Read Real Japanese Short Stories by Contemporary Writers eoiteo sy Michael Emmerich nareareo ay Reiko Matsunaga KODANSHA INTERNATIONAL Tokyo New York LandonCONTENTS PREFACE Kawakami Hiromi Otsuichi bpuFaokisic Ishii Shinji ABBSO Yoshimoto Banana B43 Kitamura Kaoru Tawada Yoko DHS Starting rom the back ofthe book running in the opposite direction JIAPANESE-ENGLISH DICTIONARY NoTES ae rom ta pear AlJpanese nase penine apanese od sur name (cept on tm te te op apy age, ‘and C0). meee Fretted any Buns Sun 1,348,107 Copy- Sie as Ken». 8 Phones ates Darton ay sangeet of PSC odes & exdngandedting geen Re he Els arguge Eaton orc ne Dion. 3-48 [saring ham te act boat, compa Dyfon Re Cnt © 20090 Roars eet Unteckingiom nc cantnert rope by Kadaaha Europe Ls Pah iy Ko nye, ha larson Ld, 12-14 Bows thane 28852 aeons tae sheet pr 02008 by Michael Emmorch onthe copii “Karina (p16) evure ©1998 by Heo Kawah “Mash tira tense" Ip-40-0) ep 06 oye ha fir” on 0-7 copy 205 by Sone ‘Mi (np 7-105) cpt 20004 Eanane Yoho “Apropo 18-27 cape 2008 by ao era “iar pp 0-3) ena 08 aca ‘ihn ese, iain pon, Festi, 2008 Www wiwos0 s21150987654321 Liang ofCongess Cstagingin Raion ata ane panes etn shrt tri by corny mies? ‘ety Meharry he Manage 'sinra-4-7700-2089- ‘es: enn ing he 8660100 ce zoos?PREFACE ‘The phrase “best-kept secret” gets on my nerves, in part because T usually turn first to the restaurant reviews when the newspaper parachutes through, ‘our mal slot, and this overdone expression seems to crop up in every third review. Sometimes, though, you simply have no choice but to use it. Take, for instance, the Japanese language. You've heard rumors, no doubt, that Japanese is an extremely difficult language for English speakers to master. Impossible, even! Well, rest assured, fellow student—those rumors are false, One of the best-kept secrets around, really and truly, is that Japanese is not actually all that hard Learning a language, ! would suggest, is like jumping on a train without having any idea where its headed, and staying aboard until you get there— ‘wherever “there” is, Trips of this sort can bea bit unnerving, sure, and with Japanese you have to travel along way before the scenery stats to change, and it can get kind of boring just sitting ther, staring blankly at your fash cards. That's the rub, really—it's not that the language is hard, per se, you just have to take your time getting into it, and that’s true of any language Japanese grammar is much simpler than that of German or French or, lative, instru say, Punjabi, with its array of nominative, genitive, accusativ ‘mental, ablative, locative, and vocative cases—one for every day of the week. ‘And you know those “three writing systems” you hear so much about? That, as our Russian friends say, is a bunch of hooey. Japanese is so wonderfully fan and rich precisely because it mixes three scripts—kauyj tay, aid kkatakana, the second two of which can be learned, in a pinch, over a long ‘weekend—into a single, very versatile writing system. It takes a while to learn the 1945 kanji identified by the Japanese government as appropiate(Ofcourse, I don't expect you to take my word for it. Thape you won't— this book is only meant to tide you over until you reach the stage where you can saunter casually into a Japanese bookstore, scan the table of new releases, and pick out a book that looks like just the thing you're in the mood for. And, of course, until you have a versatile enough vocabulary and. a subtle enough sense of recent trends in Japanese book design that you actually do end up with what you want, rather than something that looks eerily similar to what you want but turns out to be a recently retranslated philosophical novel about vorit or some such thing, ‘That said, I hope you will take my word for it, as you stand atthe begin- ning of what may well be a rather extended commitment of energy and {magination, when I say that the stories in this book are all very, very good, hope, too, that you will rust me when I tll you that it will be best not to shuffle the order of the stories too much, They've been arranged in what | believe isa good sequence, in an order that makes sense, lke a well-planned meal, Which reminds me—I ought to explain each of the courses Soup Course 'Kamisama” by Kawakami Hiromi ‘This is the perfect starter. Refreshingly light and fairly easy to read, the prose has a delightful, humorous quirkiness to it that matches to a T the ‘wackiness ofthe plot—not that there's much ofa plot. “Kamisama’ is what ‘you might call an “idea” piece. And the idea is great! You'll find, I'm sure that it offers an utterly enjoyable introduction to a few different varieties of language—notably the polite, even ceremonious speech of the bear (its wacky, [ told you!) and the written de aru style. There aren't too many kanji, and the grammar you'll learn is usefully basic in the sense that it will give you a good foundation to build upon as you go on and read the rest of the stories Appetizer “Mulkashi yahi no ken de" by Otsuichi A glance al Otsuicht’s photograph tells you that hes going Wo be confident and bold, and that’s precisely what he isin this story. “Mukashi yihi no kéen de” complements the charmingly desultory, warm-and-fuzzy atmos- phere of “Kamisama” very nicely with its cool, dry, perfectly in-conteol but PREFACE “for general use," its true, and the Asahi Shimbun, for instance, uses 65 ‘more that aren't on this list; but when you get right down to it, how dificult is it to learn 2011 kanji, especially when they're all cobbled together from only two hundred some-odd parts? English, according to Masha Bell's spine-chilling Understanding English Spelling, makes use of mote than 90, spelling rules, and even if you have these down pat (I certainly don't) you still have to memorize over 3700 irregular, irrational, and (to me) highly irritating spellings in order to become even moderately competent a8 a spellor—or rather, speller. So you see, Japanese isn't an impossibly hard language, The problem stems from the fact that it just takes so much time to travel from here to there, the train ride gets old fast, we start to hate our flashcards, if only there were some fun way to while away the hours, a book to reed, perhaps and that's where Read Real japanese enters the picture. The book you are holding in your hand right now is designed to be the perfect reading ‘material for you on the linguistic trip you're taking: to help you have more fun getting where you're going, and to help you get there faster. THE STORIES ‘The six stories in this collection are all amazing. I spent months putting together a lst of candidates for inclusion, then mulling over the titles, try. {ng to whittle the lst down. The stories are also totally contemporary: only one, Kawakami Hiromi’ "Kamisama," was first collected in a book prior to 2000; half of them were published between 2005 and 2008, And the authors, who write in all sorts of different literary genres—from horror to fantagy to mystery to avant-garde experimental fiction to children’ stories to literary fiction.” whatever that is—are all major figures, mas ters of their craft, writers who will leave you wanting to read more, They shouldnt be seen, though, as representative of Japanese fiction being writ- ten today, because there are just too many incredible writers producing ‘unique, powerful works for any six figures to represent them all; despite their great stature, this magnificent six could have been augmented by ‘any number of other writers, had the need for coneision been less pres ing. The dozens of stories and authors 1 had to cut from my original list were as fun and exciting as the ones you're about to read. Contemporary Japanese literature is, as you'l see, extremely good. PREFACE 8there are more kanji, the vocabulary is more advanced (“Mukashi yi no ken de” is about an elementary school student, while the narrator of this story isin college), and youll encounter a greater number of culturally spe- cific references. “Hyakumonogatari* will also give you an opportunity to familiarize yourself withthe different styles of speech that men and women often use in fction—and, to an extent, depending on the age of the men and women in question, in rea life. You'l find, too, that i illustrates beau- tifully what a good waiter can do with a language that doesnt require that the subject ofa sentence be explicitly stated. Desert “Kakeru” by Tawada Yoko And finally delicious litle taste, just a mouthful, of an incredibly rch, dizayingly, dazlingly mixed-up story. "Kakeru” i pare linguistic pay. Per. haps you could compare it to a lousless chocolate cake, except that instead of omitting the flour, Tawada Yoko leaves out the plot. Completely. Wow. Te might sound difficult, but its mt—this story was made for the language student. t was made for you THE STRUCTURE OF THE BOOK If the stories have been arranged like a six-course dinner, the book as a whole has, more or less, the structure ofa three-ring circus. In the main ring are the stories; in ring two, notes to the stories and a full-fledged dic- tionary containing every word that appears in the six texts, with the excep- tion of certain particles and proper nouns; and in ring three, a CD with 2 recording of each ofthe stories, beautifully read by the actress Matsunaga Reiko. As the title indicates, the whole idea behind Read Real Japanese is to give students of the language a chance to enjoy (yes, enjoy!) reading some real Japanese literature. So we've done everything we can to keep the stories as they were: not only are they presented in their full glory, unabridged and unedited—though Tawada Yoko kindly gave us permission tv print « special, concentrated rewriting of "Kakeru” that she uses when she gives live readings—they have also been printed vertically, right to lef, laid out just as they were in the Japanese books in which they were first collected } 11 PREFACE nonetheless gripping take on horror—if that’s the word. Pehaps it ist. ‘There are no blood and guts, afterall, just suspense, impressively strong suspense that lasts right to the last line. The writing is sharp, simple, and focused; the kanji are quite manageable; and the vocabulary is everyday. Fish Course “Nikaya Omu” by Isl Shinji 1k seems a bit odd to havea story about a butcher forthe fsh cours, but that’s what weve got conight~and I think youl enjoy it. This piece, which echoes the playfulness of “Kamisama” isa good deal more plot-driven, A ‘whole lot happens in its eleven pages. “Nikaya Omu” may be a litle more demanding than “Kamisama” too: the author, hii Shinji, uses some not- s-common words, tosses ina few more new styles of speech for us to get used to, and apices up his text with a sprinkling of kanji that you may not have learned. I think you'll discover, though, that learning kanji by zead- ing a story like this isa lot more fan than simply pouring over flashcards, Meat Course “Miia” by Yoshimoto Banana ‘Come to think oft, ts even odder—in fact its beyond oda, its even a tad gr0s—to have a story about a man who makes mummies for the meat course, But “Mitra” has all the punch of a good steak. (Or perhaps, if you're 4 Vegetatian, ofa realy really good tomato.) Yoshimoto Bananas writing isharder than most experienced readers think, bu ifs worth making the effort to figure her sentences out She uses Japanese in a way that few other ‘writers do, skilfully melding the poetic and the colloquial, precise descrip- tion and unspoken implication, the ordinary and the lovely and the pain- fal andthe profound, and doing it all in a way that looks (but iat) almost unplanned. Her writing has its own, very particule flavor. Take your time with this story, savoring its challenges. Cheese Course “Hyakumonogatari" by Kitamura Kaora ‘This story has something of the flavor of “Mukashi yihi no kden de’: its suspenseful and even a bt scary. The language is more challenging, though: PREFACE 10‘This isa good way to solidify your grasp on new words, and to train your- self to say new things, in a new accent and intonation. I started out with a train ride and ended up talking about training. Either way, learning a new language is one of the most exciting intellectual and cultural activities a person can undertake, and the moment when she begins ‘to read in that new language is one of the most thrilling in the whole long, frustrating, rewarding, mind-bending, eye-opening, and, of course, practi. cally useful process. [hope this book helps you get wherever you're going with Japenese faster, and with a good deal more pleasure than you would have without I. ACKNOWLEDGMENTS | would like to extend my warmest thanks to the people who, in various ways, indirectly or directly, made this book possible: All my Japanese teach- es, but especially Makino Seiichi, Mizumoto Terumi, and Ueriya Mariko; 116 Kiyo, the most wonderful host mother imaginable; and Michael Staley, ‘whose editorial astuteness and savvy made this book not only possible but ‘eal and useful and, I hope you will agree, exciting. PREFACE ° ‘The only changes that have been made are to nuraber the paragraphs and to give the hiragana readings—the furigana—of every kanji word on its frst appearance in each story ‘The paragraph numbers will help you locate the tentative translations I offer, on the pages facing the texts, of potentially puzzling phrases they wil also guide you tothe notes a the end of the book, which cover every- thing from grammatical patterns and the deep shades of meaning cast on sentences by seemingly insignificant particles, to the explanation of ges- tures and other bits of cultural background. ve done my best to keep the notes from becoming too mind-numbingly dry, and tried to strike @bal- ance between reinforcement and repetiiveness, Most ofthe translations { give are for phrases rather than words, since you can look up individual ‘words (using the convenient furigana readings!) in the dictionary atthe end ofthe book, and because meaning isa product of context, and gener- ally inheres in phrases and sentences, not words, You will notice too, that the translations dont necessarily correspond ina “lteral” one-to-one fash- jom to the Japanese phrases they translate the way the English definitions in the dictionary correspond tothe Japanese words they define. The trans- lations are, ultimately, meant as samples: you will, I hope, come up with ven better translations of your own. Onto the dictionary and the CD. Like any dictionary, the one you have here comprises alist of words in dictionary form. In order to use it, you need to be able to derive this dictionary form from the conjugated form that appears in the text; when this seems likely to pose a problem, I give the game away in the notes. Generally speaking, [8 recommend that you limit your use of the dictionary—steer clear of becoming a dictionary addict. This book is called Read Real Japanese, after all, not Look Up Real Japanese Inthe Dictionary. The CD, on the other hand, is something you will want to listen to repeatedly. Try listening o each story before you read it to see how much of it you can catch. The stories were read at a naturel speed, so they will seem fasta fist. Then, once you have taken your time reading through a given story, geting comfortable with it, go back and lis- ten to the CD again, following along inthe text with your finger—on if you prefer, without your fnget If you ca keep up, you're well on your way to becoming a fluent reader, Finally, listen to the CD once mote and try to repeat after the narrator—shadowing her voice, as it were—doing your best to learn as much as you can from her pronunciation and enunciation. PREFACE 12‘ome authors never let you down. In my experience, Kawakami Hiromi is one ofthese: I've enjoyed every one of her books, from her frst collection of stories toher most recent novel As it happens the story you are about to read, “Kamisama’—"God" would be @ decent translation, though you might be able to come up with something better—is from that fantastic first collection, which was also tiled Kamisama, Indeed, “Kamisama” was the ist story Kawa kami ever wrote, She submitted it to an enline literary competition in 1994, took the prize, and had the pleasure of seeing it published in GO Japan. When the collection finally came out from the publishing house Chidkéron Shinsha in 1998, it was awarded both the Murasaki Shikibu Prize and the Bunkamura Deux Magots Lit- rary Prize, And Kawakami has only gotten better since she started. She won the prestigious Akuta _gawa Prize in 1996 forthe story “Hebi ofurnu (“To Tread on a Snake") andthe TanizakiJurvichirb Prize for her navel Sensei no kaban (The Teacher's Brief: case). Either of these two works would be a good place ta start reading more. If you feeling ambi ‘tious, the 2006 novel Manazuru (the ttle isthe name ofa town about an hour from Tokyo by tain] isa quiet, gorgeous masterpiece Kawakami was born in Tokyo on April Fool's Day, 1958, At the time of writing, then, she i kely to have eaten about 4,364 meals in her lfetime—give or take afew. Judging from her fiction, she has probably savored just about every one, Kawakami is an unmistakable “foodie,” and her fiction includes dozens of the most mauthwatering descrip tions of food ve ever come across. t's fitting, | suppose, that "Kam ‘Samat all about a picnic. II] FE ch & Kawakami HiromibiCHIZIS. having been invited by a bear, I set out b = il see bem. e rverbank # Uwe 2s eee ae | ona walk ® JID Cores we goto th Sot z : # x § 5.8 § PLO LS ICHAT Kesha ted ht pR ECR GaSe miner aon ot * SC may ng « MERZ, an Ppa eee ike fot sete oe enn ie tite Se wR we ve te ht won» EDLC i wn HECHT Go UP RS Swe Spine tect emer aa pia. k bmi DNt tere oR D Henn wo ye more accurate to Sie & Jee | ccacconoo shite aterttneawal« BOLE EW penee z 3 £ tN Bt con IEC, 2CBARMW the bear was a mature #3 : 3 z 2 seme BID205 4 HI= to room 305, 12 6 2, = le bess, so he was very big on ge 6 § which wa tee dors down # RE uta ew day ago ILS Sh 2EE 5 ‘Pe bad mow ins BACB ORLEL follwing vc z5 8 7 tom yart in a move # (see not ce ns copttutel) * RRUHOGAcaseedutend was pri ae (on p.52 at back) # SALHORAI See eae BPE gS 3 | people living on the same floor, an Re ton ponte Beh x Bb z res SSM a ew au yo ine c wy 4 i © 3%>% insofar as he was a bear you . b cget stot enous s SEvIHFaRMCUNED CREE RB o cect * to show some consideration to the neighbors i e % t = 3 Hi it was necessary to st “ enti ee 3 LEWC a any rte « SORRELL BORIS a rl 5 ° Fe E ‘, : the talk we had when T accepted my so PPP th Rog YB 3 | soiree ees pifbe 78 exactly complete strangers * ba oROTCHS it gt eE8 cae whe oO. 8 zg RO ES g oO mE ? tee z fe REE 5 B ges 2 S$ aR ® bb BE cose ae YAR4) RALEW2< # noticing the nameplate on the door, the bear 5] GL©...-Cit youwouldat, by any chance, happen tobe...? = ay THHH a native of such-and-such a town nee “Hep tm ERAS he asked # RANE indeed Iam * LBLBE when tre pels eee? 2 Bee % plied © DUNC E267 AAEIS Ae oA RBOAREWG Aa person Boe 2 Bact ahs & ‘who was, evidently, the uncle of certain someone who had given the Meo 2 & Ge Bk Be BORE ] bear a lot of assistance = ATODARSBRVIRTHo7:EW5 had served at LAD E mo Le e he > MEE |r a ay m hae sald * ZOBUROZ this deputy car S {<3 3 Bm a % mayor's family name * b/SLOLDERILTHD was the same ag AB & POETS = 3 mine, and = #:¥-oCA&%E when you trace your way back # 5 2 & z 5 4 Be 8 % a a ®.-BLUSitwould seem that. £20:2c second coun © PEP eo CORRS Sw IEM7-2 be one and the same as... # HEMELA DHL Am Bae” S 532 ce E 5 85-CdhA" it was an almost nonexistent relationship, and yet = Beeb 2he 58078 V5 considerably * IBPERITI= looking deeply moved = [#8] KR FN ERZES Ee | making liberal use of words of the 7h 2 4 b we ee | Senishi” variety # WAV EMF wenton # LB... LU judg- at ae a + 2-5 é By z bie ing from appearances, the bear] seemed tobe... # BRL ORB tt Be 2 y ef Bo we AEWV, SOR HEV the fashion in which he introduced bim- 7B > & ¢ g @ | selfto his new neighbors the way in which he spoke... ® #50 3% F Brn Re | <2 an old-fashioned type of bear B Be 5 we git 7) BROLIN AY FOES EE something between a walk and a a ee Ls ef ee Ike # RHSICISEFL (224007 I don't know much about animals, so Beer Dee ie oA #94) 97 ehOM. LIT LOI whether it was a japanese white RR TE BE eb D collar bear or a brown bear # (3/287 or then again © —7U—7-7 a ee TLL ee Re e fe Malay bear * TE ifzhoCBAia SO b asking him right to his face # weet a oS me SALCHSRATS [had a feeling it would be rude ® ALFECS = wy z y Ft 2 % E WhigwnOrA how should I address him? # ... EWMLTAOT $,32% Baek 3 HSH L tried asking... but # HBUE EAS VZOSLEMBL Lh ay vw DER “CaS; alee verifying that there weren't any other bears in the area DE be ” : ie u e te 4 = Boo gee og P TES 6 8 bn Ke ag 5 a e wk rs en we & me 5 ® w too Ag wa 18; | $0224 for the time being © itd) S¥AL [have no name, ' and moreover ® #L2»< #A8v%2140>/26 if really am the only bear = 4&6 in the future, as well © HEROSLEMGWDITC TH i that means there's no need to introduce myself by name, doesn't it? « Ba L Oy & M1 5 22 & 8 x : HUD ORBELTIA RH, AEA TH like the word anata as a Cf. be oO Rm Rot PF eB form of address 4 2.2. yes, thats right * WREOS ancta writen eee eE 3 ee ge OF OL in kanji © CUCHSTESIS when you say it ® OME TILE CR Wu eA HES Sees pS ji EMVPD AT RSIUE ATTA it would be wonderful if you bo? DA COQ, ee 8B : could have the kan rather than the iragana in mind, but * 83, h, haw 5 fit See Re 4 TBENIAIE TH BUFO HEU its not a big deal, feel free to ad- Ba SO e ie aso g cs dress me however you like BR dee b AS et eee : 9| Emacs was his answer # £34420 it does indeed appear z e ms, z © 5 BR OE that # DAKBHECETHS he is a somewhat antiquated bear # 34% WOE ao We Ses ze Kibitée3 ACE not only is he antiquated, he also has a a cee t ee Be taste forlogle © .22Ps Yconcluded that TE HALE Boe EL 10| JIE COHIE the road to the river ® AHICHoTHS ran along ga Rw DES ROT we to the edge of some rice paddies = AH¥8%27:ii'T the road was paved, % 2 ge abe E ie b i ‘and B25!) from time to time # ASH a car would pass by « L bs eu gs 46a we? ; ML every ca (lt, "no matter which car itwas") # DELLSOF £ “ES wm | OG S i | re a little before they reached us # AUK &#EL would slow q ce ak RE ie oR ; down and = #%#7L 22% moving slowly = KB LUT go by, é, KE e ho swerving way out to avoid us ® FSA'S ABIEEW no one passed ? a» 2 x ire by, going in the other direction © .0-\A‘BY> it was sweltering ke ge S gz yay = CHC AGRAZU there was no one to be seen working in the it aE pee $ 52 paddies, cither © (EORA727 7 RMEN PHeL-eI LEY = 7B 2 ER? j 2103 # the fait scrape ofthe bear's feet treading the asphalt * #28 = aT 5. 2 R™ 2: H | EL CA< sounded regularly = 2 e a 4 ie z a 11) B42? aren't you hot? ¥ + SE & nos 2 i) 32) RCTAT TV ROMEBLE when I walk on asphalt for a long time ge 3 ke me Hi |= DLRAET I geta litle tied Boy 20 5 Fe eee g REG a hee Mm z ¢ $ Be b & 55H bi ifs tO ‘ ee U t eon win 20 a eR18 7 6 15 14) Z9RCEVS, KIER it’s not that far, though, 501llbe okay # = | on2¢228 CHAE) thank you for your concern 15) #80-CH9 he continued * S51CIE then woe ROS ko _ a eh & ete dil 16| &LdsAez20SV0 ze if you should happen to feel hot * Liz be BG % WEE i CLANPAI CHAD ETA we could head out to the highway and So He ae 3 OF z | go tothe rest stop or something, if you'd like a LO Be mF ae i" ‘ 2 BC KES afl Fs nf eh, Wisc MERCC be Lng ter ig, soe ; ae i i a ing me every consideration * bISLUMFEDROTURL T was, yoULEE o 2 5 ‘wearing a hat, and furthermore # BE(CI2RWIE3%DT | bear up vse 6D’ LR 3S fairly well under the heat, so * B-oZ27 declined, though * Lip BRR HH bE < FE... POLI it was possible that # ¢ 84 the bear him- Bs pv Dot z Bes = self ¥ ARL tz#-o7 wanted to take a break ® LIZ CMEC De Ce He 4 . SRY LG et > 7: we walked on fora while without speaking gee ko & 2 IMCICBEC ALLL D7AOE the sound of running water, which we 5 tee Sf Dae grit KE ‘came to hear in the distance # 4P4°C before long © A<% grew 5 EE & * Be a A x louder, and # LA EISIIMRIEHI Li we arrived atthe sve TES om eT : bank # BkUAEH$9)ELAYL TUS were swimming and fishing and ee58h BR Y soon * HEFL I set down my bags and # 74-CIFERC 3 kc BF me? oe 7: wiped away my sweat with a tonel # BEHLTHLAATING 5 tae aie B Lik as ree ‘was pantingalitle, his tongue hanging out * 3 “o> BSF ae ¢ as we were standing there like that * SBHE=AFth—é ace) m fA & group of three—two men and a child # ZUEI=#- gig Be 2 EE & # LROwABEITTHS they all hed on bathing suits * HOH aeepe BRE 2 Bole one ofthe men # HY IALANT was wearing sunglasses, ond ye bv Rok § © GONE the other # 727 —7UEEHE ROS CT: had a ims & ‘a > snorkel hanging from his neck is et B Lu * F Sp je Ree é y wee, I 7 5 xy Fee we 3 ® Ss & R a 35 Le % Me a aU WFR % Qe 5 z ¢EAE itsa bear! KEGHC in aloud voice Xtbipottts you sure figured that out welll Y2)—7 WAERE replied the snorkel paar, ATED several times * =4U this back-and-forth * HADES was repeated * 2LORMESS)LFArao72 shot a glance my way, to see ifhe could read my expression, but © EOMEEDMHERE DEILL@U made no attempt to look at the bear's face straight on © F79AOME the one wearing the sunglasses * without sping anything = Z78302°C.*& just stood there # <0 LoBRo7 ). ft) DAD LTA was pulling the bear's fur | and kicking him and so on, but then * Ril finaly he yelled “Punch!” and * < EOS the bearsstomach # CLERC, RoCfoC tot: ater Juituing bien with his fist, he ran off 2H IG9 wandered laity after him hey, hey, it’s a bear! WIE sheesh, AS HARRH SSR S ORE EAN [SPOS tA Ue yuo SEALY hah SOSH Si sAcs BAIS NGS oS ACROSS BE RES HN y 2 | , v it db tz L QD x ff & 5 e 5 § 3 q OT HTL | IE OPO HOA OA OELIE {LCG after awhile 3s ASS UAAR AL CH fed ab, the litle ones... they havent shed fil wil in them ae Ra, ' Pek Bh se L Hi f Lremained silent Bo Ey See eS & EDEVEVALAMAUZT AS sure, there are all kinds of people ke ee 0% @ ey out there, it’s true # FOESAUAACMRBRCTE children never c = D Wai He 5 < , L s Woo wk L mean any harm £ 2 A rk AES c Z9BIE with that © BUTCH SS SVT OSTEO he hur. 3 & wt, Hb » ried off toward the edge of the river = IK RET 5 iE D wee v g ‘€ 240 R small, thin sh # FUT VIRWTOS were effortlessly g ge MS 2 swimming along © KOMPRAE CPHL EUS the cool of the ¢ de > we B® ae cH water ft good on my fushed face * <2 looking lossy sae Soho kk EO F that # —OHO%C within a certain fixed span * E~Ike # SER eC EE Fe “FUENHKC they swam upstream, then swam back dowastream © mk eee SUS BR RMUMOMERLOTUOS LIARS they seemed to be tracing eG DS tes By B the sides of along, narrow rectangle * EOIUADMO MEY 202, eh mS 3 9 that rectangle must be the fishes territory * L-o without moy ei ee C ing * (ROBIE AOPEAMEMLIRETHS OCHS) bh did ke 8 1 ¢ & thing the wae ook the et tebe they do Biman yee? : RMALSBMHD there was a sudden splash, and « OIC Set 4 & HE KAoT Wore sloshed into the water # MONEE CHESS maw L 5 & he stopped and stood in the middle ofthe river, whereupon © & Wx > B 2 BEE ICCC be he quickly thet hs righthand into the va er ae SE terand # 2% E172 snatched up... © ILEIRCHLEWM the SOE OD a long, slender fish swimming along the bank * =#1402320 mar. we 5% 7 looked to be about three times bigger £5 e cf RVETLED [bet you're surprised Ae e gE zg Oe ¥ a gi 8i,at eo me c bw FER > % BA fie TEE 7 we he & wh 2636] RoC&22¢ # the bear, on his return Boa a 40 39 37) BOLD LTMB ATMEL oO TTA L ought to have said some. | thing before I went, but # OWRAGEIITLEWELT my fet jug 2 a ak started moving Bb ft Fest * MOON the fishis fins « EIT in the sunlight * 253535 a Mt eR eA | & glitered © CSSSHSLTMPBLTOS were pointing in our rn 3 $e ER direction, taking about something # <1 0(BEL51 the bow we ik oC 2° ts seemed quite proud of himself nS fie D ae He BS & ak ew Fs 45 SLAIMVELS5 this is for you * SHOTS as a memento of this & OD be Hit 8 day RE SE BT iis as 9 EIHDL s0 saying = HV CRLBOCTEMIT A opened the top of EES at & ae Bs Be ‘the bag he'd brought with him # BUHL AO MAD RDS from noo € 6 2 2 & MS the cloth bundle he took out of it ® sS%44 7E SMAI AR z ii z ee " $ & a E a small knife and @ chopping board emerged " #/BIC4 7% feo iS a Ctigememtueremerc: Ps 222 a8 SE ag T making dexterous use of his knife ead cut 2 3 : qaiehhrcresicmecectoumiien ie PF RB DB which he had evidently also prepared in advance © .,. 412-912) oR 5 i ot Be tv ‘17 the bear sprinkled on... with a few shakes,and © IEI7#30) 46 BS a < BUR: set it down on some leaves that he had spread out aR “BAR a fare es wi it 7 ° % ‘BLAG|>¢ SGIE if you flip it ver a few times * AUIS 2 be oe 2 me S SEW FAMS eo TET it wil be just dey enough by the time we S fe is Be fe D < head home As oO 2 We = 42| MASE everything, from start to finish * AFBI attentive eR BRE: B to detail B ch eH ® 43) HOLICMOT sat on the grass and # PIVANYDELALLAIE bE SE Pe A here and there in a loaf of French bread © THAEALTAFES ze gms oe F47Y 2t18 SATO with pité and radishes tucked into incisions too SRS z | beiatrde« ‘HEF LAN DBF F an oni (xice ball with umebosh aS SSB 3 ckled plum) in i BY he a (Pickled plum) ey ue $ Los me tk Rey a » oO TA De Abs [oe rd HEATH OF NOSE A OST OKO | oF on SSSR PH CSTASMSCH IA THA OWE AT HES HO AEE ROR EEO OT Oe | THRE49 48 a 4645 ag 8 RIRICIE EAA LY YF" one orange each afer our meal Wo HERI BE after we had leisurely tucked away our meal 3 44) DLESLIHRUL fits all ight with you # FLY YoReuriayy op t — tb 2 might Ihave the peel of your orange? . So OF Ee » bob PLic 2 C € ke Be EL L$ 45) SEU MSE when he had taken it # d/:LICW HITT he tured his oe Ek & Se a bac to me and et ee t nh 4 6 DUmARECAICMOHEA hetsh vhidhebadseontainn = aE PD L 3 feel g distance away # ...2512¢ DELICE he went offto flip... = tat POA 8 & cmaE ‘Tin the river ® TSICHEV carefully washed, and = ZHESt& RR wR aes gee BAe ZRB FR BE when he had finished drying them * #/:LICFHEL7: handed < g. Z g # e & es # | ittome o Bi ks < ; Te 4 3 5 2 Be ob 47| BHEFSLRIS when you have your nap # BAMU< *EEV» please 2 s hE zt oR t se this # UZO\AE Er oL su CRT I'm going to take alt mA cE SF ST oy tle walk around © &LEdoft6 if youd like # FEREROTEL RS db Lé RSI BED SWTEL 25H shall sing you a lullaby? be s BY BR Bee. 4a] IRBUEIICIAC he asked earnestly . 2 # zB SFL de me = "i . b z Ua’ {24 ¥ 49] FPREL-COMNLIZ [ think I'l be able to sleep without a ll 5 ¥ ne s22Rs laby © A%o2°) L2FEIMICt 9727 looked disappointed, but # it a z 55 a5 S22 Of BAL of: walked off upstream BEG é BA £ Be Fw 50) HERETE when I awoke # AROMA oTHD the shadows 2 z ‘ ‘ z kite 2 of the trees had lengthened, and # IZC#0°HTU7: the bear was U fe £ 5 KG 5 sleeping beside me ® 401241} Tote» he didet have a towel a iz 3 os 2 | over him # NE (WERE bUTINS he was snoring quietly * 69) Re a 2 woe & | BROA Ld RoC UAL. by now only a few people remained 2h 2 5 Z t £ ¢ Woy 5 w war b eH L tc zee a oD z g RE é 7 é % ic ° ‘6 2 % % ae é J ov 2 L b 7 . as a £ z 7 Bu 2 a Ll é x . > ae wa 30| = FUR dried fish © MUZSDECMACUE there were now fish 52] SEERLDUL 08% while taking out the key 53) ERCOLILWRENDAVLOTHE I certainly hope well al more occasions to do things together like this i sal SILOAM T nodded, agreeing * FLATE DIDO ERS L when I thanked him for the dried fish and everything else # R$. ‘#4807 waving his hand energetically back and forth TS 55) EACH iE not at all 57] Cit well then | EMELAILAZE I said, and was just making to leave when 0 uhm sos ze? Me lt EB de a 5 é 5 4 & g i i of OPES Oran 55 [Seon] aA Boece sé LOY OS SRSA OH HOOT restarts 0 Bee 53 SH [SASS HORA 52 $ 2 tk 3 0 5 & a QD W S # Es By se & R » a L & # 2 51 ced [cA SiR mt SEATIMEPITIMA cote dor LEB IAS TICMSA 9 MRR 32KORRES LEWEITEA I looked up at the best, wat 6 6 ot ° for him t go on, but * BESLUCHOCHS he remained ap fidgeting * WROIEC in the back of his throat * fH) Bue 4 iz =k z mk * % HERTHA making a sound along the lines of run «ee et rome fF scccevstestaimithls Secale eam TS Cb BE LE on Be mF L he talked using words # ARE PIUEMEEGO TI 32° he used hi Bow EK ik wii ee FF | voice the same way humans do, but * BRS Rime LAD | mG peo = AS Bug tT F 95 EBLE when he made noise that wasn't speech, and laughed, and==> AA ES & & 2 b Bi 3 ua soon * < 2:20 the vocalization ropes to bears wae ERD meme EL EL ee RMEADLCLAYETH migtyoubesogoodastohugme MER 2 EG EE B ZFueR ALUALPINSEROMMOWAEDTT this is the castor in my BPRS Ss 5 z > Ke hometown when two people who are close to each other say good. PK D RHR OD byes GLAMIS LES LOWOeH A of couse, te gute eee ESO gl wm FRR ES ifyou dont want 0 CRB OR BM FESS 6a) BALIERIILA Lassented we ge ef Ce Pe 6s| <21e—daN=HHSE the bear took asp forward and * BLE Ho sm OF ee Ee GH spread his arms wide * ZOBLLb/:LOMICEDL wrapped i 4 é g 22 OF | those arms around my shoulders © (4: PHN FA wg EB tc i A RES rubbed his cheek against mine # 2OWUATS he smelled like a re i + 0 fi ca | bear = BABS his other cheek ® BIE EI> i the sme way # & 3 ik MS 5 (2 5 3—BE once again © BUCH EANTHALOMEWUZ: he hugged me UE 5 & z, 8 2 e my shoulders, putting alot of strength into his arms * loi 4¢ ecb Rm L # key & EotK IRM zA-OF: the bear's body was colder than I expected E fi y = 2 omo Ee 66] SHIREKE SALA ORT I really had a wonderful time today eo Ee . : Bowe L | MCN TROTARLIGRATECH I feel as if I've traveled 5 & O, z 5 an S Be | somewhere very fr, and then come back home agein # RODHHD Fe HED & zDD m BHASHELOEOMOENET LIS may the blessings ofthe geRE 2 ch5t bear god rain down upon you, too # HENLEELADS doesn't a 2 nF R b2BEW keep very ong, s0 2 Hed “ ane A an h . PpERGE 5 528 gE - z CRE ge 8 ze 5H " z ao E ae 3 Be x wet67] MRR TRENS, MAICAD, RAHICSLERER A: FARO BIC tonight # BLLMSIZI AWW it will be best if you them went back into my apartment and grilled the fish, had a bath, and wro a bit in my diary before going to bed ® MOMEIREOLI 2 GO BURL CHIME T tried to imagine what the bear god might be lik, but = bidtodedors I hadalt the slightest idea ® 3B tevs— ‘oft it wasnt a bad day SSO SUM LARS A CR LS Se OR >The > ° & i e 8 $ 3 wt Oy 36| Osh vas vad he an Ps Noes an Nntctin “4 'a work of horror, narrated from the perspective of a corpse, titled ead Body). This was te star ofa dazzing, enre-happing career for Osc wha devoted his energles ently on oon in an il. trate, usualy paperback genre known a “ight navel” that ends caget ay young readers, bu soon began wring hardback books for adits. number of his wrk hae been tuned i io mang and mois | Oise was bor in 178 in Flack Pretec ture which makes him the yunges wer ini book by a good twelve years. Hes such hile }) ——strytel though hat he seems sie ought to bea radar yo enjote store nded here=Muash yi no kone” (Lang In the Parka igh) wie st appeared in book | fem in 2008 in 200 you might want ty reaing Some ofthe ehar tres in 2002, on | 2001 (bom volumes pubisheaby Shs). Then H taybe you aud se the move tat was made of fv ofthe stores inthis saris, Fra very diferent sampiing of his fon 1 recom ‘| mend the 2003 collection Ushinawarera manogetar (A Tal of Being i Lost), whic pies five stores frm Otsuichs ight nove” days with : few newer pieces. The tite story, told fam the point of view (0 to speak) of @ man et paralyzed and deprived ofall ive fis senses— excep for he sense of uch, and that only on his ight semis marvelous41 LY HOBIE Long Ago, In the Park at Twilight ‘ht % when Tas in elementary school * SEF inthe nei borhood # BARD ELTA alittle park * AURBMbI= BES He 5 itwas surrounded by tall buildings, and * 475122 when ed ning fel * HO BRAD SHS the noise of the cars and the soune ofpeople # IH2% vanished, leaving no trace * HEIL... Jong JBABIZoF: it was the sort of park that turns into... afer thay M222 NHC a silent space in which... # AADOwALE Seltoy 708 a small childs shoe that someone had forgotten * DE AfoT BHI lay on its side on the ground PROBTEI%>T when dinnertime rolled around # VoL ica ‘CURRAA RICHY even aftr the friends Td been playing with Wenthome * FWD T< SET until my parents came home « MEORLTUItILVNT dots Thad to stay there killing time ~KC797 2EECOIHRSE when I got tired of playing by ny. self on the swings * £BC(LaSHPILH7EDIC almost as though had been summoned there by something * B38 CHA I'd play in the sandbox * £0)WI>FAI=(28 Mt of: inthe corner ofthat park there was a sandbox # #22 FR(:BI79Y 3PHRD BIBI ordinarily, the children were so engrossed with playing on the swings andthe lide that ¥ £O— WL Ob BAS AT VL that cor ner was aways forgotten SRML WORD SALAAM the sunlight shining down between the buildings # #44 without a sound # REAM (LERSS 3 evening, which makes the world run with red" RELATES &< without anyone to talk to © AHMET ORDA DAG EN let behind by who knows who teLsaoame STK TRE REE CHCHhO SE SSErSe PRONE HNI SOS OSEETLSR so sete) Toft) Sa OH MOM ET SATA ULI A> | a CHASE AS CORE SPORE ER OH Or do om BISA od SEP SAN ot SRT: Hi Dp Sahi- UNO SE CHARTER TI HT SRA CHURBEARI wor Bos OBR OR oft 0 PRED Se OUI TTT RONT AO LOWY 1 a me cs D & a if is i 5 aw x 5 & L & & ial 2 b 2 SER ORT US S09 > ak MSS STE LT SUAPHETSE SH nu z 2. & a ee ABN Sec