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文学少女 #1
Book Girl and the Suicidal Mime
For Tohko Amano, a third-year high school student and self-styled "book girl," being the head of the literary club is more than just an extracurricular activity. It's her bread and butter...literally! Tohko is actually a literature-gobbling demon, who can be found at all hours of the day munching on torn out pages from all kinds of books. But for Tohko, the real delicacies are hand-written stories. To satisfy her gourmet tastes, she's employed (rather, browbeaten) one Konoha Inoue, who scribbles away each day after school to satisfy Tohko's appetite. But when another student comes knocking on the literary club door for advice on writing love letters, will Tohko discover a new kind of delicacy?
180 pages, Kindle Edition
First published April 28, 2006
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1361 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 115 reviews
June 14, 2015
I thought when I ordered this that it was a manga, but it is actually a novel with some illustrated pages. It would have worked better as a comic because many scenes were ridiculous in a way that can be glossed over in a visual format but come across as absolutely stupid and pointless in writing.
It was very odd to me to have these cartoony scenes interspersed with ongoing sexual harassment and body-shaming (one girl is made fun of repeatedly for being flat-chested, even by a guy for whom she is undressing) and a darker plotline about student suicide.
The only aspect I liked was that the author clearly does love books, and sounded genuinely excited when talking about The Snow Goose or No Longer Human.
we heard a thud and someone fell into the roomOkay, that passage would still be stupid and unfunny in an illustration, but it seems to happen quite a lot in manga so I assume there is an audience.
A girl was splayed on the floor, her skirt flipped up in her fall, exposing her bear-print underwear for all to see.
[...] as she reached out a hand, she brushed against one of the towers of books, which immediately collapsed on top of her, and she dove to the ground again.
"Waugh!"
Bang!
It was very odd to me to have these cartoony scenes interspersed with ongoing sexual harassment and body-shaming (one girl is made fun of repeatedly for being flat-chested, even by a guy for whom she is undressing) and a darker plotline about student suicide.
The only aspect I liked was that the author clearly does love books, and sounded genuinely excited when talking about The Snow Goose or No Longer Human.
June 4, 2017
I wonder what this book would taste like if Tohko were to take a bite...
At first, I thought it was like a strawberry cake, with the white cake, whipped cream frosting, and strawberries on top. Book Girl starts out like a comedy, rather light and fluffy. Even with the somewhat dark opening, I thought it was a case of "Rom Com Snafu" with a jaded character. Once you figure out the reasoning for the interspersed passages of No Longer Human, however, this story takes a morbid twist.
I couldn't put this book down. I didn't want to stop for classes. Or homework. Or, on occasion, sleep.
This book has a few mysteries, some of which pop back up when you least expect it. Even in the last chapter, when I thought things were winding down (and Nomura made them seem so) all of a sudden something gets brought up that you go, "What?! But I thought, I mean, didn't we already figure this out?!"
It keeps you sucked in.
I'm not sure what "Book Girl and the Suicidal Mime" would taste like, but it would be a little sweet, a little bitter, and keep you hooked until very the last bite.
At first, I thought it was like a strawberry cake, with the white cake, whipped cream frosting, and strawberries on top. Book Girl starts out like a comedy, rather light and fluffy. Even with the somewhat dark opening, I thought it was a case of "Rom Com Snafu" with a jaded character. Once you figure out the reasoning for the interspersed passages of No Longer Human, however, this story takes a morbid twist.
I couldn't put this book down. I didn't want to stop for classes. Or homework. Or, on occasion, sleep.
This book has a few mysteries, some of which pop back up when you least expect it. Even in the last chapter, when I thought things were winding down (and Nomura made them seem so) all of a sudden something gets brought up that you go, "What?! But I thought, I mean, didn't we already figure this out?!"
It keeps you sucked in.
I'm not sure what "Book Girl and the Suicidal Mime" would taste like, but it would be a little sweet, a little bitter, and keep you hooked until very the last bite.
June 10, 2011
Konoha Inoue is a high school sophomore with a dark secret. Tohko Amano is a book scarfing goblin. Together, they fight crime.
No, that's not right. Together, they make up the entirety of the Seijoh Academy's literature club. Club activities consist almost exclusively of Konoha writing stories for Tohko to consume (great literature is yummy, but printed works just aren't as fresh as a handwritten story). However, Tohko's getting bored with things, so she's experimenting with ways to attract new people to the club.
Enter Chia Takeda, a first year who wants the Literature Club to help her write love notes to a boy she's fallen for. The boy in question is Shuji Kataoka, apparently the dreamiest member of the archery team. Konoha reluctantly agrees -- or, more accurately, Tohko agrees and Konoha doesn't feel like contradicting her, so he spends the next several days composing the best love note ever. Unfortunately, he tells Chia that it's just something he dashed out over lunch, so when the note goes over well she asks him to write one every day. This wouldn't be so bad if she didn't come to his class each morning to get the note. Given that she's barely pubescent, this leads Konoha's classmates to speculate that he might be into lolicon, particularly Nanase Kotobuki who becomes deeply antagonistic towards him. (This being the first volume in a series, I'm guessing she's going to turn tsundere soon enough.)
Eventually Konoha grows curious about Shuji, so he asks a classmate from the archery club about the guy -- but the classmate has never heard of him. Konoha and Tohko investigate and determine that there's no such person at Seijoh Academy. When they confront Chia, she gives them a note Shuji wrote to her, a very dark, disturbing letter that would send any sane woman running away in fear. But not Chia. Tohko recognizes several passages in the letter as being influenced by Osamu Dazai's No Longer Human, which I gather is an existential novel similar to The Stranger or Notes from Underground.
Things get even more mysterious when Chia takes Konoha to an archery practice to meet Shuji. Some alumni from the team show up to watch as well, and they rush to Konoha when they see him. Turns out, he looks exactly like an old team mate of theirs who committed suicide ten years ago -- Shuji Kataoka! Dun-dun-dun!
This popped up on my Amazon recommended list after I bought the Haruhi Suzumiya books. The description -- book club, weird girl, magic -- sounded like a knock-off, but I decided to give it a try anyway. Despite some superficial similarities, the two are very different. Tanigawa's series is a sprawling, genre-bending parody of anime/manga tropes, whereas Nomura plays things pretty much straight. I was quite surprised by how dark the book was -- to me "suicidal mime" is a funny concept, but it turns out to be a metaphor Shuji uses (taken from Dazai?) to describe the mask he wears to hide his true sociopathic self. Although when I say, "dark," I don't want to give you the impression that this is a bleak tale about how the world is a giant crapsack. Rather, it's dark in the way Byron and Emily Bronte were dark -- a key moment near the end involves Tohko explaining how most of Dazai's books are actually fun, and anyone who judges him on No Longer Human alone is missing the point.
My biggest disappointment with the story comes two-thirds of the way through when we find out exactly what's going on, and it turns out to have a rational (if convoluted) explanation. Such a Radcliffian twist seems out of place in a story with a Goblin who eats books. Nonetheless, I pushed through to the end, partly due to the fact that the book's only 180 pages, and partly to see how Nomura would fill the remaining pages after the main mystery was resolved. I'm glad I did, for after a brief lull the story picks up again with a twist that makes up for the main plot fizzling out.
No, that's not right. Together, they make up the entirety of the Seijoh Academy's literature club. Club activities consist almost exclusively of Konoha writing stories for Tohko to consume (great literature is yummy, but printed works just aren't as fresh as a handwritten story). However, Tohko's getting bored with things, so she's experimenting with ways to attract new people to the club.
Enter Chia Takeda, a first year who wants the Literature Club to help her write love notes to a boy she's fallen for. The boy in question is Shuji Kataoka, apparently the dreamiest member of the archery team. Konoha reluctantly agrees -- or, more accurately, Tohko agrees and Konoha doesn't feel like contradicting her, so he spends the next several days composing the best love note ever. Unfortunately, he tells Chia that it's just something he dashed out over lunch, so when the note goes over well she asks him to write one every day. This wouldn't be so bad if she didn't come to his class each morning to get the note. Given that she's barely pubescent, this leads Konoha's classmates to speculate that he might be into lolicon, particularly Nanase Kotobuki who becomes deeply antagonistic towards him. (This being the first volume in a series, I'm guessing she's going to turn tsundere soon enough.)
Eventually Konoha grows curious about Shuji, so he asks a classmate from the archery club about the guy -- but the classmate has never heard of him. Konoha and Tohko investigate and determine that there's no such person at Seijoh Academy. When they confront Chia, she gives them a note Shuji wrote to her, a very dark, disturbing letter that would send any sane woman running away in fear. But not Chia. Tohko recognizes several passages in the letter as being influenced by Osamu Dazai's No Longer Human, which I gather is an existential novel similar to The Stranger or Notes from Underground.
Things get even more mysterious when Chia takes Konoha to an archery practice to meet Shuji. Some alumni from the team show up to watch as well, and they rush to Konoha when they see him. Turns out, he looks exactly like an old team mate of theirs who committed suicide ten years ago -- Shuji Kataoka! Dun-dun-dun!
This popped up on my Amazon recommended list after I bought the Haruhi Suzumiya books. The description -- book club, weird girl, magic -- sounded like a knock-off, but I decided to give it a try anyway. Despite some superficial similarities, the two are very different. Tanigawa's series is a sprawling, genre-bending parody of anime/manga tropes, whereas Nomura plays things pretty much straight. I was quite surprised by how dark the book was -- to me "suicidal mime" is a funny concept, but it turns out to be a metaphor Shuji uses (taken from Dazai?) to describe the mask he wears to hide his true sociopathic self. Although when I say, "dark," I don't want to give you the impression that this is a bleak tale about how the world is a giant crapsack. Rather, it's dark in the way Byron and Emily Bronte were dark -- a key moment near the end involves Tohko explaining how most of Dazai's books are actually fun, and anyone who judges him on No Longer Human alone is missing the point.
My biggest disappointment with the story comes two-thirds of the way through when we find out exactly what's going on, and it turns out to have a rational (if convoluted) explanation. Such a Radcliffian twist seems out of place in a story with a Goblin who eats books. Nonetheless, I pushed through to the end, partly due to the fact that the book's only 180 pages, and partly to see how Nomura would fill the remaining pages after the main mystery was resolved. I'm glad I did, for after a brief lull the story picks up again with a twist that makes up for the main plot fizzling out.
August 30, 2018
#2018ReadingChallenge #PopSugar
28. A book that involves a bookstore or library
Mặc dù light novel không nhất thiết phải là tiểu thuyết chuyển thể từ truyện tranh, nhưng Cô gái văn chương và tên hề thích chết quả là giống cuốn sách dùng từ ngữ để diễn giải một manga, hay giống một nhận định tôi đọc được nói rằng đọc nó giống như đọc một manga không có tranh vẽ vậy. Amano Tooko và Takeda Chia ở những phân đoạn đầu được xây dựng y như mấy cô nàng trong shoujo dành cho các bé tuổi teen, chưa kể một số chi tiết cũng truyện tranh không kém. Tôi qua cái tuổi ấy mất mấy năm rồi, hơn nữa còn là người tương đối thực tế nên không thích những tính cách drama hóa kiểu này cho lắm. Nhưng bỏ qua những chuyện ấy thì Cô gái văn chương #1 đọc khá ổn đó chứ.
Bên cạnh nét tươi sáng và mềm mại của một manga dành cho thiếu nữ thì Cô gái văn chương #1 cũng mang những chi tiết khá là tối tăm. Truyện có những cái chết, những âm mưu, những vụ giết người trực tiếp hoặc gián tiếp..., được an bài dựa trên tiểu thuyết Thất lạc cõi người của Dazai Osamu, mà tôi nghĩ là khá khéo léo khi không gây cảm giác quá phụ thuộc hoặc quá gượng gạo khi phải cách nào đó gắn kết với danh tác của Dazai. Mà chi tiết tôi thấy kinh khủng nhất là . Thế nên cái twist mặc dù khá nhẹ nhàng nhưng không làm tôi thấy hụt hẫng cho lắm nữa vì sự u tối ở những chương cuối đã khiến tổng thể truyện có chiều sâu ngoài mong đợi rồi.
Chuyện này nói ra nghe có vẻ hơi mean nhưng tôi thích những đoạn Konoha dập tắt cái sự kịch trong hành động Tooko ghê. Nó vừa thỏa mãn cái sự nghiêm túc của tôi, nhưng chính cách viết của tác giả ở những chi tiết này cũng dễ thương sao á. Inoue Konoha là một nhân vật tôi thấy thích. Ơn giời cậu ta cũng khá bình thường chứ chưa thấy bị điên hay tự kỉ hay gì.
Còn một điều nữa là rất không hài lòng với cách biên tập của Thái Hà khi quá lạm dụng kí tự ~, khiến quyển sách in trông trẻ trâu như mấy cái teenfic chất lượng thấp nhan nhản trên mạng ấy. Chưa kể ~ nó cũng chả có ý nghĩa gì trong văn bản, không thể thay thế dấu câu được.
28. A book that involves a bookstore or library
Mặc dù light novel không nhất thiết phải là tiểu thuyết chuyển thể từ truyện tranh, nhưng Cô gái văn chương và tên hề thích chết quả là giống cuốn sách dùng từ ngữ để diễn giải một manga, hay giống một nhận định tôi đọc được nói rằng đọc nó giống như đọc một manga không có tranh vẽ vậy. Amano Tooko và Takeda Chia ở những phân đoạn đầu được xây dựng y như mấy cô nàng trong shoujo dành cho các bé tuổi teen, chưa kể một số chi tiết cũng truyện tranh không kém. Tôi qua cái tuổi ấy mất mấy năm rồi, hơn nữa còn là người tương đối thực tế nên không thích những tính cách drama hóa kiểu này cho lắm. Nhưng bỏ qua những chuyện ấy thì Cô gái văn chương #1 đọc khá ổn đó chứ.
Bên cạnh nét tươi sáng và mềm mại của một manga dành cho thiếu nữ thì Cô gái văn chương #1 cũng mang những chi tiết khá là tối tăm. Truyện có những cái chết, những âm mưu, những vụ giết người trực tiếp hoặc gián tiếp..., được an bài dựa trên tiểu thuyết Thất lạc cõi người của Dazai Osamu, mà tôi nghĩ là khá khéo léo khi không gây cảm giác quá phụ thuộc hoặc quá gượng gạo khi phải cách nào đó gắn kết với danh tác của Dazai. Mà chi tiết tôi thấy kinh khủng nhất là . Thế nên cái twist mặc dù khá nhẹ nhàng nhưng không làm tôi thấy hụt hẫng cho lắm nữa vì sự u tối ở những chương cuối đã khiến tổng thể truyện có chiều sâu ngoài mong đợi rồi.
Chuyện này nói ra nghe có vẻ hơi mean nhưng tôi thích những đoạn Konoha dập tắt cái sự kịch trong hành động Tooko ghê. Nó vừa thỏa mãn cái sự nghiêm túc của tôi, nhưng chính cách viết của tác giả ở những chi tiết này cũng dễ thương sao á. Inoue Konoha là một nhân vật tôi thấy thích. Ơn giời cậu ta cũng khá bình thường chứ chưa thấy bị điên hay tự kỉ hay gì.
Còn một điều nữa là rất không hài lòng với cách biên tập của Thái Hà khi quá lạm dụng kí tự ~, khiến quyển sách in trông trẻ trâu như mấy cái teenfic chất lượng thấp nhan nhản trên mạng ấy. Chưa kể ~ nó cũng chả có ý nghĩa gì trong văn bản, không thể thay thế dấu câu được.
October 29, 2010
Japanese translated YA novels are so much different compared to American YA novels; the thought process and insights are completely different and distinctive. Because of that, I'm usually blown away whenever I read a translated Japanese novel just because the style and tone is so unusual that it's a refreshing change from what I normally read.
Book Girl and the Suicidal Mime completely floored me. Maybe it's because the last few books that I've read were contemporaries or other fluffy comedies, reading this book with it's dark tones and absorbing mystery completely caught me off guard. In the beginning, I had thought that the book would be a simple lighthearted fantasy when I bought it online, so I didn't really have any expectations when I started the book; I was just looking for a short, interesting read.
I am happy to say that I got my wish! The book was very absorbing and short enough that there wasn't any extras to bore me in between main events because everything was important to the plot, the characters were unique and complex in their own ways, the ending was good, and I'm happy to find out that this is a series, because there was no way that the book could end just like that with all of these little changes with the characters going on throughout the novel!
Also, what immediately sucked me in the book and had me hooked ever since was in the beginning right before the prologue. It's goes like this:
"Mine has been a life of shame.
I'm like the one black sheep born into a pure white flock. Unable to enjoy the things my peers enjoyed, unable to grieve the things they grieved, unable to eat the things they ate--being born an ignoble black sheep, I didn't understand the things my friends found pleasant, such as love, kindness, and sympathy. I simply dusted my dark wool in white powder and pretended I was a white sheep, too.
I'm still wearing my mask, still acting in this farce."
Book Girl and the Suicidal Mime completely floored me. Maybe it's because the last few books that I've read were contemporaries or other fluffy comedies, reading this book with it's dark tones and absorbing mystery completely caught me off guard. In the beginning, I had thought that the book would be a simple lighthearted fantasy when I bought it online, so I didn't really have any expectations when I started the book; I was just looking for a short, interesting read.
I am happy to say that I got my wish! The book was very absorbing and short enough that there wasn't any extras to bore me in between main events because everything was important to the plot, the characters were unique and complex in their own ways, the ending was good, and I'm happy to find out that this is a series, because there was no way that the book could end just like that with all of these little changes with the characters going on throughout the novel!
Also, what immediately sucked me in the book and had me hooked ever since was in the beginning right before the prologue. It's goes like this:
"Mine has been a life of shame.
I'm like the one black sheep born into a pure white flock. Unable to enjoy the things my peers enjoyed, unable to grieve the things they grieved, unable to eat the things they ate--being born an ignoble black sheep, I didn't understand the things my friends found pleasant, such as love, kindness, and sympathy. I simply dusted my dark wool in white powder and pretended I was a white sheep, too.
I'm still wearing my mask, still acting in this farce."
December 20, 2010
“Because it’s there.” Inspiring words when used by George Mallory describing his reasons for attempting to climb Mount Everest; less so when used to explain why I read this book. Basically: I’d finished the other book I had with me; I was facing a long bus ride home from work; and we’d just cleaned out all the ARCs except for this one, which had arrived that very day. And hey, it was a Japanese fantasy; there could be far worse book/reader matches.
And better ones. This was about as silly as you’d imagine. I liked the idea of the book demon—an ordinary-seeming high school girl who actually subsists off books—and the bits of literary meta were fun. But the actual plot, which involved a mystery and past generations of students and suicide and other weirdness, was pretty dull; I have forgotten most of it. Still, it got me through that bus ride. Mallory had less luck with Everest, as I recall.
And better ones. This was about as silly as you’d imagine. I liked the idea of the book demon—an ordinary-seeming high school girl who actually subsists off books—and the bits of literary meta were fun. But the actual plot, which involved a mystery and past generations of students and suicide and other weirdness, was pretty dull; I have forgotten most of it. Still, it got me through that bus ride. Mallory had less luck with Everest, as I recall.
January 20, 2015
What does it mean to be “normal”? To have “normal” feelings? Are you a monster if you are different than others, or, due to emotional problems, do not feel things as other do? This are the rather serious questions at the heart of the first volume of the Book Girl series.
In Book Girl and the Suicidal Mime, the main characters are a boy named Konoha Inoue, who is a former best-selling romance novelist under a female pseudonym, and his friend and senpai (senior student in Japanese schools), the titular “Book Girl”, Amano Tohko. Tohko is a youkai, or supernatural creature of Japanese folklore, who is strange in that she can only eat “stories”, and also strange in that this seems to be the extent of her supernatural traits. If there is some sort of story on a paper, she can eat it, and is nourished that way. Note, however, that eating paper with words on it is not good enough. It seems to be the concepts on the pages that she eats.
Anyways, early in Konoha's high school career, Tohko discovers that he is a talented writer, and ropes him into joining their school's “literature club”, where every meeting he writes short story “snacks” for her to eat. However, despite his amazing short stories that that she (to be fair, really does) appreciate, Tohko is kind of selfish, and wants more to eat. To that end, she sets up a romance advice and love-letter writing service scheme. They (well, Konoha to be specific) help their new client, Chia Takeda, to win the love of the boy she likes, Shuji, in exchange for a detailed report for Tohko (unbeknownst to Chia) to eat.
At first, this seems a rather light-hearted story, but then the narrative begins to be interspersed with rather dark, despairing monologues from someone who is suffering severe mental disorders due to their lacking any empathy or emotion. Worse yet, the person is considering suicide. As the story goes on, these disparate threads are woven together into a series of revelations that will stun our two protagonists, and change their fun story to a life and death one. Someone may, in fact, die if they don't manage to intervene in time.
What I liked about this story was how it presented, via the use of real-world figures whose works and histories are referred to in the fictional story, the truth of the pain of mental illness and emotional disorders. Feeling different than others, knowing that you really don't feel what most feel, what you ought to feel as a “normal” human being, is truly devastating.
I won't say what I feel, and what my own problems are, but I have issues here too, and I have felt as a monster because of them. I even thought of doing irreparable harm to myself, and that's all I will say about that. Fill in the blanks. Why am I sharing this? Because I want to encourage folks to read this book, see how some of the characters feel, and be cognizant that folks suffer this way in real life.
That said, I fear I may have frightened some off of reading the book due to how I described it. This is not some sad, somber story. It is still, despite some sad parts, fun, comedic, and, in the end, idealistic. It works really well as simply a good, enjoyable yarn, with much in the way of humor. The parts I just sermonized on are merely in addition to the good tale.
One of the best parts of the tale is how Tohko is almost a detective of sorts. She seems to have these, what I will call, “Sherlock moments”. Despite her unusual biology, she is essentially a detective at heart and uses her brains. Which is good, since she has no brawn to speak of, really. I think the story may be one of the better examples of magical realism I have read. What I mean by that is the fact that, besides her unusual diet, there is nothing fantastic in the story. Such examples of isolated magical elements that are unexplained or isolated from the rest of the story would be a definition of magical realism.
This story examines a serious issue, is funny and witty, and a good mystery. Quite varied and well-worth reading.
In Book Girl and the Suicidal Mime, the main characters are a boy named Konoha Inoue, who is a former best-selling romance novelist under a female pseudonym, and his friend and senpai (senior student in Japanese schools), the titular “Book Girl”, Amano Tohko. Tohko is a youkai, or supernatural creature of Japanese folklore, who is strange in that she can only eat “stories”, and also strange in that this seems to be the extent of her supernatural traits. If there is some sort of story on a paper, she can eat it, and is nourished that way. Note, however, that eating paper with words on it is not good enough. It seems to be the concepts on the pages that she eats.
Anyways, early in Konoha's high school career, Tohko discovers that he is a talented writer, and ropes him into joining their school's “literature club”, where every meeting he writes short story “snacks” for her to eat. However, despite his amazing short stories that that she (to be fair, really does) appreciate, Tohko is kind of selfish, and wants more to eat. To that end, she sets up a romance advice and love-letter writing service scheme. They (well, Konoha to be specific) help their new client, Chia Takeda, to win the love of the boy she likes, Shuji, in exchange for a detailed report for Tohko (unbeknownst to Chia) to eat.
At first, this seems a rather light-hearted story, but then the narrative begins to be interspersed with rather dark, despairing monologues from someone who is suffering severe mental disorders due to their lacking any empathy or emotion. Worse yet, the person is considering suicide. As the story goes on, these disparate threads are woven together into a series of revelations that will stun our two protagonists, and change their fun story to a life and death one. Someone may, in fact, die if they don't manage to intervene in time.
What I liked about this story was how it presented, via the use of real-world figures whose works and histories are referred to in the fictional story, the truth of the pain of mental illness and emotional disorders. Feeling different than others, knowing that you really don't feel what most feel, what you ought to feel as a “normal” human being, is truly devastating.
I won't say what I feel, and what my own problems are, but I have issues here too, and I have felt as a monster because of them. I even thought of doing irreparable harm to myself, and that's all I will say about that. Fill in the blanks. Why am I sharing this? Because I want to encourage folks to read this book, see how some of the characters feel, and be cognizant that folks suffer this way in real life.
That said, I fear I may have frightened some off of reading the book due to how I described it. This is not some sad, somber story. It is still, despite some sad parts, fun, comedic, and, in the end, idealistic. It works really well as simply a good, enjoyable yarn, with much in the way of humor. The parts I just sermonized on are merely in addition to the good tale.
One of the best parts of the tale is how Tohko is almost a detective of sorts. She seems to have these, what I will call, “Sherlock moments”. Despite her unusual biology, she is essentially a detective at heart and uses her brains. Which is good, since she has no brawn to speak of, really. I think the story may be one of the better examples of magical realism I have read. What I mean by that is the fact that, besides her unusual diet, there is nothing fantastic in the story. Such examples of isolated magical elements that are unexplained or isolated from the rest of the story would be a definition of magical realism.
This story examines a serious issue, is funny and witty, and a good mystery. Quite varied and well-worth reading.
December 20, 2025
I'm not continuing this series. There was just too much going on, and it was confusing to follow.
Between the main character, book girl, and two apparent sociopaths, there was just too much, man. None of them are ever fully introduced or explained, and I don't feel like any of the conflicts were resolved. The main character is a feminine-looking boy who was a famous author, writing under a female pen name. While his background is mentioned (very briefly), it becomes even more confusing. Like, is he just writing as a girl, or is he trans? Idk. Then there's the "book girl". She's called that because she eats stories like food, but it's never explained why. Finally, we have the sociopaths, whose story is so confusing, but also the same for both of them, which I find lazy.
Again, it was just too much.
Between the main character, book girl, and two apparent sociopaths, there was just too much, man. None of them are ever fully introduced or explained, and I don't feel like any of the conflicts were resolved. The main character is a feminine-looking boy who was a famous author, writing under a female pen name. While his background is mentioned (very briefly), it becomes even more confusing. Like, is he just writing as a girl, or is he trans? Idk. Then there's the "book girl". She's called that because she eats stories like food, but it's never explained why. Finally, we have the sociopaths, whose story is so confusing, but also the same for both of them, which I find lazy.
Again, it was just too much.
March 29, 2016
Where to begin? I have often found that Japanese light novels, translated to English, can be much more of a 'love them or hate them' sort of thing. They are meant for a younger crowd (equal to young adult novels) and culturally speaking Japanese high schoolers are in a different league then their American counter-parts. So when reading a light novel series, set in a Japanese high school, a lot of readers are unable to understand the significance of something as small as being seen talking with a younger classmate or seating next to a certain someone.
Suicidal Mime is a novel filled with despair and secrets. Konoha is a withdrawn, false sort of guy. He pastes a fake smile on his face, tries to keep people placated and inwardly is disgusted by his behavior. He wasn't always like this, but a tragic love in middle school coupled with a nervous breakdown from instant (and intense) celebrity has made him hard and brittle. He doesn't want the sort of responsibility that comes with loving someone or being loved. He keeps his relationships as shallow as possible.
Tohko, who other than her strange appetites is as normal as anyone else, is just as secretive and complex. Outwardly she is bubbly and bossy, pushing Konoha to keep writing her stories to devour and constantly hungry, but briefly you can see some truer feelings. The despair she feels over Konoha's continued isolation and withdrawal, her efforts to help others, the loneliness she feels. Her urgent need to help Chia Takeda at first seems entirely selfish, but over the course of the novel little remarks she makes or looks on her face reveal she has a deeper agenda.
One of the central themes of the book is a Japanese writer's work called No Longer Human. The author, Osamu Dazai led an infamous life, much of which is detailed in Suicidal Mime. No Longer Human is semi-autobiographical and said to be his 'suicide note' to the world. Its a dark, bitter memoir of one man's intense desire to connect with the world, but can't no matter what. He pretends at being human and feels ashamed of that. Two of the characters in the novel truly identify with the protagonist of No Longer Human, feeling cut off from the world and separate because they don't understand or because they feel immense guilt over not being as emotional as their peers.
This isn't necessarily a happy book, or a 'light' read. Suicide, love, betrayal, jealousy, death, redemption... this novel covers some hefty topics. The translation by Yen Press is excellent; it reads very smoothly. I can't attest to some of the pop culture references strewn throughout the novel (if they were changed to match American references or not), but those aren't a problem regardless. The biggest cultural reference that western readers may not get is Osamu Dazai and Tohko talks about him at length at one point.
As a sidenote I agree with Tohko's assessment that you shouldn't read No Longer Human if you are feeling any amount of depression or despair; even translated the novel is powerful and provoking. I prefer his short story collection entitled Blue Bamboo: Japanese Tales of Fantasy available translated into English as part of Kodansha's 'Japan's Modern Writer's series.
Suicidal Mime is a novel filled with despair and secrets. Konoha is a withdrawn, false sort of guy. He pastes a fake smile on his face, tries to keep people placated and inwardly is disgusted by his behavior. He wasn't always like this, but a tragic love in middle school coupled with a nervous breakdown from instant (and intense) celebrity has made him hard and brittle. He doesn't want the sort of responsibility that comes with loving someone or being loved. He keeps his relationships as shallow as possible.
Tohko, who other than her strange appetites is as normal as anyone else, is just as secretive and complex. Outwardly she is bubbly and bossy, pushing Konoha to keep writing her stories to devour and constantly hungry, but briefly you can see some truer feelings. The despair she feels over Konoha's continued isolation and withdrawal, her efforts to help others, the loneliness she feels. Her urgent need to help Chia Takeda at first seems entirely selfish, but over the course of the novel little remarks she makes or looks on her face reveal she has a deeper agenda.
One of the central themes of the book is a Japanese writer's work called No Longer Human. The author, Osamu Dazai led an infamous life, much of which is detailed in Suicidal Mime. No Longer Human is semi-autobiographical and said to be his 'suicide note' to the world. Its a dark, bitter memoir of one man's intense desire to connect with the world, but can't no matter what. He pretends at being human and feels ashamed of that. Two of the characters in the novel truly identify with the protagonist of No Longer Human, feeling cut off from the world and separate because they don't understand or because they feel immense guilt over not being as emotional as their peers.
This isn't necessarily a happy book, or a 'light' read. Suicide, love, betrayal, jealousy, death, redemption... this novel covers some hefty topics. The translation by Yen Press is excellent; it reads very smoothly. I can't attest to some of the pop culture references strewn throughout the novel (if they were changed to match American references or not), but those aren't a problem regardless. The biggest cultural reference that western readers may not get is Osamu Dazai and Tohko talks about him at length at one point.
As a sidenote I agree with Tohko's assessment that you shouldn't read No Longer Human if you are feeling any amount of depression or despair; even translated the novel is powerful and provoking. I prefer his short story collection entitled Blue Bamboo: Japanese Tales of Fantasy available translated into English as part of Kodansha's 'Japan's Modern Writer's series.
September 28, 2013
I've read things with odd premises before, but the Book Girl series is near the top of the list.
The titular "book girl" (Tohko) is a literature loving (and eating) goblin in schoolgirl form who force recruited our main character (Konoha) into joining the school book club to hand write her snacks. If this sounds too weird to wrap your head around, you're in luck. If you find it intriguing and can't wait to learn more, you'll be disappointed. Tohko and her unusual existence are just background noise for this particular story, which instead focuses on the more normal (well, human anyway) Konoha, a strange request from a classmate to ghost write love letters and a mystery connected to the works of an particular author.
Fair warning - despite the absurd elements and the great touches of humor sprinkled in the themes are quite heavy and this is not a happy-go-lucky tale.
I really liked the story. There are a lot of interwoven layers and interesting twists and parallels. The different narration techniques used really draw you in, even if it's quite confusing at times. There's something particularly engaging about the interactions of our two leads and the tone of the story.
The writing has a great feel to it and wonderful turns of phrase (doubly impressive for a translation). As an example, the narrator had me hooked two paragraphs into the prologue when I read the line "I simply dusted my dark wool in white powder and pretended I was a white sheep too." I will admit it gets wordy, especially when Tohko starts rambling about books. So if overly detailed descriptions test your patience this might not be your cup of tea.
While I can understand disappointment that Tohko is not the central focus and thus the promotional description is a bit misleading, it didn't bother me. I enjoyed this as it was and there's room for more about Tohko later in the series.
There's enough strangeness here between the unusual mythology being built, the lack of focus on that same mythology, and the dense interconnected plot threads that Book Girl and the Suicidal Mime is tough to generally recommend. But the writing is quite strong and if you can deal with it's quirks it is certainly worth a try. Personally I will be continuing with Tohko and Konoha's adventures.
The titular "book girl" (Tohko) is a literature loving (and eating) goblin in schoolgirl form who force recruited our main character (Konoha) into joining the school book club to hand write her snacks. If this sounds too weird to wrap your head around, you're in luck. If you find it intriguing and can't wait to learn more, you'll be disappointed. Tohko and her unusual existence are just background noise for this particular story, which instead focuses on the more normal (well, human anyway) Konoha, a strange request from a classmate to ghost write love letters and a mystery connected to the works of an particular author.
Fair warning - despite the absurd elements and the great touches of humor sprinkled in the themes are quite heavy and this is not a happy-go-lucky tale.
I really liked the story. There are a lot of interwoven layers and interesting twists and parallels. The different narration techniques used really draw you in, even if it's quite confusing at times. There's something particularly engaging about the interactions of our two leads and the tone of the story.
The writing has a great feel to it and wonderful turns of phrase (doubly impressive for a translation). As an example, the narrator had me hooked two paragraphs into the prologue when I read the line "I simply dusted my dark wool in white powder and pretended I was a white sheep too." I will admit it gets wordy, especially when Tohko starts rambling about books. So if overly detailed descriptions test your patience this might not be your cup of tea.
While I can understand disappointment that Tohko is not the central focus and thus the promotional description is a bit misleading, it didn't bother me. I enjoyed this as it was and there's room for more about Tohko later in the series.
There's enough strangeness here between the unusual mythology being built, the lack of focus on that same mythology, and the dense interconnected plot threads that Book Girl and the Suicidal Mime is tough to generally recommend. But the writing is quite strong and if you can deal with it's quirks it is certainly worth a try. Personally I will be continuing with Tohko and Konoha's adventures.
May 30, 2016
This is one of those books that I struggle to form an opinion on.
Parts of it I enjoyed while others I just stared at it wondering why I was reading this book.
This book is one of those clubs that get involved with things book. You know, the thing that happens in a lot of animes.
The main duo was alright. Konoha had some intrigue with him and he was an alright POV. Tohko is the mysterious girl that follows the beat of her own drum. A very common anime character trope.
Only she's a book eating goblin.
Yeah.
Sometimes I would get bogged down by the scenes of those two together. Some of the events were very farfetched, like the scene where they go get information from a girl named Maki. Which involved Tohko stripping. A lot of eye-rolling on my part there.
As for the mystery itself that is the main core of the book. I enjoyed it. I really did.
I'm a huge fan of mysteries in general and although it isn't Kindaichi Case Files level it was still something.
It kept me intrigued enough to keep reading at least!
It also featured sociopathic characters, which as someone in psychology, that stuff interests me.
I feel like my thoughts are so disjointed in this review but honestly, that's how I felt while reading it. I just kept shifting back and forth from liking it to disliking it and back again. I guess if you watch enough anime and whatnot, you might enjoy this book?
Oh! That reminds me. This is actually written very well. A lot of LNs have an odd feel to them in terms of writing style but this was smooth and easy to read.
Apparently this was the only one that was translated though? Very sad about that as I feel like I would get a better opinion if I read the second book in the series.
Also this book featured a lot of comments about Osamu Dazai. Which I enjoyed a lot since I kept thinking about this character:
This book also made me feel like I had to check out Dazai's works now! Thank you Tohka!
Parts of it I enjoyed while others I just stared at it wondering why I was reading this book.
This book is one of those clubs that get involved with things book. You know, the thing that happens in a lot of animes.
The main duo was alright. Konoha had some intrigue with him and he was an alright POV. Tohko is the mysterious girl that follows the beat of her own drum. A very common anime character trope.
Only she's a book eating goblin.
Yeah.
Sometimes I would get bogged down by the scenes of those two together. Some of the events were very farfetched, like the scene where they go get information from a girl named Maki. Which involved Tohko stripping. A lot of eye-rolling on my part there.
As for the mystery itself that is the main core of the book. I enjoyed it. I really did.
I'm a huge fan of mysteries in general and although it isn't Kindaichi Case Files level it was still something.
It kept me intrigued enough to keep reading at least!
It also featured sociopathic characters, which as someone in psychology, that stuff interests me.
I feel like my thoughts are so disjointed in this review but honestly, that's how I felt while reading it. I just kept shifting back and forth from liking it to disliking it and back again. I guess if you watch enough anime and whatnot, you might enjoy this book?
Oh! That reminds me. This is actually written very well. A lot of LNs have an odd feel to them in terms of writing style but this was smooth and easy to read.
Apparently this was the only one that was translated though? Very sad about that as I feel like I would get a better opinion if I read the second book in the series.
Also this book featured a lot of comments about Osamu Dazai. Which I enjoyed a lot since I kept thinking about this character:
This book also made me feel like I had to check out Dazai's works now! Thank you Tohka!
June 6, 2019
3.5 stars - This was my first time reading a Light Novel and I really enjoyed the reading experience. The writing in this book was really good, and I enjoyed how the author created the two main characters and their interactions. Tohko is called a Book Girl because she literally eats books. I liked how she would talk about how certain books or stories tasted depending on what they were about.
The reason I didn't love this book was because I didn't really enjoy the trajectory it took with the suicide discussion. Nothing necessarily was bad about it, I just didn't really enjoy that plot line. But I liked the characters enough that I will be continuing the series.
The reason I didn't love this book was because I didn't really enjoy the trajectory it took with the suicide discussion. Nothing necessarily was bad about it, I just didn't really enjoy that plot line. But I liked the characters enough that I will be continuing the series.
June 18, 2023
"Tôi đã sống một cuộc đời đầy hổ thẹn."
Nếu ngày đó không tình cờ đọc được câu này trong quyển Cô gái văn chương tập 1 ở tiệm truyện ruột thì có lẽ mình đã không đọc Light Novel nói riêng và văn học Nhật nói chung rồi.
Đọc lại nó sau 9 năm, khi mà kiến thức về văn học của mình đã tăng lên, thì mình lại khám phá thêm những điều mới mẻ mà trước đây mình không để ý. Và mình vẫn yêu series này như ngày đầu.
P/s: tập này lấy cảm hứng từ "Thất lạc cõi người" của văn hào Dazai Osamu.
Nếu ngày đó không tình cờ đọc được câu này trong quyển Cô gái văn chương tập 1 ở tiệm truyện ruột thì có lẽ mình đã không đọc Light Novel nói riêng và văn học Nhật nói chung rồi.
Đọc lại nó sau 9 năm, khi mà kiến thức về văn học của mình đã tăng lên, thì mình lại khám phá thêm những điều mới mẻ mà trước đây mình không để ý. Và mình vẫn yêu series này như ngày đầu.
P/s: tập này lấy cảm hứng từ "Thất lạc cõi người" của văn hào Dazai Osamu.
August 8, 2012
Konoha is a boy with a fake personality and a troubled past. Tohko is a girl who can only taste literature. Together, these two strange characters make up the entirety of Seijoh Academy's literature club, nested in a tiny room bursting with books. Konoha's everyday existence is basically devoted to writing improv stories for his greedy, book-munching upperclassman, Tohko, Until one day, Tohko decides that Konoha's stories aren't enough, so she sets up a mailbox in the schoolyard promising to grant a person's true love if they leave a note in the mailbox. So one afternoon, a young girl stumbles in and asks for them to grant her true love, and Konoha gets forced into ghostwriting her love letters to a guy named Shoji. Until he finds out that Shoji is dead. And so begins the story of Book Girl and the Suicidal Mime.
This is one of my personal favorite books. At first, I thought that Konha's personality was just another sort of Gary-Stu plot thing, to make the reader pity him, but he seems a lot more real to me than most sob-story characters because he still has a bit of naivety that makes him seem like a real person, in the sense that he doesn't really realize that he's hurting people, unlike most Mary Sue types. I mean, he tries not to burden his family, but he can't seem to realize what other people really think of him. Tohko is one of my all time favorite female characters, because she perfectly balances comedic and rash. When I started this book and read about Tohko, my first thought was " Oh great, not another girl with ultra-long hair, no chest ( which is normally the focal point of these character types), and a huge ego. Not again!" because I thought she was going to be a "type". Well, I was wrong on that one. Sure, she has all of the qualities that those character types have, but she also has another side to her. She is extremely perceptive, always speaks her mind, and has intelligence that greatly surpasses her age. Both these characters really come to life in Mizuki Nomura's fantastic writing style, which uses poetic words and a steady rhythm to set the pace and mood. Even the side characters are written with painstaking detail. I would say that the fabulous artwork is just the cherry on top. With a pretty, demure manga style and lots of shadowing and heavy lashes, it's a treat to look at. The plot is a bit predictable, but still enjoyable, and it is modeled after Osamu Dazai's "No Longer Human", which becomes a prominent feature in this first installment of Mizuki Nomura's Book Girl saga. This is truly a very dark but still lighthearted read, and it sticks with you months after you've read it. If I were Tohko, I would liken this book to a dark-chocolate Ghiradelli square, filled with salted caramel.
This is one of my personal favorite books. At first, I thought that Konha's personality was just another sort of Gary-Stu plot thing, to make the reader pity him, but he seems a lot more real to me than most sob-story characters because he still has a bit of naivety that makes him seem like a real person, in the sense that he doesn't really realize that he's hurting people, unlike most Mary Sue types. I mean, he tries not to burden his family, but he can't seem to realize what other people really think of him. Tohko is one of my all time favorite female characters, because she perfectly balances comedic and rash. When I started this book and read about Tohko, my first thought was " Oh great, not another girl with ultra-long hair, no chest ( which is normally the focal point of these character types), and a huge ego. Not again!" because I thought she was going to be a "type". Well, I was wrong on that one. Sure, she has all of the qualities that those character types have, but she also has another side to her. She is extremely perceptive, always speaks her mind, and has intelligence that greatly surpasses her age. Both these characters really come to life in Mizuki Nomura's fantastic writing style, which uses poetic words and a steady rhythm to set the pace and mood. Even the side characters are written with painstaking detail. I would say that the fabulous artwork is just the cherry on top. With a pretty, demure manga style and lots of shadowing and heavy lashes, it's a treat to look at. The plot is a bit predictable, but still enjoyable, and it is modeled after Osamu Dazai's "No Longer Human", which becomes a prominent feature in this first installment of Mizuki Nomura's Book Girl saga. This is truly a very dark but still lighthearted read, and it sticks with you months after you've read it. If I were Tohko, I would liken this book to a dark-chocolate Ghiradelli square, filled with salted caramel.
April 25, 2011
I've put off reading this book for a while now. I've found that light novels tend to either be very good or very mediocre, with little in-between. Luckily this book leans more towards the very good end of the spectrum.
I rather liked the idea of the series. The concept of having a girl who could only eat books was pretty interesting- what would her reactions be to various books? What would she say her own book series tasted like? It's because of this that Tohko Amano (the titular Book Girl) stands out as much as she does & it's a pity that she's not played up more in the book. I like the other characters but with how cool Tohko was I just felt a little frustrated that she wasn't in the book as much as I would have liked.
Other than that the story was a fun read even though it felt a little uneven at times. When the book covers a specific plot point it does a good job but unfortunately it's the shifts between plot points that tend to suffer. I'm going to assume that this was partially due to how the book was initially published. (It was part of a magazine that published 1-2 chapters of several light novels at a time.)
Overall this was a nice read & the series has a ton of potential. It'll probably get compared to Haruhi Suzumiya at some point in time due to the "boy tolerates girl who is sort of a pest" dynamic, but this book has more than enough to make it stand out against that series. Will it be able to stand out enough to attract manga readers in general? For those who are willing to give it a try I say that it should.
I rather liked the idea of the series. The concept of having a girl who could only eat books was pretty interesting- what would her reactions be to various books? What would she say her own book series tasted like? It's because of this that Tohko Amano (the titular Book Girl) stands out as much as she does & it's a pity that she's not played up more in the book. I like the other characters but with how cool Tohko was I just felt a little frustrated that she wasn't in the book as much as I would have liked.
Other than that the story was a fun read even though it felt a little uneven at times. When the book covers a specific plot point it does a good job but unfortunately it's the shifts between plot points that tend to suffer. I'm going to assume that this was partially due to how the book was initially published. (It was part of a magazine that published 1-2 chapters of several light novels at a time.)
Overall this was a nice read & the series has a ton of potential. It'll probably get compared to Haruhi Suzumiya at some point in time due to the "boy tolerates girl who is sort of a pest" dynamic, but this book has more than enough to make it stand out against that series. Will it be able to stand out enough to attract manga readers in general? For those who are willing to give it a try I say that it should.
February 28, 2019
Cô gái văn chương chắc là một trong những tác phẩm lightnovel mình thích nhất vì nó đơn giản, nhẹ nhàng và dễ đọc nhưng lại chạm tới một số vấn đề nhân văn nữa. Trong cuốn đầu tiên của bộ truyện, không ngờ rằng tác giả đã nhắc tới những vấn đề tuổi teen như khủng hoảng tâm lý, tự sát hay lòng trắc ẩn (dù không nhắc tới nhưng ai biết thì sẽ thấy nó trong cuốn sách này). Dù không đưa ra được những giải pháp sâu xa và có ý nghĩa, bạn cũng nên hiểu cuốn sách chỉ là lightnovel, phần lớn dành cho những độc giả tuổi teen.
Tuy thế, câu chuyện không kém phần lôi cuốn, yếu tố trinh thám nhẹ, lồng ghép với những suy luận hay từ các nhân vật và một cái kết bất ngờ. Tất cả xoay quanh một tác phẩm văn học: “Mất tư cách làm người.” Tác giả cũng phác hoạ các nhân vật khá rõ nét, từ những nhân vật tuổi teen có nhiều mâu thuẫn trong tình cảm tới nhân vật người lớn cố gắng sống với tội lỗi mình gây ra.
Shuuji, Soeda, Sena, Takeda, cả Konoha và có lẽ chúng ta nữa, đều có những khổ đau, khó khăn trong cuộc sống, nhưng mỗi người phải tự tìm giải pháp, đối diện với thử thách, nỗi sợ hãi mà kiên trì vượt qua.
“[...] cho dù mặt trời đã lặn thì chỉ cần vượt qua màn đêm nó sẽ lại mọc lên.”
“Có lẽ ngay cả nỗi đau tưởng chừng như cả đời không bao giờ nguôi rồi cũng có lúc dần phải nhạt.”
Ta còn thấy được Touko cũng như tác giả vậy, một con “mọt sách” thực thụ (khiếm nhã quá nhỉ, Cô gái văn chương chứ!), ta thấy được niềm yêu sách và văn học không những của Nhật mà của phương Tây nữa, thế nên ít nhiều, nhỡ đâu bạn lại kiếm được một tựa sách bạn cảm thấy thích thú?
Tuy thế, câu chuyện không kém phần lôi cuốn, yếu tố trinh thám nhẹ, lồng ghép với những suy luận hay từ các nhân vật và một cái kết bất ngờ. Tất cả xoay quanh một tác phẩm văn học: “Mất tư cách làm người.” Tác giả cũng phác hoạ các nhân vật khá rõ nét, từ những nhân vật tuổi teen có nhiều mâu thuẫn trong tình cảm tới nhân vật người lớn cố gắng sống với tội lỗi mình gây ra.
Shuuji, Soeda, Sena, Takeda, cả Konoha và có lẽ chúng ta nữa, đều có những khổ đau, khó khăn trong cuộc sống, nhưng mỗi người phải tự tìm giải pháp, đối diện với thử thách, nỗi sợ hãi mà kiên trì vượt qua.
“[...] cho dù mặt trời đã lặn thì chỉ cần vượt qua màn đêm nó sẽ lại mọc lên.”
“Có lẽ ngay cả nỗi đau tưởng chừng như cả đời không bao giờ nguôi rồi cũng có lúc dần phải nhạt.”
Ta còn thấy được Touko cũng như tác giả vậy, một con “mọt sách” thực thụ (khiếm nhã quá nhỉ, Cô gái văn chương chứ!), ta thấy được niềm yêu sách và văn học không những của Nhật mà của phương Tây nữa, thế nên ít nhiều, nhỡ đâu bạn lại kiếm được một tựa sách bạn cảm thấy thích thú?
February 29, 2016
Tohko and Konoha are the only two members of their school's literary club. Tohko is president, and Konoha her beleaguered subordinate, forced to write short stories for her to snack on. Literally snack on, because Tohko, while looking like an ordinary high school girl, is actually a goblin who eats writing for nourishment.
After an opening that feels a lot like a mishmash of a school-days anime and the first act of a Cyrano de Bergerac-style romance, this story gets grim fast, with suicide and PTSD among its topics. It ended up having a surprising amount of insight and depth despite its slight initial impression.
The major plot is resolved in a way that's less than convincing, and there were one or two too many surprise reversals in the meantime. But I was moved by the climax and denouement despite my skepticism.
There was some pointless male gaze here and there. Oh well, nothing's perfect.
I wasn't familiar with the Japanese novel this story's plot is connected directly to, but I've spoiled myself on the second Book Girl novel's parallel work and am debating reading it beforehand.
At less than 200 pages with lots of dialogue, this was a nice quick read, and a good start to what promises to be an interesting series.
After an opening that feels a lot like a mishmash of a school-days anime and the first act of a Cyrano de Bergerac-style romance, this story gets grim fast, with suicide and PTSD among its topics. It ended up having a surprising amount of insight and depth despite its slight initial impression.
The major plot is resolved in a way that's less than convincing, and there were one or two too many surprise reversals in the meantime. But I was moved by the climax and denouement despite my skepticism.
There was some pointless male gaze here and there. Oh well, nothing's perfect.
I wasn't familiar with the Japanese novel this story's plot is connected directly to, but I've spoiled myself on the second Book Girl novel's parallel work and am debating reading it beforehand.
At less than 200 pages with lots of dialogue, this was a nice quick read, and a good start to what promises to be an interesting series.
October 23, 2018
إن سئلت عن رأيي في هذه الرواية فسأقول بأن طعهما حلو في البداية ككعكة الفراولة, ثم فجأة ينقلب ليصر مرا, كما أن بعض المقاطع مالحة و أخرى بلا طعم كالماء.
أملك ذوقا غريبا في الكتب. تعجبني الكتب التي تتحدث عن كتب أخرى لأني أخرج منها مع عناوين لكتب أخرى.
ورغم أن هذه الرواية ليست مميزة من ناحية الأسلوب أو القصة إلى أنها أعجبتني.
تتحدث عن كونوها فتى في الثانوية, يحاول أن يتعايش مع صدمة نفسية أصابته جراء نشره لرواية باسم بنت.
و توهكو فتاة الكتب -بانغاكو شوجو- المصابة بمرض غريب يحرمها من حاسة التذوق, لذلك اكتسبت عادة جديدة, هي أنها في كل مرة يعجبها مقطع من كتاب, تقطع الورقة ثم تأكلها.
و معا سيحاولون حل لغز بالاعتماد على معارفهما الأدبية.
لذلك فالرواية مليئة بمناقشات لأعمال كتاب يابانيين و أجانب خصوصا أعمال الكاتب أوسامو دازاي و روايته الشهير "لم أعد إنسانا".
أملك ذوقا غريبا في الكتب. تعجبني الكتب التي تتحدث عن كتب أخرى لأني أخرج منها مع عناوين لكتب أخرى.
ورغم أن هذه الرواية ليست مميزة من ناحية الأسلوب أو القصة إلى أنها أعجبتني.
تتحدث عن كونوها فتى في الثانوية, يحاول أن يتعايش مع صدمة نفسية أصابته جراء نشره لرواية باسم بنت.
و توهكو فتاة الكتب -بانغاكو شوجو- المصابة بمرض غريب يحرمها من حاسة التذوق, لذلك اكتسبت عادة جديدة, هي أنها في كل مرة يعجبها مقطع من كتاب, تقطع الورقة ثم تأكلها.
و معا سيحاولون حل لغز بالاعتماد على معارفهما الأدبية.
لذلك فالرواية مليئة بمناقشات لأعمال كتاب يابانيين و أجانب خصوصا أعمال الكاتب أوسامو دازاي و روايته الشهير "لم أعد إنسانا".
April 18, 2012
Yen Press did an amazing job of translating this light novel. The text is so much different from what you read in an American novel. The narration from Konoha makes the story what it is...so addicting. The bold font in some sections make the story a bit intriguing. It took me a while to realize who was talking in those parts. The mystery of Shuji kept me reading until the end. This book is amazing and the future novels get better and better.
December 15, 2020
6/10
I came into this book not expecting much from it. This was further emboldened by the first couple chapters of the book being your typical slice-of-life-in-school type story. HOWEVER, that all changes when the mystery of 'who is Shuji' begins. This undoubtedly the best part as the tension and sense of confusion amounts, only for the conclusion of the mystery to be quite lacking. Whatever you thought was going is probably more exciting than the real answer.
This book also faulters in the 'it finishes but goes on anyway' factor that a lot of stories tend to have. Like the author saw the story ended but it was a bit short and so added an extra chapter and a half to fill up space. Extremely unnecessary and just comes off as repetitive.
ANOTHER thing you should know before reading is this book has references to Osamu Dazai's 'No Longer Human', like a lot of references. Two characters are inspired by this book and well you can see where it goes from there. At first, I liked it as linked in with the character Shuji but then the book keeps going and you find out this other character is writing letters in a style heavily inspired by Dazai. It really ruined Shuji's character, I found, and only served as having this 'tense' moment at the end so the book can conclude on a positive moment.
Despite this, I did have a good time with a portion of the book. It's less than 200 pages and a really quick read, so it doesn't overstay its welcome in that regard.
I will continue to read this story to see what's in store with the other installments as I feel that there is something there in this series.
I came into this book not expecting much from it. This was further emboldened by the first couple chapters of the book being your typical slice-of-life-in-school type story. HOWEVER, that all changes when the mystery of 'who is Shuji' begins. This undoubtedly the best part as the tension and sense of confusion amounts, only for the conclusion of the mystery to be quite lacking. Whatever you thought was going is probably more exciting than the real answer.
This book also faulters in the 'it finishes but goes on anyway' factor that a lot of stories tend to have. Like the author saw the story ended but it was a bit short and so added an extra chapter and a half to fill up space. Extremely unnecessary and just comes off as repetitive.
ANOTHER thing you should know before reading is this book has references to Osamu Dazai's 'No Longer Human', like a lot of references. Two characters are inspired by this book and well you can see where it goes from there. At first, I liked it as linked in with the character Shuji but then the book keeps going and you find out this other character is writing letters in a style heavily inspired by Dazai. It really ruined Shuji's character, I found, and only served as having this 'tense' moment at the end so the book can conclude on a positive moment.
Despite this, I did have a good time with a portion of the book. It's less than 200 pages and a really quick read, so it doesn't overstay its welcome in that regard.
I will continue to read this story to see what's in store with the other installments as I feel that there is something there in this series.
July 3, 2019
I'd probably recommend it if you like quirky and interesting. There is a supernatural element. The titular "book girl" physically ingests books and other written materials, and they taste different to her based on the content of the story. The thing is, it's a series, and each one focuses on some connection between the schoolkid plots of the story and some other story, usually a famous work of literature. Kind of like Wishbone, if it were a fairly typical Japanese light novel set in where else, a typical Japanese high school. So it's not terrible but I did notice it leans heavily on literary references. It was an enjoyable read, but it has "Ready Player One syndrome" - it sometimes feels like a bunch of references to other books more than a book in and of itself. It made me curious about this story the "suicidal mime" refers to, a story told from the perspective of a teenager who thinks he should kill himself because of his own lack of ability to feel empathy, the fact that he feels like he goes through his whole life faking everything. This interesting part of the story isn't the author's invention though, but a reference to another book. But then again, it is probably hard to make a book club set story without talking about actual literature, and some of the author's observations about literature are kind of funny.
March 21, 2019
I thought the concept of a girl who ate books/stories might make for an interesting premise for a light novel. Well, that isn't really the premise here. Oh sure, Tohko is there and eats a few pages here and there... but this is really not a lighthearted fantasy of that nature. So I certainly didn't get what I was expecting which certainly affects my opinion of this book (and frankly means I probably won't get any more of them because of it).
That being said -- Most of it I just didn't really enjoy or find anything terribly interesting in. Out of the 180 pages it feels like about 50 of them are repeats of the same paragraphs of an author mentioned in the book. If may not actually be that many, but re-reading the same things so repeatedly just left me wondering why I bothered.
The characters are so bland that even now I can hardly tell you their names literally less than 30 minutes from finishing the book.
This one is one to skip. It may have a redeeming moment near the end -- but getting there was not worth the journey.
That being said -- Most of it I just didn't really enjoy or find anything terribly interesting in. Out of the 180 pages it feels like about 50 of them are repeats of the same paragraphs of an author mentioned in the book. If may not actually be that many, but re-reading the same things so repeatedly just left me wondering why I bothered.
The characters are so bland that even now I can hardly tell you their names literally less than 30 minutes from finishing the book.
This one is one to skip. It may have a redeeming moment near the end -- but getting there was not worth the journey.
March 3, 2021
Ấn tượng đầu tiên của mình với tác phẩm là văn phong cực kỳ hài hước và chân thật! Nhiều tình tiết khiến mình phá cười lên. Không biết bên bản Nhật là như thế nào nhưng mình thích cái cách bên mình dịch lại thành những chữ người Việt hay dùng như “má ơi”, “trời ơi”,”còn xinh với chả đẹp” vv, nghe rất tự nhiên. Văn phong của Nhật mới đọc mình cảm thấy khá ngắt quãng, đôi khi thấy không được tròn nghĩa lắm, vì câu văn tiếng Việt của ta cơ bản là dài. Nhưng như vậy lại có cái nét đẹp riêng của nó. Tùy vào cách ngắt mà có thể làm cho giọng văn nhanh hơn dồn dập hơn hay chậm lại để đọc giả suy nghĩ. Đôi lúc nó khiến mình dừng việc đọc lại để tưởng tượng ra một khung cảnh nhất định cho lời kể của tác giả. Nó kích thích sự suy nghĩ và trí tưởng tượng của mình.
Truyện kể về một cậu học sinh tên là Konoha đang muốn che dấu quá khứ xấu hổ của mình. Cậu từng rất nổi tiếng với tác phẩm tiểu thuyết tự sáng tác, nhưng do văn phong và cách dùng từ gây hiểu lầm nên mọi người ai cũng nghĩ Konoha là con gái. Điiều đó đã gây cho cậu khá nhiều phiền toái. Konoha quyết định không sáng tác nữa và từ đó “nữ nhà văn xinh đẹp bí ẩn” dần đi vào quên lãng. Vào cấp 3, Konoha gia nhập vào CLB văn học, và có một cuộc sống tương đối bình yên với người chị cùng CLB là Tooko, 1 “cô gái văn chương” khá là “sành ăn” (theo nghĩa đen luôn vì chị ta ăn giấy như bánh mì và nước).
Cho đến 1 ngày kia, có cô bé xinh xắn tên Chia đến xin hai người giúp đỡ viết thư tình cho 1 đàn anh trong CLB bắn cung tên là Shuuji. Bị Tooko lôi kéo và không thể từ chối, Konoha đã nhận lời. Càng viết, cậu càng có hứng thú về người con trai tên Shuuji ấy, và càng tò mò hơn khi 1 lần nhận được hồi âm khá đen tối và tiêu cực từ Shuuji. Konoha đã quyết định đến CLB bắn cung để gặp Shuuji, và phát hiện ra chẳng có ai tên là Shuuji cả!!! Sự thật dần được hé lộ, Shuuji đã tự tử 10 năm trước, và Konoha có khuôn mặt giống hệt Shuuji trong bức ảnh?! Chuyện gì đã xảy ra? Tại sao Chia lại nói dối họ? Tại sao cô lại muốn Konoha viết thư tình cho 1 người đã chết? Tại sao những dòng thư hồi âm của Shuuji lại u ám và chất đầy nỗi tuyệt vọng như vậy?
Ngày ấy, Konoha bị 1 người đàn anh kéo lên tầng thượng và có ý định giết anh. Sự thật 1 lần nữa được hé lộ, người anh đó là bạn học của Shuuji, cũng chính là người đã trực tiếp đâm chết Shuuji và hại chết bạn gái của anh ấy. Không dừng lại ở đó, vợ của bạn học ấy, Rihoko, chính là nhân vật “S” trong lời kể của Shuuji, là người đã nhìn ra con người thật của Shuuji, 1 tên hề đáng thương luôn mang chiếc mặt nạ giả dối, 1 con người không cảm xúc mà như lời của Dazai Osamu khi tự kể về bản thân là “mất tư cách làm người”. Điều đó đã dày vò Shuuji và dẫn anh đến cái chết. S đã nhìn thấu điều đó ở anh, bằng 1 cách nào đó, đã yêu anh, gián tiếp hại bạn gái của anh, để rồi khi nhận ra Shuuji vô phương cứu chữa, đã buông tay để anh thực hiện ước nguyện cuối cùng của mình. Cả Rihoko và anh bạn học đó đã, đang và sẽ luôn sống với nỗi ám ảnh mang tên Shuuji đến cuối đời.
Mọi chuyện tưởng chừng kết thúc cho đến khi Konoho phát hiện ra bấy lâu, Chia cũng giống như Shuuji, cũng là một tên hề, và cũng đang trên bờ vực muốn kết liễu bản thân như anh ấy. Nhưng may mắn hơn Shuuji, Chia có Konoha và Tooko. Konoha đã hứa sẽ cùng Chia đi tìm 1 lý do để sống, và Tooko đã nói với Chia rằng thật đáng tiếc nếu như kết liễu bản thân khi chỉ mới đọc tác phẩm “Thất lạc cõi người”. Mình cảm thấy Tooko nói rất đúng. Dù sự thật là Dazai đã tự tử khi ông sáng tác xong “thất lạc cõi người”, nhưng đó không phải là tư tưởng duy nhất của ông. Ông đã sáng tác ra bao nhiêu tiểu thuyết hay khác, những mẫu truyện đấy ấp con người với sự chân thành, hi vọng và những cảm xúc đẹp đẽ. Thế nên sẽ thật là uổng phí nếu chỉ nhìn về 1 phía của cuộc sống, ta nên khám phá những mặt khác nhau, những cung bậc cảm xúc khác nhau, và cuộc đời là quá ngắn ngủi để chôn vùi trong sự vô cảm.
Truyện kết thúc với Konoha và Tooko vẫn sinh hoạt CLB như thường ngày, và cô bé Chia kia đã lựa chọn không chết ngày hôm ấy. Điều gì đó đã thay đổi trong Konoha, và mình mong rằng nó sẽ khiến Konoha một lần nữa cầm bút viết tiểu thuyết. Độc giả không biết chuyện gì sẽ xảy ra với cô bé Chia kia, có thể cô sẽ sống tích cực hơn và mong là một ngày nào đó cô sẽ tìm lại cảm xúc của mình. Song cũng có thể cô sẽ lại quay về dày vò bản thân và tìm cách giải thoát như Shuuji. Dù cái kết thật sự có là gì đi nữa, 1 điều ta có thể chắc chắn rằng là thay vì cảm thấy dối trá và tội lỗi, Chia của hiện tại cảm thấy được rửa sạch khi cô bé viết chân thật với cảm xúc của mình.
Tác giả sử dụng rất nhiều reference từ Dazai Osamu, cả kể về tiểu sử của ông. Đôi khi mình có cảm giác như đây là 1 câu truyện dùng để phân tích tác phẩm “Thất lạc cõi người” của Dazai vậy. Khi đọc truyện mình rất tò mò “Dazai Osamu” là ai, “Thất lạc cõi người” là quái gì, tại sao nó lại tâm tối đến thế? Mình chưa từng trải quá nhiều nên không hiểu tại sao Shuuji và Chia lại cảm thấy như vậy. Không biết gia đình họ như thế nào và đã có những tác động gì lên tinh thần của họ. Mình phần nào hiểu Konoha vì theo 1 cách nào đó cậu cũng chỉ đơn giản là không muốn bộc lộ cảm xúc hay phá hỏng bầu không khí thôi chứ không đến nỗi đau khổ quằn quại cần được giải thoát. Còn chị Tooko thì…như là một hành tinh khác trong hệ mặt trời. Chị khác thường, hài hước, đáng yêu, hiểu sự đời một cách sâu sắc và tràn đầy nhựa sống, khác hẳn với sự u sầu của dàn nhân vật chính. Nhưng không biết liệu đó có phải là con người thật của Tooko hay lần nữa lại là chiếc mặt nạ của 1 tên hề khác.
Kết thúc của tập 1 mở ra là chặng đường mới cho hòm thư tư vấn của câu lạc bộ văn học. Bên cạnh đó cũng xuất hiện thêm nhiều nhân vật khác có tiềm năng phát triển trong các tập tiếp theo. Tóm lại, series “Cô gái văn chương” là một lựa chọn thú vị, nhẹ nhàng và thích hợp cho những ai mới bắt đầu tìm hiểu dòng văn học bí ẩn của Nhật Bản.
Cảm ơn bạn đã đọc ٩(◕‿◕｡)۶ Hãy ghé thăm trang của mình để đọc thêm nhiều review khác
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Truyện kể về một cậu học sinh tên là Konoha đang muốn che dấu quá khứ xấu hổ của mình. Cậu từng rất nổi tiếng với tác phẩm tiểu thuyết tự sáng tác, nhưng do văn phong và cách dùng từ gây hiểu lầm nên mọi người ai cũng nghĩ Konoha là con gái. Điiều đó đã gây cho cậu khá nhiều phiền toái. Konoha quyết định không sáng tác nữa và từ đó “nữ nhà văn xinh đẹp bí ẩn” dần đi vào quên lãng. Vào cấp 3, Konoha gia nhập vào CLB văn học, và có một cuộc sống tương đối bình yên với người chị cùng CLB là Tooko, 1 “cô gái văn chương” khá là “sành ăn” (theo nghĩa đen luôn vì chị ta ăn giấy như bánh mì và nước).
Cho đến 1 ngày kia, có cô bé xinh xắn tên Chia đến xin hai người giúp đỡ viết thư tình cho 1 đàn anh trong CLB bắn cung tên là Shuuji. Bị Tooko lôi kéo và không thể từ chối, Konoha đã nhận lời. Càng viết, cậu càng có hứng thú về người con trai tên Shuuji ấy, và càng tò mò hơn khi 1 lần nhận được hồi âm khá đen tối và tiêu cực từ Shuuji. Konoha đã quyết định đến CLB bắn cung để gặp Shuuji, và phát hiện ra chẳng có ai tên là Shuuji cả!!! Sự thật dần được hé lộ, Shuuji đã tự tử 10 năm trước, và Konoha có khuôn mặt giống hệt Shuuji trong bức ảnh?! Chuyện gì đã xảy ra? Tại sao Chia lại nói dối họ? Tại sao cô lại muốn Konoha viết thư tình cho 1 người đã chết? Tại sao những dòng thư hồi âm của Shuuji lại u ám và chất đầy nỗi tuyệt vọng như vậy?
Ngày ấy, Konoha bị 1 người đàn anh kéo lên tầng thượng và có ý định giết anh. Sự thật 1 lần nữa được hé lộ, người anh đó là bạn học của Shuuji, cũng chính là người đã trực tiếp đâm chết Shuuji và hại chết bạn gái của anh ấy. Không dừng lại ở đó, vợ của bạn học ấy, Rihoko, chính là nhân vật “S” trong lời kể của Shuuji, là người đã nhìn ra con người thật của Shuuji, 1 tên hề đáng thương luôn mang chiếc mặt nạ giả dối, 1 con người không cảm xúc mà như lời của Dazai Osamu khi tự kể về bản thân là “mất tư cách làm người”. Điều đó đã dày vò Shuuji và dẫn anh đến cái chết. S đã nhìn thấu điều đó ở anh, bằng 1 cách nào đó, đã yêu anh, gián tiếp hại bạn gái của anh, để rồi khi nhận ra Shuuji vô phương cứu chữa, đã buông tay để anh thực hiện ước nguyện cuối cùng của mình. Cả Rihoko và anh bạn học đó đã, đang và sẽ luôn sống với nỗi ám ảnh mang tên Shuuji đến cuối đời.
Mọi chuyện tưởng chừng kết thúc cho đến khi Konoho phát hiện ra bấy lâu, Chia cũng giống như Shuuji, cũng là một tên hề, và cũng đang trên bờ vực muốn kết liễu bản thân như anh ấy. Nhưng may mắn hơn Shuuji, Chia có Konoha và Tooko. Konoha đã hứa sẽ cùng Chia đi tìm 1 lý do để sống, và Tooko đã nói với Chia rằng thật đáng tiếc nếu như kết liễu bản thân khi chỉ mới đọc tác phẩm “Thất lạc cõi người”. Mình cảm thấy Tooko nói rất đúng. Dù sự thật là Dazai đã tự tử khi ông sáng tác xong “thất lạc cõi người”, nhưng đó không phải là tư tưởng duy nhất của ông. Ông đã sáng tác ra bao nhiêu tiểu thuyết hay khác, những mẫu truyện đấy ấp con người với sự chân thành, hi vọng và những cảm xúc đẹp đẽ. Thế nên sẽ thật là uổng phí nếu chỉ nhìn về 1 phía của cuộc sống, ta nên khám phá những mặt khác nhau, những cung bậc cảm xúc khác nhau, và cuộc đời là quá ngắn ngủi để chôn vùi trong sự vô cảm.
Truyện kết thúc với Konoha và Tooko vẫn sinh hoạt CLB như thường ngày, và cô bé Chia kia đã lựa chọn không chết ngày hôm ấy. Điều gì đó đã thay đổi trong Konoha, và mình mong rằng nó sẽ khiến Konoha một lần nữa cầm bút viết tiểu thuyết. Độc giả không biết chuyện gì sẽ xảy ra với cô bé Chia kia, có thể cô sẽ sống tích cực hơn và mong là một ngày nào đó cô sẽ tìm lại cảm xúc của mình. Song cũng có thể cô sẽ lại quay về dày vò bản thân và tìm cách giải thoát như Shuuji. Dù cái kết thật sự có là gì đi nữa, 1 điều ta có thể chắc chắn rằng là thay vì cảm thấy dối trá và tội lỗi, Chia của hiện tại cảm thấy được rửa sạch khi cô bé viết chân thật với cảm xúc của mình.
Tác giả sử dụng rất nhiều reference từ Dazai Osamu, cả kể về tiểu sử của ông. Đôi khi mình có cảm giác như đây là 1 câu truyện dùng để phân tích tác phẩm “Thất lạc cõi người” của Dazai vậy. Khi đọc truyện mình rất tò mò “Dazai Osamu” là ai, “Thất lạc cõi người” là quái gì, tại sao nó lại tâm tối đến thế? Mình chưa từng trải quá nhiều nên không hiểu tại sao Shuuji và Chia lại cảm thấy như vậy. Không biết gia đình họ như thế nào và đã có những tác động gì lên tinh thần của họ. Mình phần nào hiểu Konoha vì theo 1 cách nào đó cậu cũng chỉ đơn giản là không muốn bộc lộ cảm xúc hay phá hỏng bầu không khí thôi chứ không đến nỗi đau khổ quằn quại cần được giải thoát. Còn chị Tooko thì…như là một hành tinh khác trong hệ mặt trời. Chị khác thường, hài hước, đáng yêu, hiểu sự đời một cách sâu sắc và tràn đầy nhựa sống, khác hẳn với sự u sầu của dàn nhân vật chính. Nhưng không biết liệu đó có phải là con người thật của Tooko hay lần nữa lại là chiếc mặt nạ của 1 tên hề khác.
Kết thúc của tập 1 mở ra là chặng đường mới cho hòm thư tư vấn của câu lạc bộ văn học. Bên cạnh đó cũng xuất hiện thêm nhiều nhân vật khác có tiềm năng phát triển trong các tập tiếp theo. Tóm lại, series “Cô gái văn chương” là một lựa chọn thú vị, nhẹ nhàng và thích hợp cho những ai mới bắt đầu tìm hiểu dòng văn học bí ẩn của Nhật Bản.
Cảm ơn bạn đã đọc ٩(◕‿◕｡)۶ Hãy ghé thăm trang của mình để đọc thêm nhiều review khác
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June 10, 2021
Đây là một cuốn sách có nội dung rất sáng tạo, đặc biệt là với tạo hình cô gái văn chương nghiện sách đến độ ăn sách thay cơm. Những câu chữ cũng đậm chất văn học thường thức, có khả năng truyền cảm hứng đọc sách mạnh mẽ đến với các độc giả. Tuy vậy, tôi đánh giá không cao về bản in của cuốn sách, thường xuyên thêm kí tự ~ một cách không cần thiết, khiến tôi cảm thấy rất khó chịu. Thêm một cái nữa, tôi nghĩ đây là vấn đề với khả năng tiếp cận của bản thân mình thôi chứ cũng không có gì lớn lắm - mạch truyện khá là khó để theo dõi. Việc chuyển cảnh liên lục và đan xen phần trích của các ghi chú được ghi ở ngôi thứ nhất nên rất khó để xâu chuỗi nội dung và thật sự đắm chìm vào chúng. Có lẽ đây cũng là một cái hay- khiến cho độc giả không thể rời mắt khỏi cuốn sách giống như tôi - đọc từ sáng đến tối một mạch không nghỉ ấy.
July 28, 2021
Bungaku Shoujo (Literature Girl, ou Book Girl) é uma light novel japonesa que foi adaptada para alguns filmes. Conheci a obra pelos filmes, e agora venho a ler os livros.
No começo a obra é um tanto confusa, com algumas seções que descrevem relatos cujo autor não se sabe quem é. A incógnita da identidade do autor é trabalhada com bastante habilidade pela autora com seus personagens para que o mistério seja desvendado. Ainda assim, é muito pouco texto para que sejam trabalhados todos os personagens importantes e suas relações uns com os outros, mas já se nota algum avanço, tanto no desenvolvimento dos sentimentos do personagem principal e de suas ambições como autor e membro do clube do livro.
No começo a obra é um tanto confusa, com algumas seções que descrevem relatos cujo autor não se sabe quem é. A incógnita da identidade do autor é trabalhada com bastante habilidade pela autora com seus personagens para que o mistério seja desvendado. Ainda assim, é muito pouco texto para que sejam trabalhados todos os personagens importantes e suas relações uns com os outros, mas já se nota algum avanço, tanto no desenvolvimento dos sentimentos do personagem principal e de suas ambições como autor e membro do clube do livro.
May 8, 2019
The beginning of a beautiful ride
I first red this story as a manga. I was so shock by its name that I finished it in one day. That name was "A literary girl" and a Clown who dreamed to die.
The story is highly connecte to No Longer Human by Osamu Dazai. Even though sometimes the story is comical and peaceful, its philosophical discussion about feelings and the struggle to prevent a "no fitting" personalty inside a society lightens the beauty of the world that surrounds story of Konoha's growth and Tohko's mistery.
This story was everything I expected and I cannot wait to continue.
I first red this story as a manga. I was so shock by its name that I finished it in one day. That name was "A literary girl" and a Clown who dreamed to die.
The story is highly connecte to No Longer Human by Osamu Dazai. Even though sometimes the story is comical and peaceful, its philosophical discussion about feelings and the struggle to prevent a "no fitting" personalty inside a society lightens the beauty of the world that surrounds story of Konoha's growth and Tohko's mistery.
This story was everything I expected and I cannot wait to continue.
June 28, 2022
Một cô gái thích ăn sách, một chàng trai viết văn hay nhưng dễ xúc động, dễ khóc và khá yếu đuối. Một bộ đôi kì lạ của câu lạc bộ văn chương. Câu chuyện bắt đầu khi có một cô bé lớp 10 đến nhờ nhân vật nam chính viết hộ thư tình để cô bé gửi cho một người khác. Dần dần những sự việc mâu thuẫn với nhau như người được nhận thư tình đã chết từ mười năm trước, rồi thật ra cô bé đã yêu người khác từ trước. Các sự việc dần dần được hé lộ. Những nhân vật trong văn học của Nhật Bản vẫn luôn khác biệt, tâm trí c��a họ không giống với người thường.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
July 22, 2023
A distinctly strange light novel; Osamu Dazai's No Longer Human, re-imaged as a high school mystery with a wacky cast of supporting characters. It's not terrible, but we get the same basic revelation repeated three times, with diminishing returns. There are a few sequel hooks scattered throughout the text, but I'm not super interested in seeing the author re-interpret the themes of Wuthering Height, which I believe is next on the menu.
August 15, 2019
好苦澀
原來頗具盛名的文學少女比想像中還要苦澀
Paul Gallico的短篇集——最高級的美味冰果凍
《大亨小傳》——魚子醬和香檳酒
要是以書中以味道形容本書的話
那這本大概是85%黑巧克力吧
這本書已經出版很久了
電子書居然留有添田學長突然變成添田學姐的錯誤
原來頗具盛名的文學少女比想像中還要苦澀
Paul Gallico的短篇集——最高級的美味冰果凍
《大亨小傳》——魚子醬和香檳酒
要是以書中以味道形容本書的話
那這本大概是85%黑巧克力吧
這本書已經出版很久了
電子書居然留有添田學長突然變成添田學姐的錯誤
May 21, 2024
so i actually read it in korean (which im really proud of tbh) but i cant find the kr edition so ig ill have to settle for this one cause it has the same cover
im actually really proud of myself for reading this book, wasnt easy but it was really fun anyways (i cant remember when i started reading it sorry)
im actually really proud of myself for reading this book, wasnt easy but it was really fun anyways (i cant remember when i started reading it sorry)
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