Bookeater's Journal

洋書の読書感想文

"What If " Shari Low

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*時間に追われて、読む*

紙の本が好きだが、昨年末たまたまKindleUnlimited に読みたい本があって、ブラックフライデー3ヶ月間99円!を購入し、お得感で読みまくっている…。

Unlimitedの本は買ってもすごく安いし、なんだか追い立てられるように読んでしまうので、多分3ヶ月で辞めるとは思うけど、知らない本とかも薦めてくれるから、1年に数ヶ月なら入ってもいいかなーと思う。

紙の本が好きだが、本棚がいっぱいだ。e-booksはいいけど、途中で「この人さっき出てきた人だっけ?」とか「あの時なんて言ってたっけ?」とか思った時にぱらぱらっと探せないのが不便だ。軽いかと思いきや紙の本1冊分くらいはある。また、仰向けに寝転んで読んでたら(よいこは真似しないでください!)居眠りした時顔面に落ちてきて痛かった。これらの点が改善されることを願う。自己改善も必要か!?

この本もそんなKindleさんに薦められておもしろそうだったので読んでみました。

ざっくり言うと、「ブリジット・ジョーンズの日記」みたいな本です。

そういう、30歳位の女性が主人公で恋に仕事に友情に家族関係に悩んだり人生の転機を迎えたりする小説を「chick lit」っていうらしいです。(「洋書ベスト500」という本で知ったのですが、あらゆるジャンルの洋書が網羅してある素晴らしい本なので、もし洋書読みたいけど何読めばいいかわからない人におすすめします。この本を書いた渡辺由佳里さんの「洋書ファンクラブ」も!)この言葉を知った時、「あ、私がすきなのってchick litなんだ」としっくリ来ました。

まさに30歳位の主人公が、今頃結婚して子供もいて幸せになってたはずなのになぜそうじゃないの!?とある日突然思う。私のミスター・ライトはどこなの?もしかしてもう出会っていたのに気づかなかったのかもと考えた挙句、仕事を辞めてお金もないけど元彼行脚の旅に出る…イカれてる…おまけに6人の元彼の中にはろくでもない別れ方をした男もいて…よく会いに行けるよな~と感心しました。っていうか笑えました。

設定は20世紀末ロンドン。この本はスマホを傍らに読むことをおすすめします。時代の風俗的固有名詞(テレビ番組名とかバンドの名前とか曲名とか)沢山でてくるし、各章事に当時流行ったブリットポップの曲名が書いてあって、その曲を聴きながら読んだり…そういう楽しみ方もできる。便利な世の中です。

個人的には、主人公と年齢が近く20世紀末ロンドンに住んでいたこともあって、懐かしく楽しめました…。続編もあり、(今度は今のロンドンが舞台)、数十年の時を経た主人公が活躍?するらしいので、読んでみたいと思っています。3月までに読めるでしょうか…?


*Pressed for time*

I like paper books, but late last year I happened to find a book I wanted to read on Kindle Unlimited, which service was provided 99 yen for 3 months on Black Friday Sale!

I bought and am reading it all the time, feeling like it's a good deal...

 

I know Unlimited's books are very cheap to buy. Also I find myself reading them as if I'm being chased away. Those are the reasons why I’m thinking of quitting doing this after 3 months.

Still, they recommend books that I don't know about, so I could join it a few month later again.


I like paper books, but my bookshelf is full.

Though E-books are OK, it's inconvenient because you can't just flip through pages that you have already read to make sure when you wonder, "Isn't this the person who has come out yet?" or "What did he say at that time?"


Futhermore, Kindles may be lightweight, but it's almost as heavy as paper books.

The problem is that I have a bad habit to read lying on my back (I sould never recommend doing this for good children!) Then I often fell asleep while I’m reading and my Kindle fell on my face. It hurts, actually.

I hope these aspects of e-books will be improved. Or, is it my way of reading which should be improved?

 

This book was recommended to me by Kindle and seemed interesting, so I decided to read it.

 

Roughly speaking, it's a book similar to "Bridget Jones's Diary."

 

Novels in which the main character is a woman at thirty-something who concerned over her love, work, friendships, family relationships, and her life is at it's turning point, are called "chick lit."(I learned about the word from the book "500 Best English Books," and it's a great book that covers all genres of English books, so I recommend it to people who want to read books in English but don't know what to read. I also recommend Yukari Watanabe's   blog, "English Book Fan Club,"too!)

When I heard this word, the stories that I like came to be categorised and named. I thought, "What I like should be chick-lits!"

 

The main character is about 30 years old. One day she thinks,"I should have been married and had children by now and be happy," and wonders, "Why haven’t I become like that!? Where is my Mr. Right? " After thinking that she came to the conclusion she must have already met her Mr. Right but didn't realize it.

Then she decided to go on a trip to visit her ex-boyfriends after quitting her job even though she had no money. It's crazy.

And to top it all off, some of her 6 ex-boyfriends are assholes. There was even a man whom she abandoned in an unusual way.

I was impressed that she was brave enough to fase him. I mean, that is funny.

 

The setting is London at the end of the 20th century. I recommend reading this book with your smartphone by your side. There are a lot of proper nouns from the era (TV program names, band names, song titles, etc.), and each chapter has the title of a Britpop song that was popular at the time, so you can read it while listening to that song...that's fun. Modern technology is great!

 

Personally, I enjoyed it with a nostalgic feeling, as I was close to the main character's age and lived in London at the end of the 20th century...

 

There is a sequel (this time set in present-day London), in which the main character display lively performance several decades later.

I'd like to read it by March.

Do you think it's possible?