Feb 4, 2023

Sunday Salon: Two Japanese Novels with a Message


 

 

 

About: High school student Rintaro Natsuki is about to close the secondhand bookstore he inherited from his beloved grandfather. Then, a talking cat named Tiger appears with an unusual request. (publisher)

 This is a book for bibliophiles, readers, reviewers, and those who collect books. It's also for those who don't read and are sceptical about the value of books.

 Reclusive and shy student Rintaro is led by a mysterious talking tabby cat into labyrinths behind his father's old bookstore to confront and correct these five misusers of books.

 1) The Imprisoner: a hoarder who collects and neglects his books, finding value only in reading as many new books as possible.

2) The Mutilator: who values extreme editing of books to summarize and cut them down to one sentence. 

3) The Seller of Books: who sells and discards without caring about individual books.

4) The Final Labyrinth, in which Rintaro confronts a sceptic and gives the real reason books are valuable, new or old.

Rintaro:

"Books are filled with human thoughts and feelings. People suffering, people who are sad or happy, laughing with joy....(W)e learn about the hearts and minds of other people besides ourselves."

" I think that the power of books is that - that they teach us to care about others. It's a power that gives people courage and also supports them in turn.... Empathy - that's the power of books."

Becoming more confident after his experiences in the labyrinth, Rintaro happily returns to school after being a shy truant.

The book, in translation, would be good for students and new readers. It also reinforces what long time readers already know. 

 

 There's No Such Thing as an Easy Job by Kikuko Tsumura

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I loved reading about all the problems that can go wrong in various job situations. A young woman moves into five different jobs before coming to terms with what she can and will accept. 

The different jobs she takes within a year read like separate short stories - surveillance; writing bus advertising; writing random facts to be printed on the backs of cracker packets; putting up posters on storefronts, and working alone in an isolated hut in the middle of a forested park.  

The five jobs were interesting and entertaining to read about -  the dilemma of work with various employees and environments, and  different demands of bosses.

"..what I'd discovered by doing five jobs in such a short span of time was this: the same was true of everything. You never knew what was going to happen, whatever you did..."
You just try to do the best you can, is her final word of advice. 
 

 
 
These reviews are part of the Japanese Literature Challenge 16  hosted by DolceBellezza
 
What are you reading this week?

Memes: The Sunday Post hosted by The Caffeinated BookreviewerAlso,  It's Monday: What Are You Readingand Sunday SalonStacking the ShelvesMailbox Monday

 

66 comments:

  1. Cats AND books... I'm IN! I'll be adding 'The Cat Who Saved Books' to my 'Interest' List. Thanks for pointing it out.

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    1. It's a fun book and easy to read. You'll love that orange tabby.

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  2. The Cat Who Saved Books must be a good book, because it's about a cat! Have a great weekend. - Katie

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  3. I like the sound of both those books. The cover with the cat is so cute.

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    1. Clever premise for a book. Everyone also loves a tabby!

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  4. Hi Harvee, you shed a whole new light on books with your review of The Cat Who Saved Books. I am interested in the personification of books with the identification of those who use/misuse them. My grandmother never, ever wrote in her Bible, for example, while my grandfather’s pages are covered in his beautiful script. To me, his are all the more special for the way he interacted with them. But, when I consider people dog-earring books, selling books, hoarding books, or simply not reading them as you told us above, I realize how special books are to many of us, and how we feel they need to be treated with respect and honor. I’m not sure if I agree with the premise of books giving us empathy, though, as much as giving me insight to other values and cultures. For me, books add to my wisdom and understanding more than they do my “caring.”

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    1. I'm so glad you liked my reviews, Bellezza. I think just understanding the characters we read about could be called empathy, whether they are sympathetic characters or not so much.

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  5. I have had There’s No Such Thing As An Easy Job in my Nook for awhile, now, and I am all the more eager to read it after seeing you give it five stars. It is such an incredible thing to me that I am now retired, and I think I could appreciate this book all the more for the 37 years that I taught, and how good it is to
    be free from the bureaucracy (but not the students!).

    Thank you so much for reading with me/us again this year. It is a privilege to have your involvement and enthusiasm for all these years that the Japanese Literature Challenge has run. We still have February, if you’re so inclined. I was a little distracted in January, as I tried to fit in Nordic Finds from AnnaBookBel.net as well.
    ❤️

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    1. She was a temporary worker so could move from job to job, but not all of us had that option!

      I will certainly try to read another Japanese author in February for the reading challenge. It was fun doing my first post.

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  6. That first one sounds fascinating.

    "writing random facts to be printed on the backs of cracker packets" Can I have this job?

    :):

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    1. It was fun for her at first, but then she had to wrack her brains to solve all the problems readers and cracker buyers wrote in demanding of her.

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    2. Just goes to show I guess there are no "easy" jobs :)

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  7. The Cat Who Saved Books looks great. I hope you enjoy reading this week!

    My Stacking the Shelves post.

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    1. Wonderful book. Now, if only I could get some of my nonreading friends to read it!

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  8. The book about jobs has humor as well.

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  9. I read The Cat Who Saved Books last year and really enjoyed it. There's No Such Thing as an Easy Job sounds fascinating. Thanks for the recommendation. Have a great week!

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  10. Nice reviews! Have a great week!

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  11. It's fun to read about these 2 books. Your second book sounds really interesting. I also think the second book sounds like a light read. But I haven't read it so I don't know.

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    1. It has some humor and is a lighter read, yes.

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  12. Cats and Books are such a great combination. Nice reviews!

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    1. Thanks, Wendy. The Japanese are obsessed with cats, which bring good luck.

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  13. I do believe that books build empathy in the reader. Reading allows us to live different lives and see that, ultimately, we are all the same.

    There's No Such Thing as an Easy Job is a book I've heard a lot about.

    I like the sound of both of these books.

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    1. I was lucky to find out about them, Deb Nance.

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  14. I have been thinking about reading The Cat Who Saved Books, it looks wonderful!

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    1. Do read it and let us know what you think.

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  15. The Cat who Saved Books had me by the cover! There's No Such Thing also sounds good.

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  16. These both sound good. The cat and the book labyrinth sound particularly delightful!

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    1. As a book lover, you might like it.

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  17. Added both to my TBR! They both sound good and it looks like the cat book is short and would qualify for Novellas in November???

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    1. 208 pages, may be longer than a novella.

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  18. Ooh, both of these sound good! The first one I could totally have seen getting at my last school, those students would have loved it. The second one makes me think a lot of where I currently am in my job situation. Great reviews! Thanks for visiting me at Lisa Loves Literature earlier too!

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    1. Jobs are tricky situations, it seems.

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  19. Great looking books! The Cat Who Saved Books looks adorable.

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  20. There's No Such Thing as an Easy Job sounds like a good read and great advice about doing your best. Happy reading!

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  21. I saw the other day that you'd read and reviewed The Cat Who Saved Books...my comment must have disappeared into blogger limbo. I thought it was a quirky and fun book; I really liked Rintaro and Sayo and agreed so much with why he thought books and reading are so important. :D

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    1. I wish some of my non-reading friends would finally read or listen to the book!

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  22. What interesting books - the Easy Job book especially! I've moved jobs a LOT but not in that compressed of a timeframe....sounds like something different. Japanese books seem to often reflect slice-of-life type situations and make interesting stories out of not a lot going on. Thanks for sharing!
    Terrie @ Bookshelf Journeys
    https://www.bookshelfjourneys.com/post/sunday-post-36

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    1. The main character was a temp worker and could move around quite a bit. Her experiences are humorous and quirky and fun to read.

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  23. The Cat Who Saved Books and There's No Such Thing as an Easy Job both sound interesting. Glad to hear the second was a big hit for you.

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    1. I could relate to her job woes, and the book was also quirky and full of humor at times.

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  24. Both books sound interesting. Come see my week here. Happy reading!

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  25. The Cat Who Saved Books sounds so interesting! :D I love the Japanese culture so I wonder how much that comes into play. I'm glad you enjoyed both of these!

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    1. I loved reading these two unusual books.

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  26. awesome, I definitely want to read these!
    https://wordsandpeace.com/2023/02/05/sunday-post-77-02-05-2023/

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  27. Both of these books look fascinating, and because they are a few years old, they are easy to access from the library. My only problem is figuring out how to find time to read them!

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    1. They are not too long, so you might be able to sneak them in!

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  28. Both books sound like a great read to me. I'm very curious about The Cat Who Saved Books after reading your and Lark's reviews.

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    1. The book is worth reading, especially for readers and bloggers!

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  29. The Cat Who Saved Books - I love that title and premise. Both books sound wonderful! Excellent reviews!

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  30. There's No Such Thing As An Easy Job sounds so good. I'll have to see if my library has it.

    Jill
    All The Books I Haven't Read

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  31. I recently read There's No Such Thing as an Easy Job. I will say I was mystified by it, but that is because I am not familiar as I should be with Japanese culture. I was entertained by it and it kept me turning the pages...and it encouraged me to read more Japanese fiction in translation! Have a great week! - Melinda @ A Web of Stories

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  32. I am curious about There's No Such Thing as an Easy Job and will have to add it to my wish list. The Cat Who Saved Books sounds delightful. I really want to check that one out too.

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  33. I suppose I have to like the cat if it is saving books (I'm allergic to cats, they're not my fave)

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