[Book Review] The World of First Love

When I was around middle school age,
the thing I looked forward to most during summer vacation
was television after lunch.

The internet didn't arrive at my parents' house
until after I graduated from high school,
and I hadn't been given a mobile phone yet either.

In that environment, after eating the lunch
my working mother had left for me,
the hour from 1:00 PM
was my golden time back then.

The flow from "Daisuki! Itsutsugo" to
"Kids War" for some reason
captured my underage heart
and wouldn't let go.

I wasn't originally very
interested in dramas,
but perhaps because children were the focus of these two,
I found myself strangely drawn to them.

Since then, during every long vacation,
watching the aforementioned programs became my daily routine.

The pity was that I had no way to record them,
so once the break ended,
I couldn't see the rest.
(I don't think I ever managed to watch a series to its conclusion)

Perhaps because I spent my boyhood like that,
I became a man who is rare among those I know
for "liking daytime dramas (or stories like them)."

As it turns out, that sensibility
wove a connection
with my favorite author,
so you never know what will pay off.

This time, too, it is a work by my favorite
Keiko Nishi.

Everyone, every one of them

It is a work depicting the romantic lives
of four high school classmates
(they are still girls even at 40).

One is bad at love because she lived for her work,
another is a divorcee aiming for remarriage,
or one is blinded by an affair with a married person,
and the last one, just when you think she is married
and blessed with children,
finds her marriage has gone cold,
and both she and her spouse are obsessed with people other than each other.

I am impressed that she managed to assemble
such a lineup.

If you looked at each situation individually,
it could have been an omnibus format,
but because they are a close-knit group of four,
it is unified into a single work.

Instead of getting two for the price of one,
it is packed with the satisfaction of getting four for the price of one.

I like affairs

Now, if I say this, I might be looked at
with cold eyes by those around me,
but I like affairs.

That said, it's not that I have any
desire for an affair myself.

It's just that I somehow
prefer stories about people struggling with forbidden love
over works that deal with pure love
like that of students.

This kind of approach is
undoubtedly heavily influenced by
the daytime soap operas I watched in my youth.

Regardless, affairs are only
appealing because they are fiction,
and if you actually do it in real life,
the end result is just causing trouble for everyone around you.

If your own mother were to
"leave home because of an affair,"
it would surely be difficult
for the children and the family.

After all, it is best to
keep affairs as something to just watch from afar.

A bystander sees more than the player

Still,
the saying "a bystander sees more than the player" is spot on;
when it comes to other people's business,
they can see things quite rationally.

And yet,
when it comes to their own affairs, it's a different story;
they dive headlong into the very romances
they would tell their friends to avoid.
It is truly a case of "love is blind."

However, if you keep reading this work,
the conclusion you arrive at in the end
is simply that "affairs are a hassle."

It only looks attractive
because you are focusing
only on the good parts.
(Well, if you really think about it,
I feel like there isn't a single romantic situation
that isn't a hassle.)

While it certainly shows the sweet side of affairs,
it also firmly depicts the consequences,
so if you read it properly,
you won't think, "I want to do that too."

In the end, they too
will wake up from the blindness of their affairs.
(Though some of them aren't having affairs.)

The charm embedded in Nishi's works

Speaking of things being a hassle,
as you read on, there are parts
that make you think "marriage itself is a hassle."

Tracing my memory, all of
Nishi-sensei's works I have read so far
(even if they led to marriage)
were full of troublesome romances.

I became a fan of Keiko Nishi
back when I was single,
and I often read her works
while I was single and looking for love or marriage.

I think for me at the time,
the longing was stronger
than the thought that "marriage seems like a hassle."
I hadn't had such opportunities for a long time, anyway.

Someone like me, who
never dated anyone,
is made to want to take action
and pursue romance (and marriage).

That kind of romantic charm is
a hallmark of Nishi's works.

I would never recommend an affair,
but if you want to fall in love,
reading this work might
help you remember that
bubbling feeling of love
like your first love once again.

Thank you for reading.

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