Zwei—ツヴァイ—

天使のささやきシリーズ #Spin-off 2

by かわい有美子, やまがた さとみ (イラスト)

捜査一課から飛ばされ、さらに内部調査を命じられてやさぐれていた山下は、ある事件で検事となった高校の同級生・須和と再会する。彼は、昔よりも冴えないくすんだ印象になっていた。高校時代に想い合っていた二人は自然と抱き合うようになるが、自らの腕の中でまるで羽化するように綺麗になっていく須和を目の当たりにし、山下は惹かれていく。二人の距離は徐々に縮まっていく中、須和が仕事で地方へと異動になることが決まり…。

271 pages, Paperback

First published November 30, 2012

Reviews

[Commie Simpson · Rating 3 out of 5]

I reread this after almost a decade. I didn’t really enjoy it when I first read it, but the second time, boy did it hit hard.

I love the romance, I love the relationship between the two MCs. I really appreciate how Kawai portrayed the gradual transformation in each character’s attitude and behavior toward each other. It was a truthful depiction that made you feel all sort of things, from a bit of disgust, a tad of pity, amazement, sympathy, anxiety, joy, and then pure peace. One thing about this book that made me think for awhile was the reality that an unconditional love might actually be a source of pain and anxiety for the recipient. Imagine loving someone so dearly, that you’re willing to do anything for your loved one, to make any of their wishes come true, and you know your loved one loves you back just as much. Yet they never expect anything from you, never expect you to love them just as much as they love you, never have much hope in the relationship. It’s an attestation of the how deeply in love they are with you, and at the same time how much they don’t trust you, how much they don’t believe in your feelings. Unconditional love like that, sounds like a heaven sent at first, but actually terribly frustrating and heartbreaking. There isn’t much you can do in such a situation other than patiently showering your loved one with love and care, hoping to gain their trust little by little.

I loved the romance, I even found the 緊張感 at the MCs’ workplace, the whole factionalism and cover-ups within the justice system done well enough. But I can’t bring myself to rate this higher than this, because the book is pretty much copaganda, with a not-so-subtle anti-non-white immigration agenda. You can argue that the author is trying to be realistic in her portrayal of cops being absolute racist pos. But boy was it unsavory to read the MC who is a cop ranting about how he couldn’t find someone nice cuz he’s too busy being a cop and the only kinds of female (no kidding, he called them 女) he meet are “Pinoys who overstay their visa, Korean prostitutes, or Chinese who spit on the street”. Or how he criticized his colleague for 癒着 with Chinese criminals, helping them facilitate fake marriage between Japanese men and Chinese women, creating a loophole for Chinese women to bring all their relatives to Japan, who then do nothing but exploit Japan’s welfare system. Like holy fuck man, it’s like reading the ultraright manifesto or some shit.

So yea, if you can do a bit of mental gymnastics, this book certainly has something to offer.

[coflo · Rating 4 out of 5]

4 stars. Slightly heavier than related books, but the slow-burning, hesitant love between two men still has its subtle beauty in it.