I‘m starting to like the book! (Maybe because we had less Tsugumi this week? Maybe because Tsugumi is starting to become a bit more mature?) I enjoyed all the flowery descriptions, especially this sentence:
I can appreciate Yoshimoto‘s writing more when there‘s less annoying characters involved sorry Tsugumi, I’ll probably come to like you by the end of the book, but I’m not quite there yet
Her dad sounds super cute, but there’s still the lingering feeling of will he cheat again? Is there any deeper meaning to his 忘れ物 story and why did he look around to check if anyone was watching? Let‘s see how the story continues.
Yeah, I like it to. I like to just wrap myself up in her prose and feel what she feels. It floats along. I’m not sure how much I’ll remember afterwards. I remember reading Kitchen and liking it, but I can’t remember anything else about it…
I kept expecting some shocking revelation as I was reading that scene, I guess because I’m used to detective fiction, where no scene is there without providing a clue or at least a red herring. But ultimately I think this is the kind of book where the narrator uses minor, insignificant moments as a trigger for expanding her own thoughts. This incident was just a glimpse into her father’s life when he’s not with them. It’s always a strange feeling when you get a chance to observe someone you’re very familiar with at an unfamiliar setting. I don’t expect major drama from this book, only interesting thoughts (I may well be wrong of course). Maria seems to be able to take anything in her stride, and view and process it from other people’s standpoints - she’s so understanding of everyone, she even takes the possibility of her father cheating again calmly and matter-of-factly. I like her a lot.
why did he look around to check if anyone was watching? Let‘s see how the story continues
I didn’t get the sense that it was checking to see if anyone was watching, just that he was trying to figure out who was calling his name. きょろきょろしてからやっと彼女を見つけ、makes it sound like he’s looking around and finally finds her, right?
I’ve finished the chapter only fractionally behind schedule, yay!
I’m still waiting to fall in love with it. I remember loving her books when I read them in English, but they are still too much work to live Metaphors are definitely my Japanese-reading weakness, so this book is like a reading workout for me!
I did especially like the scene where Maria overheard her mom chewing out her dad for being a complainer.
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sorry Tsugumi, I’ll probably come to like you by the end of the book, but I’m not quite there yet
