Book Review: 'Rain Tree Country'

A quick break, time for a book.

This is a book review.

The book I read this time is Hiro Arikawa's Rain Tree Country' (e-book).

*Contains some spoilers.

Synopsis

An email exchange that began with an "unforgettable book."

Before long, the protagonist develops a strong desire to meet the other person.

However, she has circumstances that make meeting her not so simple--.

Nobuyuki, a company employee, finds a site with reviews about a certain book and contacts its administrator, Hitomi.

As they exchange emails, Nobuyuki's heart fills with the desire to "meet her," and eventually, the two meet in person.

However, Hitomi was hiding a deep reason.

Impressions

Even after finishing it, I felt that this story was "only just the beginning."

I do not know if their relationship will move in a happy direction from here on out or not.

However, I would like to believe that they will face each other, including their clumsy sides, and walk forward while finding mutual understanding.

When I finished reading it, it was a work that left such a lingering impression that I instinctively wanted to "wave my hands" to express my feelings.

I thought it was a work that was easy to read, as the overall volume is not large.

This touches slightly on the core of the story, but I will write this under the premise that Hitomi has a hearing impairment due to an accident.

It depicts the process of people in different positions gradually coming together while clashing with each other's feelings, and as I read it, I felt a sense of empathy as if my own feelings were being spoken for.

I felt as if it were organizing the emotions I wanted to convey but couldn't put into words, or the thoughts I couldn't express well, and it resonated with me, especially since I am not good at summarizing my own feelings into words.

Also, while reading the story, I remembered my past work experience.

At a workplace where I used to work, I was involved in a conference organized by people with hearing impairments.

Although it is slightly different from the hearing loss that appears in this story, it was an event where people who cannot hear sound gathered in one place.

Many people were involved, including local governments, city council members, associations, and volunteer groups, and I was responsible for filming the venue and broadcasting it to a separate room.

From the moment I entered the venue, sign language was flying about, and a world without the "vocal conversation" that I usually take for granted was spreading out.

I remember being surprised by a scene completely different from my life sphere up to that point, and at the same time, feeling the frustration of not being able to understand the interactions there.

However, as I watched the participants while filming, I saw not so much a "special place," but a very natural daily life where people laughed, were serious, and sometimes argued.

Even though it looked like a world different from my own, I was made to realize that it was fundamentally just common human activity.

Read it📚

[Amazon]

▼ Paperback

▼ Hardcover

[Rakuten Books]

▼ E-book (Rakuten Kobo)

Take a break: My previous book reviews

I have compiled my book reviews into a magazine👇