塩の街[Shio no machi]

自衛隊三部作 #1

by Hiro Arikawa, 有川 浩

塩が世界を埋め尽くす塩害の時代。塩は着々と街を飲み込み、社会を崩壊させようとしていた。

その崩壊寸前の東京で暮らす男と少女。男の名は秋庭、少女の名は真奈。静かに暮らす二人の前を、さまざまな人々が行き過ぎる。あるときは穏やかに、あるときは烈しく、あるときは浅ましく。

それを見送りながら、二人の中で何かが変わり始めていた……。

Genres: Science Fiction

421 pages, Tankobon Hardcover

First published January 1, 2004

About the author

Hiro Arikawa won the tenth annual Dengeki Novel Prize for new writers for Shio no Machi: Wish on My Precious in 2003, and the book was published the following year. It was praised for its love story between a heroine and hero divided by age and social status, and for its depiction of military structures. Although she is a light novelist, her books from her second work onwards have been published as hardbacks alongside more literary works with Arikawa receiving special treatment in this respect from her publisher, MediaWorks. Shio no Machi was also later published in hardback. Her 2006 light novel Toshokan Sensō (The Library War) was named as Hon no Zasshi's number one for entertainment for the first half of 2006, and came fifth in the Honya Taishō for that year, competing against ordinary novels.

She often writes about the Japan Self-Defense Forces (JSDF) and her first three novels concerning its three branches are known as the Jieitai Sanbusaku (The SDF Trilogy); she also wrote about the fictional Library Forces in the Toshokan Sensō series. Raintree no Kuni, which first appeared as a book within a book in Toshokan Nairan was later published by Arikawa as a spin-off with another publisher. It was adapted into a film titled World of Delight released on November 21, 2015.[2][3]Her novel Shokubutsu Zukan (ja) will be adapted into a film titled Shokubutsu Zukan: Unmei no Koi, Hiroimashita and scheduled for release on June 4, 2016.

Reviews

[Angela · Rating 5 out of 5]

Arikawa's magical touch had managed to strike again. Shio no Machi had managed to brilliantly combine sci-fi setting with heart-warming romance and thought provoking slice of life without each of the elements feeling underwhelming nor overpowering the other.

Without going into the specifics, the story begin by easing the readers into understanding the premise of the story. However, the introductory chapter is not as straightforward as simply introducing, it also provided a unique viewpoint to the world. As the story continues to develop, the character's past begins to reveal and we start to gain a better understanding of the characters and their motives. The main portion of the book ended in a pleasant tone which ties things off neatly. The neatness of the ending is further supported by the side stories included in the ending which allows one to gain further insight of the characters.

The author had managed to link every bit of information in the book together in a marvelous way. It is as though one is reading a concise report where each and every word matter. However, unlike a report, the story is not mechanical but instead filled with life and emotions. The characters truly feels real and alive. Though there are some parts (especially in the side stories) where I felt that the character may have broken character, but it's not to the extent where one will criticize. Thinking through holistically, such display of character may indeed be possible. It is as though coming to see another side of a person due to the increase in proximity. While thinking that such may be a possibility, it once again shows how meticulous the author is.

A common theme, and something that Arikawa managed to do really well, is that none of the chapter is as simple as they seems. Each chapter has their main focus. However, often hidden in plain sight are important life lessons that are worth remembering and thinking through. These lessons could often be seen through the observations of the individual characters or through conversations between the characters.

All in all, a great book that is fun as a casual read yet having the potential to concurrently be a serious and thought provoking literature.

[MIL · Rating 3 out of 5]

有川浩在出道作就顯出放閃大師的功力了
雖然科幻設定有點牽強
但是描述角色心態已經很細膩了

不過這本最令我耿耿於懷的是幾萬人的活體殺人實驗
居然就輕輕放下了
難怪中共對日發動民族主義攻勢總是可以玩得那麼響啊

[Shirlee Chia · Rating 3 out of 5]

就是個非常正面的愛情故事。災難中趨使人無畏赴死的從來不是什麼拯救世界的偉大任務，而是想要所愛之人平安的心願。
雖然是本好看的愛情故事，但近幾年的我好像對這類題材有點適應不良。