**TL;DR** I have a few questions related to Mieko Kawakami’s books in Japanese. Anyone familiar with her work, what are her easiest books to read? Do all her books have long sentences, stream-of-consciousness like narration, and Kansai ben?
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I’ve been learning Japanese for nearly 3 years and I got N3 half year ago. I’d already been reading manga for over two years, and between last April and early January I managed to read my first novel in Japanese, Murakami’s *The City and its Uncertain Walls*. I’d read a couple of Mieko Kawakami’s books in English before: *Breasts and Eggs* (which it’s really 夏物語, right?) and *All the Lovers in the Night*. I was curious to try to read some of her other novels in Japanese, so I bought her first novella: わたくし率 イン 歯一、または世界.
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Well, I almost decided to stop reading it this weekend and leave it for later. At first I thought it was the Osaka ben grammar that was confusing me, but it was mainly the long sentences and the stream of consciousness narration that were making it very difficult. I decided to continue anyway, and now that I’m about 25 pages in it’s got a bit more manageable and I’m enjoying it. Even though I’ve come to terms with the fact that I won’t be able to understand everything, especially when it jumps from thing to thing in a long sentence, I’m mostly following it.
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As for the Osaka ben, I’ve found an iPhone app called Unique Language AI Translator that I use sometimes to translate any grammar that sounds weird, from Osaka ben to standard Japanese. I’ve also been watching the Youtube video from Miku Real Japanese about Osaka ben to get familiar with some basic grammar. Any other recommendations to deal with Osaka ben?
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I’m also curious about Kawakami’s other books for later. Are any of them (from the ones I’ve not read in English already) more accessible? I was keen on あこがれ and I heard also that her latest novel, 黄色い家, has generally shorter sentences, even though it’s a long novel. I’ll continue reading her first novella for now, and I’ve also bought a book of conversations between Kawakami and Murakami. Thanks!
1 comment
Breast and Eggs is literally the same: 乳と卵
Her style is part of her appeal in Japanese, I think…She’s not too complicated, but the sentences are a bit of work. Her sentences in English are somewhat different, and loses some of that pomo stream of conciousness–English editors want them read by a wide audience.