最後の家族

by Ryū Murakami, 村上龍

リストラにおびえる父親・秀吉、若い大工と密会を重ねる母親・昭子、引きこもりの長男・秀樹、10歳年上の元引きこもりの男と交際する長女・知美。ある日、向かいの家で男に髪をつかまれて引きずられる女を目にした秀樹は、それが「ドメスティック・バイオレンス（DV）」だと知り、いつしか女を救うことを夢想しはじめるが…。 内山家は現代家族が抱えるさまざまな問題に直面している。しかし、「救う・救われるという人間関係を疑うところから出発している」と語る村上は、内山家に安易に「救い」の手を差しのべたりはしない。「家族は楽しく食事しなければならない」「親は子供に期待する」といった現代家族を漠然と包みこんでいる幻想をはぎ取られた内山家は、一気に崩壊へと突き進む。にもかかわらず、読後感がさわやかに感じられるのは、多くの困難を引きずりながらも徐々に自立していく内山家の人々が、家族の崩壊と反比例するかのように生き生きとしてくるからだ。特に秀樹が、女を救おうとする自分とDV加害者とが「似ている」ことに気づき、涙するシーンは印象的だ。 村上は2000年に発表した『希望の国のエクソダス』で日本経済や教育を論じ、主人公の中学生に「この国には希望だけがない」と語らせた。そうした絶望感を経て書かれた本書には「救い」はないが「希望」の光は見て取れる。読み手は、家族それぞれの視点で同じシーンを描くという手法で構成されるこの物語で、登場人物の誰かに自己を投影し、自分にとっての「希望」を見いだすことができるに違いない。（中島正敏）

324 pages, Tankobon Hardcover

First published September 1, 2001

About the author

Ryū Murakami (村上 龍) is a Japanese novelist and filmmaker. He is not related to Haruki Murakami or Takashi Murakami.

Murakami's first work, the short novel Almost Transparent Blue, written while he was still a student, deals with promiscuity and drug use among disaffected Japanese youth. Critically acclaimed as a new style of literature, it won the newcomer's literature prize in 1976 despite some observers decrying it as decadent. Later the same year, Blue won the Akutagawa Prize, going on to become a best seller. In 1980, Murakami published the much longer novel Coin Locker Babies, again to critical acclaim.

Takashi Miike's feature film Audition (1999) was based on one of his novels. Murakami reportedly liked it so much he gave Miike his blessing to adapt Coin Locker Babies. The screen play was worked on by director Jordan Galland. However, Miike could not raise funding for the project. An adaptation directed by Michele Civetta is currently in production.

Murakami has played drums for a rock group called Coelacanth and hosted a TV talk show.

Reviews

[hyerim lee · Rating 4 out of 5]

Read in korean. Fun read.
I could feel the author thought with depth about various kinds of relationships among society, family, and individual.
I think the main point of current society problem is that no one is actually an independent individual. People are desperate for socializing. Why? Being alone make them feel nobody.
As a plain being without some kind of definition, like job title at work or something, we don't know how to describe ourselves.
People of bunch of being nobody cannot form a real group or something.

This book shows the progress of each person of Wuchiyama family finding themselves as a conscious, awaken individual.
Except that the end is too simple and unrealistically 'well-done' for everyone; I liked this book.