Specs
Reviews
(3.92/5)This is the second book of this author I read, and it definitely won't be my last. Her writing is seductively simple, her descriptions plain and to the point. And yet, there's something lurking behind these simple words, always there but never quite revealed. You get little glimpses of it here and there as you read, and you wonder if maybe you misunderstood the text, but the text itself is impossible to misunderstand. I still think about むらさきのスカートの女, and I suspect I will also still think about this book's stories for a long time to come.
I recommend it for a first novel in Japanese - I only needed a handful of lookups for the whole book, and half of them were plant names that I didn't really need to know anyway.
In case you're worried about the titular duck like I was, there is no questionable content, but the duck does get sick and die.
A parable on society centred around keeping a pet duck
Three short stories, which in order of enjoyment, I would put あひる、森の兄妹、おばあちゃんの家.
Each have very simple, childlike descriptions, but infused in them is a sense of unease.
What really impressed me was Imamura's creativeness, especially モリオ, who sweats so much while reading his favourite manga that it's drenched through.
I would really recommend for a first book for a Japanese learner.