奇譚ルーム

Interesting mystery, but sadly a little disappointing

Overall: 4

Language Learning: 4

Entertainment: 3.5 (rounded up)

This book has a format that I thought was quite good for language learning, mixing short stories with conversations in a “chat room”-format. Some of the stories were difficult, and sometimes I didn’t always know what happened in them, but at the same time it didn’t really matter to the rest of the book (except when the characters discussed the stories). This was nice because it meant that if I didn’t completely understand something, I could still understand and enjoy the rest of the book without any major problems.

Now, while I do think this book was good for language learning, there were a few times where I realized that if my Japanese had been better, I would probably have enjoyed the book a lot more than I did. One example of this are the few questions related to the mystery, that I started to think about while reading the book. But since my Japanese isn’t good enough, I wasn’t sure if these questions had already been answered (and I had missed it), if they were plot holes, or related to the mystery…

I also believe my enjoyment of this book was affected by the expectations I had before I read it (spoiler for what I expected, but what I instead felt I got: I expected more of a murder mystery, but instead it felt mostly like a mystery, but it was more about the ”oh no, someone died (again)”, than figuring out “who” and “why”). I thought the book would be a little different, and while it didn’t affect my enjoyment during the read (because as I read the book, I truly enjoyed it), it did affect my opinion on the ending, and my opinion on the book now as some time has passed since I finished it. (Which is why I gave it 3.5 stars: during the read it was a 4 star, but now after it feels more like a 3 star (which in my grading system is a book that is good, but nothing special)).

I usually don’t like short stories, but I did enjoy the ones in this book, which might have been because they didn’t stand by themselves, but instead connected to the whole book (while still being somewhat “cut off” from the rest of the book). And that through the stories, you got to know the different characters, which was interesting, since they all tell a story that is unique for them.

In summary, I think this is a good book, especially if you want to start reading more Japanese books. The book is also quite entertaining (even if you don’t like short stories) as long as you don’t have expectations for this book, thinking it will be something that it isn’t…

Even though it was inadvertent, this was a great pick for a somewhat spooky October read. The premise is simple, 10 characters are invited to a VR Chat style room to tell weird stories. The book explains a 奇譚 as being a strange or fantastical story (Twilight Zone episodes are probably the closest frame of reference), not necessarily a mystery though many of them are, and the broader framing story is a classic style whodunnit, but there's a murderer in the room and if the murderer doesn't like a story, you're dead!

I was pretty engaged with the broader framing story from the get-go and all of the stories the characters tell were pretty absorbing too. Even the first two which are deliberately sort of hacky and tropey on purpose to facilitate a Stephen King's Misery-eque discussion on writing between the characters were still pretty intruiging and fun, but they really start to pop off even more after those first two. Some of the tales are just something weird that turns into a strange scenario, other stories have a more "real-world" explanation that allows the detective character to do a really classic, Sherlock Holmes style explainer of what went down, and they're all fun with great variety.

The reading level was perfect in terms of something I could immerse myself in and enjoy, but still be challenged by. I actually knew most of the words most of the time, though each story has some jargony words pertaining to the theme of the story (and even the profession of the storyteller). It was probably my smoothest experience reading a Japanese author I hadn't read before so clearly something's sticking. Some of the more medical or scientific words were things I'd never heard of in English, but the book does a good job defining the really out-there terms. The grammar is all pretty simple, standard stuff but since so much of the book is about the logic of picking apart the stories and clues, the sentences do have a rather rigid structure you need to be able to follow to understand the line of reasoning. I think that's the best aspect of this book for learners. The individual grammar points aren't hard, but there were a lot of times where I almost went to run a sentence through Google Translate or DeepL but went "hang on, let's try that again slowly" only to realize that I could indeed figure out what was being said. A few bits involving set phrases did stump me, but everything important was pretty easy to get so long as I took it slowly. Each story at the font size I used was about 30 pages and this was a perfect "one chapter a night book" with each tale being long enough to be interesting, but not so long I started to feel fatigue.

As far as the actual mysteries, the book is fantastic. I had about two pages of notes and while I didn't guess exactly what was going on or the exact motives (I never just sat and locked in a "this is my final answer and I'm not changing it), I did, at various points, correctly guess who was involved and what was important (though my suspicion shifted all over the place). I think if I had nailed everything perfectly it wouldn't have been satisfying since there'd be no surprise. There are one or two things that I may have overlooked but by and large I felt rewarded that the things I made note of were worth making note of and played a part in the true solution which is part of what made this book so much fun.

It's a tricky book, but in a good approachable way, and I enjoyed reading about some of the influences in the author's afterword (I gotta read some Ranpo sometime but I'm scared there'll be difficult archaic Japanese). There's a sequel out to this that's weirdly not available as an eBook at the moment, so perhaps that'll be my first stab at reading a print book because I really do want to read more of these. I think I just want more thinky whodunnits in general regardless of language. Maybe I'll finally get around to Poirot which I've meant to do since seeing A Haunting in Venice.

A highly recommended "first real book", and did not disappoint!

The book is essentially comprised of several short stories (while building up to the larger mystery), making this a great novel to read in short bursts. The mystery scenario is fun and original, and even while some answers may be apparent, I was also continually surprised!! The cute animals (and great cover might I add) offered vibrant contrast to what would normally be a serious situation.

Difficulty

Unlike the other often recommended 'first book', また同じ夢を見ていた, this book does not use the standard です・ます grammar format you might be used to from textbooks. However, there are plenty of other crutches that make this an easy first pic:

1. This book uses horizontal writing, which most beginners are quite familiar with from their textbooks or websites.
2. There is ample furigana for those still learning kanji.
3. The book is heavily centered around SNS chat bubble dialogue, so descriptions of scenery, etc, are sparse.
4. The author himself stated that he hopes the "ルーム” books could be an introduction to reading for children, and thinks that the SNS setting would make that particularly easy for them.
5. The short stories make this a great novel to read in short bursts, which is useful for learning, but also very enjoyable.

Fun and engaging read

Plot: 10 people received an invitation to join a mystery story VR chat room. The anonymous host of the room who goes by "Murderer" and requires each of them to tell a mysterious / supernatural-esque type story. If their story isn't entertaining they die.

I enjoyed the premise a lot. Most novels in the N3 range are slice of life so having something a little more murder-mystery was awesome. Many of the stories told sucked you in (I liked Puppeteers the best) and the one's I didn't care for were short enough that it didn't feel like a chore to get through.

The language used didn't feel difficult. It did get harder towards the end but still very manageable. Additionally a lot of dialogue was split into chat bubbles which made things easier to follow. My only complaint is I wish the author used more kanji but honestly that's pretty minor.

Overall great book!