Kyoko Nakajima 'Moonlight Inn' (Daily Reading Memo (321))
Finished reading Kyoko Nakajima's 'Moonlight Inn' (Kadokawa Shoten). After reading 'Kind Cat' (review here) the other day, I realized I had skipped one of her recent works, so I read it thinking, 'Oh my.' Since Kyoko Nakajima's themes and styles are so different in each work, I read it as an independent piece without being influenced by the others. In every one of Kyoko Nakajima's books, she faces the weaknesses and vulnerabilities of her characters head-on, and a kindness that surpasses them gently seeps through.
On a completely different note, after reading 'Kind Cat,' reading various press releases for the film 'My Small Land' (directed by Emma Kawawada) really grabs at your heart. The episode of Hayato, a Japanese-born Kurdish boy who has a deep relationship with the protagonist Maya in 'Kind Cat,' ends without resolution, leaving me with a very heavy feeling. Similarly, the Kurdish girl Sarya, played by Lina Arashi in 'My Small Land,' faces the same issues and suffers under constraints she cannot do anything about herself. I want to continue paying attention to the acceptance of refugees in Japan.
Back to 'Moonlight Inn.' The setting is near a station where highland trains stop, so while the place name is not explicitly stated, when the protagonist Takumi Kurita leaves the station and rides his bicycle, he immediately runs into a 'giant coffee pot object, or maybe a shop,' so those familiar with the area will immediately know where it is. Nearby is an SGF (Survival Game Field). And in a place where not a single person could be seen, the place he finally reached after seeing a light was a building where people of all ages and genders gathered, which was later called 'Moonlight Inn.' Even calling it a gathering, there were only five people in total when Takumi wandered in. Five people, each carrying their own circumstances, living in the present in their own clumsy ways.
As I read on, it becomes clear that everyone is unable to step into something, and the premise of the story—and what causes it to stagnate—is that they are bewildered by problems that seem trivial to a third party, thinking, 'If you just confirmed that with someone, it would be solved,' and they end up standing still there. Life at Moonlight Inn is built on such a precarious balance, and through external influence, some cases are freed from their confusion, while in others, the problem becomes apparent and they are back to square one. Amidst their confusion, everyone makes their own decisions about their future. Everyone else respects those decisions. We, as readers, want to believe that in the long run, those decisions will lead to their happiness. I think the feeling of wanting to believe is the gem unearthed from this book.
Ever since I read 'To You Who Have Thought "I want to die" or "I want to disappear" (14-Year-Old's Guide to Life)' (review here), I have often been conscious of the message to everyone that while you don't need to force yourself to like yourself, I want you to think carefully about cherishing yourself. 'Moonlight Inn' was also a book that made me think about nurturing self-affirmation.
I hope Niji-san, Kaoru-san, Toko-san, Marie-Joy, and Takumi all cherish themselves and are happy. I hope they become even happier.
#Reading #BookReview #KyokoNakajima #MoonlightInn #KadokawaShoten #KindCat #Kiyosato #MySmallLand #Kurdish