まいまいつぶろ 村木嵐

 家重の言葉が不明瞭のように、この本の正体が不明瞭。

まず、主人公が誰か分からない（感情移入ができない）。主人公は、家重か、越前守か、意次か、お幸か、忠光か。

次に、時代考証が欠落。例えば、比宮が没してからもお幸は尼にもならず、京にも帰らない。三年後に家重の側室になる。これはあり得ないだろう。また、家重が自分のことを「私」と言っている。『日本国語大辞典』よれば、「私」は、「近世においては、女性が多く用い、ことに武家階級の男性は用いなかった」とある。さらに、「家重が将軍を宣下した」は「宣下」の誤用法である。

第三に、話しの辻褄が合わなくない。例えば、家重が「忠光を遠ざけるくらいなら、私は将軍を……」と言うのを、１０歳の家治が「忠光を遠ざけよう。権臣にするくらいなら。私は将軍ゆえ」と解釈するが、忠光の言葉と家治の言葉が合致していない。

第四、平田靱負の自刃に触れる場面があるが、幕府の重役は靱負の苦悩を表面的にしか描いていない。

最後に、致命的な欠陥。読者は忠光の心が、どのようであったか知りたいのに、忠光の心理描写が欠落。忠光は通訳しながら、どのように考えていたのか、一言も触れていない。忠光の心の葛藤が知りたい。表面で、なぞってあるだけで、これも「ないないつぶろ」であった。

発音

"わたし【私】", 日本国語大辞典, JapanKnowledge, https://japanknowledge.com , (参照 2025-07-19)

Snow, Blood, Love by Ami Cameron, published 2018

 This is an excellent short story. The setting is good. An unexpected ending is good. Grandma's love warms your heart.

Because Jessica's grandma's house is decorated with does, the protagonist, Jessica, is familiar with guns. That's why Merideth's husband is shot to death. Grandma tells Jessica to let it go that she doesn't have anything to so with the murder. In the end Grandma reveals her crime to police by way of a letter.  Her crime has been carried to another world. "Good riddance" was the words Jessica's relatives say. So, nobody was responsible for his death. Jessica will have to carry the secret to her death. Grandmother's love for her daughter was so great that she killed her husband. 

The dream scene is too vivid. A dream is vague and normally vague, but this story depcts Jessica's dream vividly and clearly. That is against reality.

In the end, Meredith had something to do with the murder. That was a surprise. 

Logical and natual develoment of the story. Well written. 

The writer says, "Being authentic and real is important to me. Being fake just isn't an option." Her description of Jessica's dream is unreal.

カエサルを撃て 佐藤賢一

 前にも読んだが、余りにも汚い言葉遣いと女を雌として扱っているのに、反吐が出て途中で止めた。

今回も同じ印象を持った。馬鹿とか男の印とか女を売女にしていた。１０ページに一回は女の体の描写がある。著者は女に飢えているかと思うほどだ。

カエサルの描写も中年男の禿げ男とか描写が汚い。ヴェルチンの描写も汚い。

見どころは、アレシアの戦いで、その描写は克明である。櫓の数、塀の高さ（３．６ｍ）内周と外周。調べればわかるが。描写不足は、３０万の救援隊が何故、途中から諦めて引き返したかだ。次に一般市民を城から出す場面が、簡単すぎる描写だ。いろいろ籠城内で議論があったはずだ。

主人公がヴェルチンゲトリックスとカエサルになって、章が変わるごとに主人公が入れ替わるのは分かる。しかし、最後のページは、カエサルがルビコン川を渡る「賽を投げる」場面で終わっている。ヴェルチンゲトリックスは、どうなったのか。処刑まで描いてない。

描き方がえげつない。

ｋ

A Tiger Comes to Town by R. K. Barayan, publised 1983

 This is a humorous story. The narrator is a tiger, who escapes from a circus and enters a school, to the enjoyment of the students. People, whom the tiger had been afraid of, looked so terrified, and ran away from the tiger. The tiger thinks that humans are not scary. They are weak, coward, and foolish. Actually, they cannot communicate well with each other with so many different languages. They are bound with unnecessary laws. Barayan insinuates that humans are foolish.

Matilda by Roald Dahl

This is a fantastic story. Matilda is a phenomenon, who has read a bunch of world famous novels such as Great Expectations by Charles Dickens, Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brontë, Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen, Moby-Dick by Herm Melville and others. 

The most exciting part is the scene in which the schoolmaster, Miss Tranchbull reads the letters on the blackboard, which Matilda writes with the power of her eyes.  They go: 

Agatha, this is Magnus. You'd better believe it. Agatha give my Jenny back her house. Give my Jenny her wages. Give my Jenny the house  Then get out  of  here. If you don't, I will come and get you like you got me. I am watching you, Agatha.

It is surprizing that Trunchbull is Miss Hony's mother-in-law. 

In the end, Matilda is allowed by her parents to live with Miss Honey, and her parents and brother leave for Spain.

The story is funny, intersting, and exciting. It describes every scene minutely enough for the reader to imagine it vividly. 

And I must add here that the story is read aloud by a genious reader, probably Kate Winslet. Her way of reading aloud is superb. I had never heard a book read so well as she reads. English textbooks used in high schools in Japan should let the students liesten to her reading. They will surely be fascinated.

Button Button by Richard Matheson

This story is uncanny with a surprising ending. 

A strange box with a button on top is the crutial tool that raises curiosity and tention in the reader.

Matheson is skillful in driving Norma to the finl action of pushig the button. [Spoiler] He drives her to do so gradually. Here and there, she appears to have no intention of pushing the button, but deep in mind she has this curiosity and desire to earn the money. 

First, she  picks up half-tored cards; then Scotch-taped, then put the box in the apartment, then put it in the bottom shelf, then puts it on the table, and after a long gazing, she pushes the button.

A hosptital informs her of her husband, Arthur's death in a subway accidient. And she will get &50,000.

She cries at Mr. Steward, "You said I wouldn't know the one that died."

"My dear lady," Mr. STeward said. "Do you really think you knew your husband"

Aurher is the last person to yeild to such a tricky and murderous action, yet he dies. The reader will be shocked to know who was killed. 

Nobody really knows another peson, even your family members. 

A really SURPRISING ENDING!  A great job!

The story is similar to Lottery, in which the winner is stoned by her villagers.

 The writer was born in New Jersey in 1926.  Button Button was written in 1970.

Singing My Sister Down by Margo Lanagan, published 2004

 This is an unpleasant short story. It tells how Ikky, the woman, who has commited adultery, is going to be excuted by sinking in a tar pond. Her body gradually sinks into the tar. Her familiy members come close to her and sings, eats delicious food, give her wreaths to decorate her last moment. And finally, she diesappers.

I sometimes felt vomitting while reading. It is so unpleasant, so sad, and so hurting your heart that I do not dare to recommend you to read it.

What  is impressive is the writer's way of writing. His description is so real that you think the excution was actually done somewhere  in Australia. 

The short story class teacher, who chose to read for the class, said, "I have read many short stories for the past ten  years, but this is the most impressive one." I understand her. The most impressive, because, I think it was the most weird and grotesqus story.

The story reminds me of "Lottery" written by Shirley Jackson. It also deals with the death of a lottery winner, an ordinary woman, by stoning. It was shocking and chilling, too.