Books I've Read Recently 16
Spring Will Come Again / Mikoto Mashimo
A former high school classmate, who was the most beautiful girl in the grade, appears in the college life of a plain, inconspicuous protagonist. As the two, who were never meant to interact, deepen their connection, an incident occurs.
Sexual violence in college is often used as a subject in works, but this work posits that "the real problem is that women are forced to be divided by men." People "above" and people "below." Those who offer and those who are offered. Women who have married and given birth versus those who have not. Because women divided by rank and category never intersect, they cannot cooperate when problems arise. Therefore, problems never reach a resolution. And there are people who benefit from this. A well-constructed world dominated by someone. Perhaps it is the solidarity of women that can break it.
The incident this time did not reach a fundamental resolution and remained a measure of pretending it never happened. I couldn't help but wonder if that was okay, but I was able to hold onto the hope that there is a way to solve it when the time comes. It won't be erased. Even so, we will keep moving forward. Because if we unite when the time comes, we should be able to overcome the unreasonable.
Waiting Under the Cherry Blossoms / Maru Ayase
Stories of various people riding the Shinkansen.
<When the White Magnolia Crumbles>
A girl who was on the same cleaning duty in elementary school died in a traffic accident. Will I also meet a terrible fate someday? While visiting my grandmother's house in Hanamaki for my aunt's wedding, I met a mysterious girl and had a dream.
In the dream, she became various living things like insects and birds, and lost her life for various reasons. Next, she will become a stronger creature. So that she won't die easily. So that she won't be crushed even if she is hit by a car.
So that I don't have to kill an enemy I cannot hate. I move my lips and slowly tilt my head. Even though it is absolutely not my own experience, I feel like I have killed something I didn't want to kill, and was killed by something I didn't want to be killed by. Not something certain like memories or recollections, but just small things mixed into my heart, body, and blood that know.
That which could be felt precisely because she was a child without knowledge might seem like fantasy, but perhaps it is not. The conviction and core lurking within the fluffy, dream-like atmosphere.
Life and death. Blood ties. Ancestors. Connections with people. Unreasonable death made her a little more adult. In order to live strongly through this beautiful yet cruel world.