乙嫁語り 第一巻

さすがGoogleIME。ニッチ入力に強い。乙嫁語りも一発変換。クラウドの威力ここにあり、と行った感じ。でも今回はそんな事について書くわけじゃない。

森薫作、乙嫁語りは１９世紀初頭のカスピ海近くの中央ユーラシアで１２歳の男の子が年上のお嫁さんを貰う話。「山を超えて遠くの村から馬にのってやってきた花嫁さんは花婿より８歳年上だった」というのが作中の文章。

森薫先生の代表作である「ｴﾏ」は１８９０年辺りのイギリスの社会構造、生活、文化などを適度なフィクションを混じらせて淡々と描いたけど、弟嫁物語もほぼ同じ。違う時代の空気、違う世界の「普通」を感じさせてくれる。それだけに細かく、綿密な絵が何気なく舞台を描き出している。

嫁ぎ遅れの花嫁さんのアミルと少しずつ打ち解けてゆく花婿のカルルクをゆっくり、優しく見守っている感じ。

正直、憧れるような人が一杯登場していく。馬に乗っての物追い射でウサギを狩るアミルは綺麗で、作者も本当にこういったのが好きなんだなと伝わる。馬に乗る事はできるし、弓も多少は扱う経験もある。それだからこそ駆ける馬の背からウサギに矢を射かける難しさは理解できる。それが普通に生活の一部であるアミル、と同じ時代に住みながらもその技術を必要とせず驚嘆を覚える新しい家族。とりとめのないやりとりが惜しみなく魅力たっぷりに綴られている。

さらにいえば年が行き過ぎた嫁に心配する親戚。他の氏族との関係を保つ為にアミルを返せという実家。１２歳でも「若い大人」として扱われ、お酒を振る舞われるカルルク。生活習慣の違いがファンタジーに匹敵する。本当にありそうな分、非現実的に感じる所もまた面白い。

何にしろ、これはオススメ。乙嫁語り　第一巻。

狼と香辛料XIV 感想

狼と香辛料、いよいよ１４巻。かなり時間をかけて読んだせいか、余韻が残る。

ネタバレ無しで感想を綴るとなると、大きく話を要約しなくてはならない。

「ラストスパート」だろうか。

ホロとロレンスの関係も不安定ながらも落ち着きを見せ始め、見ていてもどかしいと思えたそのやり取りも大きく変容をする。どうにもニヤニヤと嫌な微笑みを拭えない。１４冊の本と４年近くの時間を掛けて歩んで来た二人のキャラクターの旅路は長く、ようやく精算を始めた所。話の中だとまだ半年も過ぎていないのだろう。刈込の秋から雪が降り積もる冬。雪解けの春に近づいている作中でこの二人は波乱万丈な旅を続けている。

先懐かしいキャラも登場して、自分たちの行った事が何を起こしたのか。その効果を目の当たりにし、ロレンスも少しずつ自己の変化を見つめるだけの余裕ができたのか。突拍子もない行動力はやはり、他の作品の主人公とはかなり印象が異なる。

もう話の終わりまでも秒読みに入っている感じがする。そして、その終わりは二人の関係そのものと同じくせつない別れとなる予感だ。こうも作品に思い入れを持つオレ、キモイぜ。

自嘲しながら感想文はこれで終わり。

The relative youth of the Internet culture in Japan.

I have a blog! This is the rambling discussion on the nature of information culture in Japan, and its evolution in comparison to the United States originated elsewhere. It just wasn't relevant enough to keep, but too much to just toss into the trash.

The relationship of internet media and society is being developed even now, in both the United States and Japan. I make particular note of Japan, as the tools, content, and demands placed upon the data communciations is quite different than in the United States. Especially interesting is the differing legal battles that take place regarding the medium, the front lines of defining society's relationship with its information. Privacy, free speech, and the like. These are elements of the internet which are relatively solidified in the United States. There is case history and legal precedents being set regarding the use of the internet. Spamming, wire fraud, gambling, internet bullying, and so forth. In this aspect, the social landscape of the internet in the United States is still better defined, and less volatile than in Japan. This is in comparison to Japan, where certain types of cracking, or malicious code development is not illegal. There are no legal statutes that cover these new crimes. Its relationship is thus still quite young, and yet underexplored. Is it the less litigious nature of Japan? Perhaps.

But one thing is clear, the internet and the technology in Japan is only reaching the youth now. As they explore and utilise the technology in their own methods to connect, they redefine the face and nature of the internet. The leading technology developers pull in one direction, the masses push another. Conflict is there. More pronounced in some ways than in the United States.

Another aspect to note is the differing method of innovation in Japan. In japan, the internet as we know it (a computer connected to the WWW through a browser) is less prominent in comparison to the ubiquity of mobile phone access. Mobile phone access is rather limited, and most of the use is through apps and sites through the phone browser, accessed through the phone's portal links. What difference does this make? The difference is the ability for US developers to really be free in developing new tools. getting a URL is cheap, and finding an audience (while not easy) is not difficult. The Japanese developers have to work much much harder to find their audience. Getting a sponsored link on a portal site is extremely important. This means that the creativity is more constrained, but far more explosive in the enclosed boundaries. Think haiku. In the severe restrictions and stiff rules blooms a spectacular creativity. It is as much as what one can do within a boxed garden, as it is about the ability to break out of a box. In a way, the Americans build a new mousetrap. The Japanese make the current mousetrap work better, and more elegantly than before.

Wolf and Spice Vol1 (English)

A long awaited English language adaptation of one of my favourite novel series.

I've now purchased several copies of it in English, distributing it to various peoples I imagine would enjoy the book.

The writing is slightly stiff, and certainly shows the reason the book is aimed at an age 15 and up crowd. The vocabulary is limited, and certainly doesn't stretch beyond what most people would know. Some of this is the reason the setting of the story, a pre-Renaissance pseudo-European society, just doesn't come to life. As a historical fiction, the story simply does not provide enough material to bring the time and place forward, much beyond the plain backdrop that it provides. There is no sense that there is much more of the world existing beyond the pages of the book. Good fiction, science, historical, or otherwise - should be able to construct a world with a depth and detail that extends beyond the last page turned.

This is particularly difficult. It does not mean to describe everything in detail, and bog down the narrative. The world should however be a real enough location to bring a believability around the character's drive, ambition, fears and hopes.

Some books can rest on precedent. Books based on movies, TV shows, and video games need not place their heft into constructing a world. The groundwork is already laid out.

As very good stage actors can act on a stage with only the barest of props, the characters and how lively and naturally they act on stage can set the tone.

This book, with the character of a young, inquisitive girl who is out of touch with the life of the merchant, does not deliver. The girl's inquisitive nature should be leveraged to provide insight into the daily life of a merchant, but only does so as an exposition device. The dialog fails to invite the reader to learn more, and gain interest about the girl asking the question. It seems slightly flat. A question is quite telling of the person doing the asking. Why is the question being asked? what is the interest behind it? How does the person react to the answer?

This opportunity is lost, as the novel hurriedly fills in the set pieces. I want more. Much more.

As a history fan, the tectonic shift of a society away from pagan harvest rituals and festivals carried on under the nose of the church to a more modern agriculture is one of the largest interests of this book. And yet, the sense of something changing - several hundreds of years of history being cast aside - simply does not appear. It is of phenomenally good plot construction that places such a historic shift into a personal perspective, and of one guy and one girl.

The multilayered plot, starting from the core relationship of Holo and Lawrence. Wrapped by the plot regarding a specific scheme, and the final realization of the greater plot afoot - one that will shake the kingdom to its (financial) roots. There is the larger, and infinitely historically meaningful conflict, of which only the reader should be aware of.

The intent is not to have either of the main characters be aware, or even have any interest in the "big" picture. The big big picture, this part which extends the stage past the last page of the book, never really seems to coagulate into anything. The stage is set, but half blue-screened. The post-production will fill in the blanks.

It is only because the story is so attractive, that these decidedly minor faults irritate. There should be so much more. But as I read it, it takes several tries to really get the characters to start speaking in their own voice, and imagine them walking through the hard packed roads of this town, surrounded by people who are selling their wares, hurrying to and from the shops, living their lives.