暗殺剣虎の眼 藤沢周平

達之助は、父を闇討ちした男が大四郎だと思い込んで大四郎に挑むが、（読者は大四郎が父の仇ではないことは、作家の引っ掛けだと分かる）、実は仇は達之助の妹が嫁いだ周助という男であった。

このような読者を馬鹿にした話はない。周助が仇というのは偶然過ぎて突飛すぎる。こんなことならだれでも書ける話だ。Ａという男を犯人臭く描いておいて、最後の最後にまったく。新しいＢを登場させて、Ｂが犯人だという。読者を馬鹿にしているが、選者の杉本章子と宇江佐真理はべた褒めしている。選者もおかしい。

The Birthmark by Nathaniel Hawthorne

   This is  an allegory of human folly. It  suggests man should not pursue perfectness. 
   Aylmer, a proud scientist, tries to remove his wife's birthmark on  her cheek. The operation is  perfect and it completely disappears to his ecstasy, but he loses his wife's life in return for the success. To try to attain perfectness is, in Hawthones' view, blasphemous.
   Hawthorne's way of writig is too elaborate, too minute, too philosophical, and too wordy. The description of Aylmer's scentific experiments is imaginary and does not sound real. He uses 1000 unnecessary words to say one thing which can be expressed in five words. Enough is enough.
One Japanese old saying tells the key point of the story: Tsuno wo tamete ushi wo korosu, meaning: Trying to make the the bull's horns straight , you kill the bull.

   

Jamaica Inn by Daphne du Maurier

　I saw Hitchcock’s movie under the same title decades ago. It was thrilling, exciting, and fearful. The ending where the leader of the pirate was revealed was astonishingly surprising. Therefore, I was not surprised to read the ending part this time.

　I admire the writer’s excellent and minute description of the scenes and the protagonist, Mary Yellan’s psychology. Joss’s rough and forceful way of talking is well written.

　I had expected to read the scene of attacking a ship more precisely, but it was, to my disappointment, too brief. Also, the writer should have written how Joss obeyed the vicar’s direction vividly.
   The first half of the story is very intriguing, but the ending chapter where Mary and Jem talk is too long and too tiring.