羆嵐（新潮文庫）

by 吉村 昭

北海道天塩山麓の開拓村を突然恐怖の渦に巻込んだ一頭の羆の出現！　日本獣害史上最大の惨事は大正4年12月に起った。冬眠の時期を逸した羆が、わずか2日間に6人の男女を殺害したのである。鮮血に染まる雪、羆を潜める闇、人骨を齧る不気味な音……。自然の猛威の前で、なす術のない人間たちと、ただ一人沈着に羆と対決する老練な猟師の姿を浮彫りにする、ドキュメンタリー長編。

Genres: Fiction

204 pages, Kindle Edition

First published May 1, 1977

Reviews

[Stilkraft · Rating 3 out of 5]

The life and the atmosphere of a Meiji-era frontier village in Hokkaido and its people are well depicted, but the characters are not well developed and overall quite one-dimensional, almost like cliché.

[Yoshinobu Yamakawa · Rating 4 out of 5]

This non-fiction novel, based on a true story, describes a horrific attack on a pioneer village in Hokkaido. It is a detailed reconstruction of a series of murders by bears that occurred in a village at the foot of Mt. Teshio in the winter of 1915. The highlight of this book is its realistic descriptions. Akira Yoshimura has conducted meticulous interviews and faithfully reconstructed every detail of the case.

What I felt while reading the book was the power of nature and the helplessness of human beings. The people of the pioneer village were trying their best to survive in the harsh environment. However, their daily life is instantly shattered by the appearance of a single brown bear. It highlighted the fragility of human society and made me think about the difficulty of coexisting with nature.

[s · Rating 4 out of 5]

20190815

‪#羆嵐 #吉村昭 さん #読了‬

‪冬の厳しさ、村落の貧しさ、村人の怯え、羆の凶暴さ、区長、銀四郎、どの描写も生々しい。まるで自分が話の中に入って彼らと共にしているかの如く。‬
‪暑い夏に冬の本を読み始めて、しまった！と思ったけど、暑さも寒さも感じないほど話の世界に入り込んでしまった。‬