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
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.
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.
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.
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.
久しぶりに、いい話を読んだ。
小原鉄心の伝記小説を書くため史料を漁っていたら『花筵』が大垣藩のお家騒動について書かれいると知った。早速図書館で借り、一気に読んだ。周五郎の小説はU-tubeで色々聞いて、感動を与える小説だと思っていたが、だいたいが５０分内外で終わる小説であった。
『花筵』は長編である。
詠んでいるうちに、周五郎の文章が巧みなのに、今更ながら驚いた。知らない言葉が随所に出て来る。長編小説全集なので、各ページに註釈が付けてある。江戸時代の用語が多く、歴史物を書いている身としては、その用語の豊富で正確なことに驚いた。まだまだ、小生は駆け出しだと思った。
文章が流れるように展開し、何処も引っかかるところがない。作家はこうでなくてはならないと思った。会話も地の分も申し分ない。
また、主人公、お市の心理描写も巧く、手に取るように描いてある。見習わねばならぬ。
次に、感服するのは、読者をどこまでも牽引していく技である。死んだと思っていた夫が、お裁きの奉行で、お市の孝行を褒める場面は見事だ。それも、土壇場で生きていたことを読者に知らせる。心憎いほどのテクニックだ。
話しの核心は夫・陸田信蔵が何故襲われたのかであるが、最後のページまではっきりわからない。これが牽引の役、をしている。
それまでに、お市娘の赤子・信をなくし、洪水に遭い、半病人になり、これ以上のネガティブなことはない処まで落とし、最後はぐんと引き上げる手法は、これも心憎い。
大垣、烏江、杭瀬川、牧田川、養老郡、高須など地図入りでよく分かるように作ってある。
ただし、『花筵』は、史実に反している。氏英の後継者選びのお家騒動の話はフィクションで、小説の舞台になる前に、後継者は氏教に既に決まっていたからである。
歴史物を扱う場合、史実に反しても良いのだ。
This is an interesting and funny story with a surprising ending. The writer is a Brazilian. Because I haven’t read any Brazilian writers’ books, I was curious about what the story would be.
I
thoroughly enjoyed the story. The protagonist works for a newspaper company,
Women, as an advisor for those who have problems in their lives. In fact,
the protagonist himself writes a letter asking for a solution, and he himself
gives advice.
He
is a well-read person and create exciting stories borrowing from ancient
mythologies.
But
finally, the letters to him were written by the editor.
I
have read a lot of American and British novels and short stories, but this was
the first time to read a Brazilian story.
However,
after I read the story, I realized human beings, whether American, British,
Japanese, or Brazilian, have the same problems common to all people, present
and past.
猫一匹を題材にしてこんなに長い小説を書くことができるのか。猫を可愛がる庄造と、庄造の先妻と後妻と、庄造の母親を巻き込んでの罵り合い、嫉妬、憎しみ、悔悟のドラマが延々と続く。庄造がいかに猫を可愛がっているかが、事細かに描かれている。くどいくらい。庄造が後妻を恐れながらも、猫に会いたさで、先妻の家に行く。彼の心情が手に取るように描かれている。小説家はこれぐらい細かく心理を描くべきなのか。しかし、当の本人（本猫）は庄造の気持ちは全然わかっていなくて、悠然としている点が面白い。
The story begins: “The school gave us the eggs at the end of autumn. … One for each student.”
The
beginning of the story is good for it hooks the reader to want to read more, curious
to know what will happen to the eggs.
However,
the story does not develop. It has no plot, but is just a collection of the protagonist’s
diary day after day.
In
the end, her mother, ill in bed and weak, eats the yolk of the egg which is accidentally
broken.
The students allow their imaginations about the eggs run wild, but finally her egg was eaten. Big imagination and too simple an end.
The
story is a combination of imagination and practicality.
