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とんこつQ&A
真っ直ぐだから怖い、純粋だから切ない。あの人のこと、笑えますか。
“普通”の可笑しみから、私たちの真の姿と世界の深淵が顔を出す。
大将とぼっちゃんが切り盛りする中華料理店とんこつで働き始めた「わたし」。「いらっしゃいませ」を言えるようになり、居場所を見つけたはずだった。あの女が新たに雇われるまでは……(「とんこつQ&A」)
姉の同級生には、とんでもない嘘つき少年がいた。父いわく、そういう奴はそのうち消えていなくなってしまうらしいが……(「嘘の道」)
人間の取り返しのつかない刹那を描いた4篇を収録、待望の最新作品集!
“普通”の可笑しみから、私たちの真の姿と世界の深淵が顔を出す。
大将とぼっちゃんが切り盛りする中華料理店とんこつで働き始めた「わたし」。「いらっしゃいませ」を言えるようになり、居場所を見つけたはずだった。あの女が新たに雇われるまでは……(「とんこつQ&A」)
姉の同級生には、とんでもない嘘つき少年がいた。父いわく、そういう奴はそのうち消えていなくなってしまうらしいが……(「嘘の道」)
人間の取り返しのつかない刹那を描いた4篇を収録、待望の最新作品集!
224 pages, Hardcover
Published July 21, 2022
About the author
Natsuko Imamura
8 books254 followersSee: 今村 夏子
Natsuko Imamura is a Japanese writer. She has been nominated three times for the Akutagawa Prize, and won the prize in 2019. She has also won the Dazai Osamu Prize, the Mishima Yukio Prize, the Kawai Hayao Story Prize, and the Noma Literary New Face Prize.
Natsuko Imamura is a Japanese writer. She has been nominated three times for the Akutagawa Prize, and won the prize in 2019. She has also won the Dazai Osamu Prize, the Mishima Yukio Prize, the Kawai Hayao Story Prize, and the Noma Literary New Face Prize.
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
March 3, 2024
とんこつQ&A collects four stories by Natsuko Imamura, the author of The Woman in the Purple Skirt (むらさきのスカートの女). Each of these stories is built on a cute and wholesome premise that develops in a dark and strange direction.
The title story is about a woman with social anxiety who creates a written script to help her navigate her job as a server at a small diner called Tonkotsu. Her efforts are aided by the recently widowed owner of the diner and his young son, who teaches the narrator to speak in Osaka dialect like his late mother.
The script gradually expands beyond professional dialogue, however, and the narrator ultimately becomes the ghostwriter for the diner owner’s new wife. This scenario seems like a perfect set-up for a sweet and gentle romantic comedy, but it gradually becomes more disturbing as the narrator cheerfully crafts the diner owner’s new wife into a living doll.
The three other stories in the collection are about middle school bullies, a clueless wife who gets away with murder, and a very sketchy coworker. I wouldn’t say that these stories have “twist endings,” necessarily, but the way their wholesome coziness slowly sinks into social horror is fascinating to watch.
The title story is about a woman with social anxiety who creates a written script to help her navigate her job as a server at a small diner called Tonkotsu. Her efforts are aided by the recently widowed owner of the diner and his young son, who teaches the narrator to speak in Osaka dialect like his late mother.
The script gradually expands beyond professional dialogue, however, and the narrator ultimately becomes the ghostwriter for the diner owner’s new wife. This scenario seems like a perfect set-up for a sweet and gentle romantic comedy, but it gradually becomes more disturbing as the narrator cheerfully crafts the diner owner’s new wife into a living doll.
The three other stories in the collection are about middle school bullies, a clueless wife who gets away with murder, and a very sketchy coworker. I wouldn’t say that these stories have “twist endings,” necessarily, but the way their wholesome coziness slowly sinks into social horror is fascinating to watch.
October 5, 2024
I read the first story a couple of months ago and I went back to this recently. I think the stories are very original but I thought I'd like it more.
Still, 今村夏子さんが天才だと思ういます！ 面白かったです。
Still, 今村夏子さんが天才だと思ういます！ 面白かったです。
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews