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Book log

For the past few years, I’ve been writing my simple little thoughts on the fediverse and elsewhere about the books that I’ve read, but I thought I’d put those thoughts all in one place because I’ve needed to migrate away from two fediverse servers so far (RIP), and I do enjoy looking back on these notes (however brief). This page mainly exists for my own records. (I’ve added some extra details in square brackets and corrected some typos in the text.)

博士論文を書き終わってから、しばらく読み書きする気力が消え失せていました。数年間かかりましたが、最近は多少読める余裕ができ、SNSで短くて軽い感想文を書くようになりました。様々なSNSで運営方針の変化やサービス終了があったりしたので、今後はSNSの投稿と並行でこのページにて読書録を書くことにしました。本当にゆるい感想しかないので、あまり期待しないでいただきたい。


田中美穂編『胞子文学名作選』 (read c.2021?)

動物でもない、植物でもないキノコ類に憧れを持っているので、新聞の広告欄に『胞子文学名作選』というタイトルを見ただけで買いたくなった。実物を見て、装幀とタイポグラフィーの遊びっぷりにびっくりした。好き


村田沙耶香作『コンビニ人間』(read 2021-05-30)

『コンビニ人間』読了
なんか悲しいというか、寂しい気持ちになるが、いい本だった


相沢沙呼作『medium 霊媒探偵城塚翡翠』(read 2021-08-23)

媒師探偵城塚翡翠、面白かった〜! はじめからラノベのような雰囲気で完全に甘く見てしまっていたので、オチを見て仰天した。自分はほとんどミステリを読まないが、ミステリが好きな人もそうでない人も楽しめるように書かれている。すごい


Dubliners by James Joyce (read 2021-11-04)

ジェイムズ・ジョイス『ダブリナーズ』、よかった。今度『ユリシーズ』読もうかな。

Joyce’s Dubliners was really good - lots of sad little stories. Gonna try and tackle Ulysses next


Terminal Boredom by Izumi Suzuki; translated by Polly Barton, Sam Bett, David Boyd, Daniel Joseph, Aiko Masubuchi and Helen O’Horan (read 2022-01-01)

This is good stuff - I’ve read through two of the stories now and I really like the raw style of expression in the dialogue in particular
[the next day] This was good - complex relationships and characters with frank analysis of their feelings

原文読んでないけど、訳文がいいわぁ。鈴木いづみいいわぁ
(翌日・読了後)面白かった。訳文にイギリスの俗語がふんだんに使われていて、故郷を感じるなどした


October by China Miéville (read c.2022-08-11)

about to finish reading October - the events and factions were hard to follow (I should have taken notes) but the style of writing was vv nice.


The Fifth Elephant by Terry Pratchett (read c.2022-09-23)

“a misery wrapped in an enema”
Good lord Pratchett is amazing
[a few months later] Got round to reading The Fifth Elephant. Such sharp wit - really funny. Want to read more Discworld later, but first I’ll get back to Don Quixote


Don Quixote (Volume 1) by Miguel de Cervantes; translated by John Ormsby (read 2022-12-28)

“The next day he received the four thousand crowns, and with them four thousand perplexities,”
don quixote is great - i love the flowery language it pulls off

[several days later] Don-Quixote-posting again. What a wonderful little passage:
“[Dorothea and Lucinda] asked her to take off her veil, and thereupon she removed it and disclosed a countenance so lovely, that to Dorothea she seemed more beautiful than Luscinda, and to Luscinda more beautiful than Dorothea”

[several days later] Finished the first volume of Don Quixote - I like its wit and its grandiose language, but it’s a bit long so I’m going to read something else before I continue to vol 2


Violent Phenomena, edited by Dr. Kavita Bhanot and Jeremy Tiang (read 2023-01-15)

The difficulties with translation from Telugu began, then, with a split in my self. Or to put that statement in reverse: the very knot of identity for me is connected to problems of translation, of what can and cannot be transmitted across borders. If assimilation were easy, if one life and one identity could be converted smoothly into another, I would not need to translate. But the different parts of my self sit in jagged, disproportionate relation inside me, and Telugu and English are two languages that almost never meet in my current North American life.

this passage comes from very different circumstances than mine, but it has similarities to the kind of feeling I was thinking about [a feeling of having a rift between my two main languages inside myself].

The whole book is definitely worth a read if you ever think at all about translation. It’s a collection of essays—and of personal experiences—rather than a dry book of theory or what have you. It might feel different to what you had expected, but that’s precisely the point of the collection.

Published by Tilted Axis Press—they have an ebook version available too (all the entries in the ebook’s table of contents pointed to the last page in my app, for some reason. shame about that but not a huge issue)


The Stranger by Albert Camus; translated by Stuart Gilbert (read 2023-02-18)

カミュの『異邦人』(英訳)を初めて読んだけど、面白かった。身体がフィクションに飢えていたようだ。

I was exhausted today after swimming, but reading Camus’s The Stranger for the first time helped a bit. I sometimes have these bouts of hunger for fiction that manifest as lethargy. I had actually intended to read The Plague, but I think I’ll come round to that one soon too


グレゴリー・ケズナジャット作『開墾地』(read 2023-02-18)

グレゴリー・ケズナジャットの『開墾地』、すごい良かった。ストーリーは割とよくあるような話だと思うけど、それが日本語で、且つ『群像』に発表されたことに意味がある。自分の子供が大きくなったら読ませたい。(こちらの日記にも記載あり

Breaking my twtr silence to say that Gregory Khezrnejat’s “Kaikonchi” is really good - looking forward to his future work


Hit Parade of Tears by Izumi Suzuki; translated by Sam Bett, David Boyd, Daniel Joseph and Helen O’Horan (read 2023-05-03)

鈴木いづみの英訳短編集『Hit Parade of Tears』読了。前の英訳短編集『Terminal Boredom』は、SF度が高く、訳文にイギリス英語のスラングがふんだんに使われていて、好きだった。今回は舞台が「日本」になっている場合が多く、日本の文化・現代史に慣れていないとわからないようなところも、意訳(ローカリゼーション)せず、ソノママ翻訳されていた模様(原文見てないからたしかなことはいえないが)。考えさせられるものがある。今回はイギリススラングがやや控えめだったから、個人的に少し残念だった。でも話はすごく面白かった。複雑な人間関係と唐突なオチが毎回楽しい

Finished reading Izumi Suzuki’s “Hit Parade of Tears”. This collection had more stories set in Japan, with lots of jp-centric references and cultural touchstones, as opposed to the previous translated collection called “Terminal Boredom” which had many stories set in space or a nondescript country iirc. I haven’t compared it with the original, but it’s interesting to see how the translation seems to have intentionally not localised these references (I don’t think this is a bad thing).
The stories are all really good - I always enjoy thorny relationships in fiction and both of the collections are chock full of those. Some of the stories have really abrupt endings, too - she’s intentionally avoiding any sort of realistic or gentle cadence, and I respect that choice a lot (it’s very entertaining - kind of like the chaos that happens in a dream just before you wake up). I kind of prefer the first collection, but this one was good too.


The Divided Self by Ronald David Laing (read c.2024-01-19)

Read The Divided Self the other day - very good. it was interesting to see an example of someone saying that societal expectations “forced” someone to do something that they secretly wanted to do but couldn’t admit, because I had a similar experience myself. all the chapters lead up to the final chapter, which is a case study that demonstrates all the theories presented until then. I can see how it may have influenced eva (according to an obi I saw on a ja translation of it a while ago)
[addendum: I want to write a meandering post about this as well, but this book demonstrates an example of “applied literature”—using the tools of literary analysis to analyse real people and their feelings. perhaps I’ll get the chance to explain myself more fully one day]


Portraits by John Berger (read c.2024-04?)

I finished reading Portraits a while ago and I was intending to write a meandering post about it, but it was very good. Lots of different perspectives on art as well as interesting personal stories as well - rich life experience helps so much in creating and appreciating art. I was surprised with one uncharacteristically venomous passage aimed at Francis Bacon, but it seems like he eventually dropped his beef with Bacon (pun not intended) after that particular piece was published


Perdido Street Station by China Miéville (read 2024-05-03)

Finished reading Perdido Street Station. I really liked the descriptions and the setting, which grabbed me from the start. The plot was elegantly put together for the most part but it kind of lost me at the end. This is an extremely petty point of criticism but I got a little bit tired of seeing a handful of go-to turns of phrase come up repeatedly. Even still, I did enjoy reading it a lot and I think I’ll come back to it for inspiration later. Don’t think I’ll read the rest of the trilogy for the time being though - the first book felt decently self-contained.


Entangled Life by Merlin Sheldrake (read 2024-07-03)

Entangled Life was very good - lots of very cool facts. The last two chapters went a little bit wild with speculation and musing but the book is intended to inspire and it does a great job at that


黒島伝治作『二銭銅貨』『橇』『渦巻ける烏の群』(read 2024-07-12)

Read some short stories by Denji Kuroshima after Renkon recommended them. The stories really emphasise the drudgery and futility of war, as well as the careless decisions that happen at every level. You can read his works for free via Aozora Bunko in Japanese or get this translated collection here for basically the cost of shipping [at the time of writing]

黒島伝治の短編集、よかった


The Left Hand of Darkness by Ursula Le Guin (listened c.2024-08-26)

Finished The Left Hand of Darkness (library audiobook) the other day - powerful and unconventional love story with delicate depiction of the characters’ emotions as they struggled to understand each other. The down-to-earth delivery by George Guidall suited the protagonists very well. [addendum: Also, now that I’m writing this on a site where people can’t reply, I’m gonna go ahead and say that even Le Guin wasn’t completely impervious to Orientalism with the references to the yinyang and the game of go. I do see why the yinyang symbol was invoked—it does make sense in the story, but it was interesting to see.]

『闇の左手』、良かった。さすが『ゲド戦記』の作者だなぁと思った。登場人物が自分と異質の人とわかり合えるようになるまでの過程が細かくリアルに描かれていて、好きだった


Prophet Song by Paul Lynch (read 2024-09-06)

wow I’ve only read the start of it but Prophet Song is really good - very urgent writing style that mixes all voices and thoughts together in the same paragraph. [several hours later] oh my word this book is utterly terrifying. [several days later] I finished reading it and it was very good (I particularly liked the poetic asides that meandered into memories and visions of a future to be) but I don’t think I was quite ready to read it

昨年のブッカー賞受賞作『Prophet Song』、ちょっとしか読んでないけど結構面白い。セリフは引用符なし・改行なし、ピリオドがあるべきところにカンマが使われるなど、登場人物の不安と焦りが文章の形式でも表れている。


Midnight’s Children by Salman Rushdie (listened 2024-09-23)

Finished Midnight’s Children (library audiobook). Really liked how it threads recurring events, metaphors, and even simple phrases (“full-tilt” etc.) through the story. I wouldn’t have been able to finish it if not for the audiobook though - it’s good but long. Gonna read more Booker winners, but my fav is still The Remains of the Day

『真夜中の子供たち』よかった。物語の中で、作者が様々な現象や比喩、そして特定の表現を繰り返して使うことで、独特な記号体系を築き上げている。主人公の大げさな語り口が好きだった。ブッカー賞受賞作をすこーしずつ読み進めてるけど、今のとこの一番のお気に入りはカズオ・イシグロ作『日の名残り』


Wandering Stars by Tommy Orange (listened 2024-10-25)

I’ve only listened to the first few paragraphs of Tommy Orange’s Wandering Stars but I can tell it’s going to be really… “good” isn’t the right word - it’s a bit hard to describe when its position as a commercial product resembles that of the “curios” it refers to at the start (I imagine the author was well aware of this too)
[one week later] Finished listening - this was really good. There is so much in it - it spans multiple generations with different narrative styles and the audiobook has a different person voicing the chapters for each character. Their struggles with assimilation and identity really resonated with me (though my own experience is obv different). Despite the somber tone, it has frequent wordplay and silly banter between characters, neither of which feels out of place.

Tommy Orange作『Wandering Stars』、良かった。アメリカの「開拓者」による罪が何世代にも影響を及ぼす過程が丁寧に描かれていて、読んでいて胸が痛む。登場人物が、差別や様々な形の「依存」に苦しみながら、自分たちの居場所、徐々に失われていく土着民族の文化との向き合い方を探っていく物語。


Guardians of Language by Florian Coulmas (read 2024-10-26)

Nice introduction to the history of language policy. It looks at the lives and actions of 20 people around the world who influenced language. It had an interesting take on how the charisma of these individuals played a part in changing language use. Each chapter has a section called “The Last Word” in which the author asks questions to each individual and writes their answers for them by paraphrasing from their published work. The gimmick unnerves me in ways that I can’t fully explain but I will admit that it made the book feel more light-hearted and approachable.

世界の言語政策史の入門書のような位置づけで、結構面白かった。全20章で、それぞれ一人のひとの生い立ちと活動を紹介し、一人ひとりの言語に対する思想の背景がわかりやすく書かれていた。


My Friends by Hisham Matar (read 2024-11-01)

The first half of the book is particularly tragic. It’s not a true story per se but it bears so much truth, especially considering the author’s own background. It bears truth like a heavy load, like a responsibility. The second half becomes more mundane but gives many delicate yet cutting descriptions about the realities of friendships—things are not always so rosy.

I find it slightly interesting to think about what has gone unsaid in the book. Perhaps I read through it too quickly, but the protagonist seems to make a rather large jump through time in his narration, suddenly skipping from when he is around 30 years old to 45 years of age, when he notes that he has not married or started a family. He does have romantic relationships, but these are obstructed in the first half of the book by the aftershocks of his suffering and the subsequent secrecy he must maintain to protect himself, and again obstructed in the second half of the book seemingly by his fear of letting go of his own daily routine. He is aware of the first obstruction but does not mention any explicit reasons for not “settling down” once his life has calmed down.

When the regime that took away so much from him finally topples and he gets the opportunity to return to his family, he continues to prevaricate, feeling that his old life in Libya is nonexistent—not even worth being called a “shadow”. These kinds of observations about living in another culture away from home resonated with me.

Hisham Matar作『My Friends』、良かった。前半は胸が苦しくなる展開ばかりだったけど、後半はまあ救いがあった。舞台がロンドンだったから、懐かしい地名がたくさん出てきた。


Small Things Like These by Claire Keegan (listened 2024-11-02)

Short but moving. It was interesting reading and listening to these two books back to back, as in this story the protagonist feels suffocated by his day-to-day routine.
I don’t really care too much either way about using or avoiding the word “said” in prose but this book did a good job at using other words instead of “said”.

Claire Keegan作『Small Things Like These』の朗読を聴き終わった。直前に読んだ『My Friends』では、主人公が大変な思いをしてようやく日常を手に入れる物語だが、この話では主人公が「仕事・食事・睡眠」の繰り返しに意味があるのかと疑問に思うようになり、ついには自分と自分の家族の日常を壊してしまう決断をすることになる。


Doppelganger by Naomi Klein (listened 2024-11-03)

I thought the book would start and end on this odd premise of the author being confused with another Naomi (Wolf), and it does do that, but it touches on so many other topics in between. The author threads them all together with the concept of a despised or wilfully ignored other being a reflection of the self (for example, with colonialism defining sections of the human race as uncivilised and undeserving Others). It’s a gut punch in the way it shows how we all look away from many inconvenient truths as we try to stay in our little bubble of normalcy. The author tries to be optimistic in the end by inviting people to carry out collective action (which she argues is the only way to solve any of the issues she touches upon), but this is another gut punch for me sitting on a rare day alone in my house trying to derust in Tetris: The Grand Master while listening to the audiobook after doing a bit of work, rather than going outside and possibly interacting with other human beings at Seika de Pon in Kyoto or the Digital Games Expo in Tokyo or an art gallery or literally anywhere else. It is quite hard for me to socialise in person—perhaps what I cannot do face-to-face I may be able to do online, but perhaps I am just trying to look away and shirk my own responsibility.

Naomi Klein著『Doppelganger』の朗読を聴き終わった。かなり重い内容だったが、良かった。一部、Norman Finkelstein著『The Holocaust Industry』と重なる話もあったが、この本に引用がなかったっぽい。ちょっと残念だったかも。2023年9月に出版されているが、2023年10月から一年間以上経った今になって読むと、やはり胸が痛む。

By mojilove on 2024-10-19
Last updated on 2024-11-03

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