妄想銀行

by Shinichi Hoshi, 星新一

人間の妄想を取り扱うエフ博士の妄想銀行は大繁盛! しかし博士は、彼を思う女からとった妄想を、自分の愛する女性にと……。32編のショートショート。 人間のさまざまな妄想を取り扱うエフ博士の銀行は大繁盛。男子学生が抱く艶めかしい願望を預かり、反省のない被告に悩む弁護士に罪悪感を販売する。博士は順調に業務を遂行していたが――。 現代社会への皮肉が効いた表題作のほか、道で拾った風変りな鍵に合う鍵穴を探し続ける男を描く「鍵」、自殺の名所に佇む青年を雇ったエヌ氏の顛末を追う「半人前」など、傑作ショートショート32編を収録。 目次 保証 大黒さま あるスパイの物語 住宅問題 信念 半人前 変な客 美味の秘密 陰謀団ミダス さまよう犬 女神 海のハープ ねらった弱味 鍵 繁栄への原理 味ラジオ 新しい人生 古風な愛 遭難 金の力 黄金の惑星 敏感な動物 宇宙の英雄 魔法の大金 声 人間的 破滅 博士と殿さま 小さな世界 長生き競争 とんでもないやつ 妄想銀行 解説:都築道夫※電子書籍版には解説は収録しておりません。 星新一(1926-1997) 東京生れ&

283 pages, Kindle Edition

First published April 3, 1978

About the author

Shinichi Hoshi (Japanese: 星新一) is recognized as one of Japan's most influential science fiction writers of all time, He published more than 1,000 of his signature "short-short" stories. Some call his crisp, no-frills prose the "Haiku of Science Fiction."

Reviews

[Angel 一匹狼 · Rating 3 out of 5]

Another great read by Shinichi Hoshi, "妄想銀行" is another compilation, in this case of 32 short stories (in general longer, around 10-12 pages, than in "ボッコちゃん") that go from sci-fi to tongue-in-cheek, again showcasing the author's search and knack for originality.

However, after the blast of the first book, the feeling of wonder and surprise can't be maintained at the same levels and some of Hoshi's shortcomings come to light, as for example, his tendency to rely too much on last sentence punchline, on that second to last twist. Some of the stories fall flat because the punchline is not as strong as it should be and also because there is a sense of familiarity in some of the outcomes. There can be just so many surprises for the reader.

Nevertheless, the book is still a very funny read, and some of the stories are just, plain and simple, amazing. That it doesn't surprise as much as the first time I encountered Hoshi's stories, but that it still amazes and entertains, just comes to show how good and original a writer Hoshi was.

7.5/10

(Original Japanese Version)