I liked this book. Again, it was somewhat stilted and formalized in translation but that's easily overcome. The dialogue sometimes was kind of silly, with little annoying things like money being called "dough" etc which seems out of context in the story. Kind of simplistic in tone, although it does delve into the whole search of self by Harada-san and why he feels like he must continue to see his "parents." Harada is a very tragic figure to begin with, and by the end of the book I was really pulling for him. When a book does that for me, then it's a good read. The surprising additional twist to the story also isn't at all believable (even allowing for some of the supernatural effects the actual occurrences are too unlikely and unreal) -- but it's eery and effective enough that one makes allowances for it. Access-restricted-item true Addeddate 2020-12-09 05:18:43 Boxid IA40009408 Camera Sony Alpha-A6300 (Control) Collection_set printdisabled External-identifier

This article does not cite any sources. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed.Taichi Yamada este unul dintre cei mai cunoscuti scriitori si scenaristi japonezi. A avut succes si a fost rasplatit cu premii pentru activitatea la studioul de film Shochiku, dar si ca scriitor. A scris romane ca "N-am mai visat de mult ca zbor", "In cautarea unei voci indepartate" ori "Straini".

It’s that yearning that compels him to make return visits. Every time he does so, he feels bathed in the warmth of their welcome and their easy acceptance of him. Over the course of a few visits he relaxes enough to begin calling them Mom and Dad, finding a deep pleasure in their company and the opportunity to re-live happy childhood experiences as well as make up for lost time.The Japanese original won the 1987 Yamamoto Shūgorō Prize for best human-interest novel. The English translation was one of sixteen works long-listed for the 2006 Foreign Fiction prize awarded by The Independent. Yamada has gained accolades from substantial writers such as David Mitchell and Bret Easton Ellis, but this novel is more a gentle entertainment than a serious psychic disturbance." - James Urquhart, Daily Telegraph In their company Hideo can relive his childhood and make up for what he missed -- something so tempting that he can't pass it up, despite realising that it is somehow unnatural and possibly even dangerous. Less subtle, unfortunately, are the vagaries of the translation into American English. To have a Japanese sushi chef from the 1940s say "Yo" as a form of greeting is ludicrous; meanwhile, a scene of seduction has Harada kissing his girlfriend's "leftward rump", as if she were some well-rounded specimen of beef cattle. Kei isn’t convinced his trips to Asakusa are good for his health. She sees Heido changing day-by-day, becoming hollow-eyed, aged and emaciated. She’s even more worried because Heido himself cannot see these changes – when he looks at himself in the mirror he looks as healthy as ever. Can Kei save him from the ghosts of his past? Or is his desire to make up for the lost years of his relationship with his parents too strong to resist?

Putem sa interpretam in mai multe feluri aceste elemente de supranatural: am putea crede ca eroul sufera de o tulburare psihica in care mintea sa cauta un refugiu confortabil in trecut, in copilarie, in parinti, atunci cand trece printr-o trauma cum ar fi un divort. Este firesc ca pacientul sa gestioneze necazul refugiindu-se intr-un loc unde s-a simtit bine. Dar atunci ar fi greu de explicat prezenta femeii cu cicatrice. Daca fortam un pic interpretarea putem spune ca ea reprezinta constiinta, vinovatia lui. The narrator Hideo Harada, a 47-year-old TV scriptwriter, meets a couple who bear an eerie resemblance to his dead parents, and forms a friendship with them, visiting them often. As his health declines, he comes to realise that they are ghosts who are sapping his life-force. The 2023 English-language film All of Us Strangers, directed by Andrew Haigh, is also based on the novel. Taichi Yamada is one of the most famous and highly respected writers in Japan. Winner of many awards for literary excellence from private organizations and from the Japanese government, he is best known for his scripts for TV dramas, but has also written many novels and plays. He was born in Tokyo in 1934, and graduated from Waseda University in 1958 after having studied japanese Language and Literature in the Department of Education. That same year he entered the Shochiku Film Company and began to work at the Ofuna Studio Production Department. In 1965, he left Shochiku and established himself as an independent scenario writer.

Eventually, however, Kei makes it clear to him that he must essentially choose between this unreal wallow in nostalgia and embracing the present.

Pe de alta parte, daca acceptam supranaturalul, atunci putem afirma ca prin suferinta, prin divort, Hideo a devenit un fel de "felinar", un "magnet" pentru spiritele care mai aveau ceva de spus in lumea noastra. Acesta este un concept des intalnit si in filme, indeosebi cele japoneze, cand eroul devine un portal pentru spiritele de dincolo. Eu as tinde spre aceasta explicatie, mi se pare mai pe gustul meu. :) David Mitchell (Cloud Atlas) said "highly recommended, a cerebral haunting ghost story" & Bret Easton Ellis describes this as "an eerie ghost story written with hypnotic clarity, intelligent & haunting with passages of acute psychological insight into the relationship between children & parents". Hideo is amazed and confused, but he's also drawn to the couple, and they treat him -- despite the fact that he's ten or more years older than they are -- like their son.Yamada's manner of stripped-down storytelling leaves much to the reader, but he manages tempo very subtly, as Harada moves between fear and elation, and his reacquaintance with his parents is deepened in nicely pitched snatches of dialogue and imagery: "I could see the mannerisms of a dashing artisan in the way my father swung his arms and strutted along, and I found it quite endearing."