear in several of Ogawa’s books and stories. The most vivid example is a story in 妊娠カレンダー called 夕暮れの給食室, but there are also some scenes in ミーナの行進. (Incidentally, アルファベットの行進 appears in the current chapter)
(I wonder whether 小川先生 has personal experience of working in one?)
One linking thread that I spotted between the stories is the expression 整理整頓, which seems to feature prominently in the current story, and appeared briefly in the first.
It will be interesting to see if this or other things make a link to the next story. (One of the distinctive features of Ogawa’s short story collection 寡黙な死骸みだらな弔い is the way in which the stories very deliberately overlap each other in themes, characters and events.)
I have often found some of Ogawa’s stories grab me more than others. So far, I prefer the first story (which I found sweet, comical and strange in equal measure), though I’ll reserve judgement on the second night until I have finished it.
There were several production steps, and so a number of people worked on the same conveyor belt, ensuring the quality of the intermediate products. I didn’t work there for long because it was really far from my home and I couldn’t get there by public transport for the morning shift, so I quit after maybe two weeks, but I still remember it vividly.
