蜩ノ記 葉室麟

出だしから登場人物の人間関係、背景、出目など錯綜して混乱した。途中から相関図を書き、ウィキペディアで調べたりして、やっと軌道に乗った。最後の１００ページぐらいから筋が楽になり、のめり込んでいった。

長所

設定が巧みである。

秋山が「三浦家譜」を著わすことにより、様々な登場人物の背景が分かってくる仕掛けになっている。

戸田秋谷が１０年後に切腹することになるが、庄三郎が秋谷に会ったのは余すところ三年であった。著者は三年間の成り行きを書けばよい。読者は次第に切羽詰まって来る

日記「蜩ノ記」の著述によって、事件の真相が次第に明らかになるように仕掛けてある。

家老・中根兵右衛門と戸田順右衛門との確執が実は根幹にあったことが最期に分かる仕掛け。

最後に秋谷の切腹で終わるが、その前に息子郁太郎が元服し、庄三郎は薫と祝言を挙げる、のも読者は一安心する。

最後に、秋谷はひょっとして助かるかと思わせる要素もあるが、家老は、秋谷が切腹する意味を語ることで読者も納得する。

欠点

お由と交わったという噂を流した場面がない。

１０年後の切腹は無理がある。

秋谷の性格が冷静過ぎる。

宣伝文では、最後に庄三郎と秋谷の間に深い絆ができるように書いてあるが、なかった。なくても良いが。

文章は一流。情景描写、心理描写、神の視点で書いている場面多し。

直木賞を取るにはこれぐらい込み入った話を作らなければならないのか

How to Run a Bodega Successfully in the Boogie Down, NYC by Ivan Suazo

 Bodega is a small grocery store in New York. This is a very interesting story. The way the protagonist, Perdomo, speaks is enjoyable because his speech is casual, friendly, and humorous. The successful way to run a bodega is to 'check your  scruples at the door' by rubbing the expiration date with your saliva and when Bob leaves you sell the goods.You can't beat Pleasantville or a giant supermarket, like TJ. Perdomo is the only person that speaks in the story. He is a narrator, too. No other character appears. So, this is a one-way story-telling. The ending is good:This is the Bronx, compadre. This is how we boogie down. A little Spanish would have helped me a lot in reading the story.

Tell Me Your Dreams by Sidney Sheldon

I have found every page interesting and exciting. The beginning grabs the reader by disclosing some murder cases which occur in different places. Strangely enough, they are all connected with the protagonist, Ashley Patterson.

The reader will be surprised to know that she possesses multiple personalities: Toni and Alette.

The court scenes are also exciting. The debate between the prosecutor, Brennan and the lawyer, David is well written. At the last moment, she is regarded as a holder of multiple personalities and is judged innocent.

The story does not end here; it continues how she is cured.

I enjoyed reading “Tell Me Your Dreams.”

Sidney Sheldon is a master of storytelling. 

A Handful of Dates by Tayeb Salih

This is a a coming-of-age story. The boy (protagonist) first adores his grandfather because he is tall and looks great. The boy knows how to please him “by bringing his prayer rug and fill the ewer for his ablutions.”

His grandfather despises Masood, owner of a vast land of dates palms, because he is indolent. Masood inherited his land.

His grandfather had nothing first but gradually buys dates palms and now he has two-thirds of the land.

Mashood looks sad and vulnerable when the dates were collected and divided among his grandfather and the dealers. The boy feels sympathy with Mashood. After selling his dates, the boy “heard him make a noise in his throat like the rasping of a sheep being slaughtered.”

At the end of the story the boy spewed up the dates he had eaten. He hated his grandfather and everything he touched, even the handful dates he gave the boy.

The change of the boys attitude toward his grandfather is well written. The ending is very good.

A Game of Cards by Witi Ihimara

 This is a short story written in English by a native New Zealand authour named Witi Ihimara. It depicts his  child days' memories about his grandmother called Nani Miro. She likes to play cards with her family members and friends, especially her old friend, Mrs. Maka Heta. Even when Nani was dying, she plays cards with Maka. The interesting point is that both of them are skillful cheaters. Nani dies while she was playing cards and laughing. Porbably, the author wrote this story to commemorate her life. 

I pondered about the life of Maori people, whose mother tongue changed into English and whose land was invaded by white people. 

空也上人がいた 山田太一

 （工事中）あれこれあって、結局、主人公は１９歳も年上の重光さんとセックスする。それまで老人はは結婚せよだの、俺の前でセックスせよだのと言ったが、この異常な戯言のお陰で二人は老人の通夜の時にセックスし、それまでのあれこれ色々あったが、うまく収斂している。話の持って行き方が巧い。

最初の家は何がどうなっているのかピントが合わなかったが、次第にあって来た。

重光も主人公も淡々とした口調で話し、主人公の心理描写が巧い。８１歳の老人にありうる実現不可能なセックス願望に納得しながら読んだ。（小生、来月８１歳）

山田氏は２０１１年に本作を書き、２０２３年８９歳で死去。７７歳の作品である。

The Adventure of Speckled Band by Arthur Conan Doyle

This is the textbook for the YWCA short story class. With the great help by the instuructor, Emily, I read the story very minutely.

I read the story in Japanese translation when i was a boy. At that time I thought the bed was in the middle of the room and the ventilator was also in the middle of the ceiling, but I learned that it was quite near the wall. I don't know how I thought wrong. 

The specled band was a misleading words. Doyle cunningly led the reader to believe that the gypsies were responsible for the crime. 

The snake turns back to the doctor and kills him. That was too good to believe.

Some of the mistakes Doyle made according to Emily:

1. Baboons are not native to India. They live in Africa.

2. A swamp adder does not exist. It was created by Doyle for the story's sake.