[Creative Award Review] A story about a wounded adult and a boy who doesn't know where the wounds are

The moment you read a book and think, "This is fun, this is great."

I think that's different for everyone, but
in my case, through reading,
the moment I "learn about a world I didn't know" is incredibly fun and exciting.

The more carefully it's written, the more I can empathize and immerse myself in that world.
After finishing such a novel,
what should I even say?

It's just, "whoosh, warm and fuzzy."

After being all warm and fuzzy for a while,
"Reading is wonderful!"
"Thank you, God!"
"No, wait, it wasn't God! It was the author! Thank you, author, for writing this! No, no, wait. Maybe the author is actually God for being able to write such an amazing novel!"

I make a big fuss by myself.
Not exaggerating, I'm serious.


Why am I so excited?
Because in an entry for the Creative Award,
I encountered it.
Such an amazing novel!!!

To That Sea When You Put Down the Needle

Since I'm writing this in a post-reading state of excitement,
I'm afraid I might spoil it!
So, I will only touch upon what is written in the synopsis.

It's a story about "16-year-old Leo, a young man good at knitting, and 28-year-old tattoo artist Tatchan"!

The protagonist, Leo, is a knitting expert.
Knitting, huh.
As for my knitting history,
the last time I knitted was a beanie when my son was a baby, so I haven't knitted in nearly 15 years.
After that, I just played with leftover yarn doing cat's cradle... and that was it.
I don't know difficult knitting techniques or terminology. (So I can't make things like sweaters)
With such thin knowledge, the knitting scenes in this story were educational to read.
As I imagined the colors of the yarn and the finished product, I couldn't help myself.
The sensation of knitting needles and yarn somehow came back to my fingers.
It's strange, even though I don't usually knit.
I'm surprised at myself for wanting to knit a little, even though I just read it.

And the other protagonist.
Tatchan, the tattoo artist, is someone from a world I don't know (understand) at all.
Oh, a tattoo artist appears in Hitomi Kanehara's work "Snakes and Earrings," but that tattoo artist (played by Arata Iura in the movie version) and the tattoo artist in this "To That Sea When You Put Down the Needle" have completely different atmospheres.
He looks scary at first glance because he is fully tattooed, but he is a kind and sincere 28-year-old.
(So this is what a tattoo artist's job is like. Is this what it means to leave something on someone's skin...)
Even though I've never been tattooed or given one,
I somehow imagined the feeling and shivered.
Rather than the two protagonists, I read the story more from the perspective of 16-year-old Leo's mother and grandmother,
so I learned about the attitude of watching over a child, and seeing the two of them and the surrounding characters trying their best on their respective paths

gave me energy while reading.

The wounds people carry in their hearts
don't disappear easily, but
through the warmth of others and one's own efforts,
they are healed,
and the wounds gradually fade away.

Along with the protagonists Leo and Tatchan,
after reading, your own feelings are filled and healed.
Such an amazing novel is
"To That Sea When You Put Down the Needle."

Writing a review while terrified of spoilers,
it has become a piece of writing where I don't even know if it's a review or what it is, but
anyway, it was just great!!!
It was so good that
(If such an amazing novel comes out, I guess I can't do it anymore),
my creative motivation even withered.
For me, it was a work that had that much of an impact.

If you haven't read it, please do!!!
It was extremely!! interesting, and I highly recommend it!!!