Strange Weather in Tokyo

I don't really fancy love story but this book tells a story so subtle that the whole "I love you - I love you, too" process feels like a breeze. It's just a simple love story between a grown woman with her primary school teacher. I cannot imagine myself having a relationship with one of my teachers from years ago - that's just too absurd - but this story makes it sound romantic than weird.

I like this book but I feel that some of the translated words sound weird in English. When I translated the sentences back to Japanese, they sound natural because that's how Japanese communicate to each other. I think the translator decided not to change the context to keep its originality but she should have known better that not everything can be blindly translated into English. Well, more editing works could have helped make this book 'sound' better in English.

Literature is best read in its original language, for sure! I'm sure this book is so much more beautiful when read in Japanese.

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Page 49 of 176
Even a cracked pot has a lid that fits.

Page 50 of 176
"What they did with them in Siberia. Long ago, the chiefs of the indigenous highland peoples of Siberia would ingest the fly agaric before going into battle. Fly agaric mushrooms contain constituents that induce a psychoactive trance. Once eaten, the mushroom causes an extremely agitated state characterized by ferocity and short bursts of tremendous strength that can persist for hours. First, the chief would eat the mushroom, and the next-highest-ranking man would drink the chief's urine. Then the next-highest-ranking man would drink the second-highest-ranking man's urine, and so on, until the mushroom's constituents were coursing through the veins of all the members of the tribe.

"Apparently, when the last man finished drinking the urine, they were prepared to do battle," Sensei concluded.

I like this chapter about mushroom hunting, where Sensei, Tsukiko, and Satoru went to Tochigi for a hunt. Because of this chapter, I started digging out more info about mushrooms. Fly Agaric is one cute mushroom and it is my favorite so far :) One day, I want to go mushroom hunting in Japan.

Page 70-71 of 176
"The author Hyakken Uchida wrote something like this," Sensei began.

If I recall, there is a short story called "The Amateur Pickpocket". There's a fellow who gets boorishly rude and impolite when he drinks, and he always wears a gold chain that dangles from his neck. His rudeness itself is bothersome enough, but the sight of this chain becomes more and more offensive to another fellow, so he steals it. Just like that, he takes it. Do not assume that because the boor was drunk it was an easy thing to do - the one who stole it was drunk himself, so it was no mean feat.

And that's what inspired Sensei to steal the earring from a drunk guy who was rude to them.

Page 72 of 176
Physical pain inspires the worst kind of helplessness. 

Page104 of 176
I, on the other hand, still might not be considered a proper adult. I had been very grown-up when I was in primary school. But as I continued through secondary school, I in fact became less grown-up. And then as the years passed, I turned into quite a childlike person. I suppose I just wasn't able to ally myself with time. 

This is me! I took a U-turn some time ago and have refused to grow up. Growing up is a pain!