Reading Club

[AJBryant]

I'll go to the store today and pick up a copy.

Keith, I hate you.



Tony

[nikonikoniko]

A number of very brief excerpts from short stories by Murakami, for those who want to check your reading level with his writing.

[Harisenbon]

Here's the first 2 page story from 夜のくもざる. It's called horn, and it was pretty short. Please use this as a guide for if you think you're up to reading the book. The book itself is about 240 pages long, and filled with pictures and 2 page stories. The type is really big.

I've included the furigana that is used in the book in parenthesis. It was late when I wrote all this, so if it's got typos in it, I'm sorry.

たとえばホルンという楽器がある。そしてそのホルンを吹くことを専門的職業とする人々がいる。これはまあ世の中の成り立ち方としては当然とことなのかもしれないけれど、ぞういくことについて真剣に考えはじめると、僕の頭は立体的な迷宮みたいに混乱してしまう。

何故（なぜ）それはホルンでなくてはならなかったのか？

何故彼はホルン吹きになり、僕はならなかったのか？

ある一人の人間がホルン吹きになるという行為には、ある一人の人間が小説家になるよりはずっと深い謎（なぞ）が含まれているように僕には思える。それを解けば人生が何もかもぱらりとわかってしまうような謎が。しかしそれは結局のところ僕は小説家であって、ホルン吹きではないからかもしれない。もし僕がホルン吹きであったなら、アル一人の人間が小説家になるという行為のほうがずっと奇妙に見えるのかもしれない。

彼はある日の午後に、深い森の奥でホルンとたまたま出会ったのかもしれない、と僕は想像する。そして世間話か何かをしているうちにすっかり意気投合して、それで彼は職業的ホルン吹きになったのだと。あるいはホルンは彼にきわめてホルン的な身の上話をしたのかもしれない。辛（つら）い少年時だや複雑な家庭環境や、容貌（ようぼう）上のコンプレックスや、性的な悩みとがそういうことを。

「バイオリンやフルートのことはおいらにはよｋわかんないな」とホルンは気の枝で地面をほじくりながら語ったのかもしれない。「だっておいらときたら、うまれてからずっとホルンだもんな。おいらなんか、外国にも行ったことないし、スキーもやったことないし。。。。。。」とかなんとか。そしてその日の午後を境して、ホルンとホルン吹きは切っても切れない良きコンビになる。やがて「フラッシュダンス」みたいなおきまりの苦節を経て、ホルンとホルン吹きは今手に手をとって晴々しい舞台に立ち、ブラームスのピアノ・コンチェルトの冒頭の一節を奏しているのだ。

コンサート・ホールの椅子（いす）の上で、僕はふとそんなことを考えてしまうわけだ。それから別の森の奥で誰かが通りかかるのを待ち受けているかもしれないチューバのことなんかも。

[clay]

Cool. I convinced a friend, Max from White Rabbit Press, to ship for everyone. He has 10 copies coming to him any day now. I will let you know when they appear. He will add the product on his website (hidden) so everyone can order one if they want (for just the actual price plus shipping).

I will post a link to purchase page soon. I know a few of you don't buy online, if you like you can just call me with a credit card.

I will let you know when he gets them in.

Harisenbon's idea of setting a deadline for finding out how many want one is a good idea. I'm guessing there will be less than 10 who live outside Japan, but if there are more interested parties, we probably should get an idea so we can order more.

Clay

[aKuMu]

if its only payable by credit card, then i cant buy because i dont own one

-edit-
ordered the book at a japanese bookstore in a neighbour city

[clay]

Credit card, PayPal, check or money order or Western Union - How about that? For check or money order or Western Union we may need to send the money to me, but that would be just fine. Max has PayPal set up with his cart.

Let me know if anyone has any other ideas or problems.

[cybermat]

Clay, I am from Canada. Should I order from Max or you? Anyway, let us know when the books come in.

Arigatou

[clay]

Max just let me know he got the books in. I just sent him a book description and he should have a link up tomorrow.

I hope we started with enough! Maybe 10 isn't enough... But that is ok, it doesn't take too long to reorder. I am not sure how much shipping will be since it depends also on the destination.

>> Shirley Sia - I think for now the best thing would be to let Max handle the shipping. Having them shipped to me and then shipped to you would add unnecessary shipping fees. So even if you order some books from us, it probably won't be much of a difference. However, I will probably try to start importing this book (after we go through it). In which case I will certainly add it to the store.

UPDATE:
Mukade-san, I modified your description for Max to add to the cart. Is it alright to use your description? Since I haven't looked through the book I didn't have anything original to give him! Here it is the description:

Murakami Haruki's 夜のくもざる is a collection of 2-page short stories by Murakami, with accompanying illustrations by Anzai Mizumaru. It was originally a series of billboard ads commissioned by a stationary or pen company, that was later collected into book form.

Murakami's writing style is pretty accessible, even to beginners, and since the stories are so short, it would be easier for people who are still looking up every character to get through a complete story in a reasonable period of time. Murakami's done such a great job on each of these stories, though, that even an advanced reader can get enjoyment out of them.

If I have your permission, I will have him use this as the description. (Just didn't want to use something without permission)

Thanks!
Clay

[AJBryant]

Just let us know how to order 'em.

Tony

[clay]

k. Providing Mukade doesn't mind my little plagiarism , here is the link:
http://www.whiterabbitpress.com/xcart/catalog/Yoru-mo-kumozaru-by-Murakami-Haruki-p-16160.html

He usually ships M-W-F and said to mention they produce great kanji Flashcards - which is true! He marked it up $1 to cover packing supplies and credit card processing fees. If you think of it, thank him for doing this since he isn't making a profit.

Let me know if anyone has a problem. We may need to order another batch if there are more than 10 takers.

Thanks!
Clay

[coco]

------------
追記:
下のMukadeさんの紹介文、短編集そのものよりもいいかも。。
と思ったりして。。;)

[Justin]

Just ordered one up, thanks Clay.

[richvh]

My order is in.

[zengargoyle]

my order has been placed also.

[AJBryant]

Ditto.


Tony