OPEN A BOOK,OPEN THE WORLD
作者：Murata, Sayaka/ Takemori, Ginny Tapley(tr.)
出版社：Granta Books
年份：2019
ISBN：9781783787388
書號：20313357
裝訂：平裝
定價：$480
優惠價：$408元
「世界不過就是幻象堆積而成的錯誤」
在十二個短篇中，村田沙耶香試圖顛覆社會的常規與傳統，這些故事或許發生日本、未來世界抑或是某個平行宇宙。這些關於家庭、友情、性愛與歸屬的意義，全都由能讀者自由詮釋，因為成為一個「人類」究竟意味著什麼，值得我們重新定義。
In these twelve stories, Murata mixes an unusual cocktail of humor and horror to portray both the loners and outcasts as well as turning the norms and traditions of society on their head to better question them. Whether the stories take place in modern-day Japan, the future, or an alternate reality is left to the reader’s interpretation, as the characters often seem strange in their normality in a frighteningly abnormal world. In “A First-Rate Material,” Nana and Naoki are happily engaged, but Naoki can’t stand the conventional use of deceased people’s bodies for clothing, accessories, and furniture, and a disagreement around this threatens to derail their perfect wedding day. “Lovers on the Breeze” is told from the perspective of a curtain in a child’s bedroom that jealously watches the young girl Naoko as she has her first kiss with a boy from her class and does its best to stop her. “Eating the City” explores the strange norms around food and foraging, while “Hatchling” closes the collection with an extraordinary depiction of the fractured personality of someone who tries too hard to fit in.
In these strange and wonderful stories of family and friendship, sex and intimacy, belonging and individuality, Murata asks above all what it means to be a human in our world and offers answers that surprise and linger.
Sayaka Murata is one of Japan's most exciting contemporary writers. She herself still works part time in a convenience store, which was the inspiration to write Convenience Store Woman, her English-language debut and winner of one of Japan's most prestigious literary prizes, the Akutagawa Prize. Her work has appeared in Freeman's, Granta, and elsewhere.
