Summer vacation is coming soon. Books I want to take with me on my trip
~Monosus' "Reading Club" #05~

When I read a novel outside, I get distracted by my surroundings and can't immerse myself in the novel, so I always bring practical books, like business books, with me when I travel.

Fukuzawa Yukichi's "Encouragement of Learning" is a famous book. The first half of the book is aimed at elementary school students and introduces foreign ideas in an easy-to-understand manner that is adapted to the Japanese context of the time, while the second half is written like a business book for adults.

As the title suggests, this is a modern translation of the literary style, but it has been translated into colloquial language by Saito Takashi, author of "Japanese to Read Aloud." He is also a university professor, but there are so many students who have never read "Encouragement of Learning," and he felt that this was a waste, so he translated it into language that is familiar to young people.

I don't know if the translation or the original text is good, but the expressions are very simple and the content is still relevant today.

For example, the first half introduces ideas that were new to Japan at the time, such as "Academic learning has a purpose" and "What are human rights?", while the second half includes content that we still see in books we read today, such as "Improving your dignity" and "Techniques for planning your life."

In addition, there are many concrete examples, and in the chapter titled "Training your judgement," it says, "Judge after skepticism." In Japan at that time (early Meiji period), there was a Westernized value system that said, "Japanese things are no good, Western things are wonderful." In response, he preached, "It's true that Western things are great, but not everything is like that. Let's skeptically think about it, and then choose what we want and what we don't."

Western values are still prevalent in today's world, and I personally have a tendency to be like that, so this really resonated with me. In other chapters, it also says, "Strike a balance between your mind and your work," and provides easy-to-understand examples to help explain.

I think this is a very good book for beginners. It asks basic questions about being human, so it may help you gain new realizations during the extraordinary experience of traveling.

I had never read it before, so I was surprised to find that it was like a business book.

That's what happened to me too. At first, I wrote it for a younger audience, but it got such a positive response that I gradually started adding content for adults.
The book deals with issues that are still present in the modern world, such as discrimination against men and women, and the tendency to uncritically appreciate things that have a good reputation, and makes me wonder if humans can't progress in 100 years or so. Perhaps Fukuzawa Yukichi's foresight or insight was incredible.
This book will take you back to your roots and make you question the meaning of studying and working.

I once bought "I Am a Cat," but after reading two or three pages, I sold it, saying, "I don't understand it." I find old-fashioned writing tiring. In that sense, I think the modern translation is a great attempt.

I immediately fell in love with the cover, which had a picture of space on it, and the soft-touch paper cover, so I bought it. The author is a Mexican writer named Salvador Plasencia, but I've never really been good with translated versions of the language, so I've been putting it aside for a while. Since the theme this time was "travel," I decided to take the plunge and pull it out of my bookshelf, wanting to read a story from a slightly different country.

This book describes one event from the perspectives of various people, and the layout of the text is interesting. It starts out as a single column, but then it changes rapidly to three columns, four columns, then one column again, etc. For example, in the triple column format, each column has a different narrator, and the story progresses from the perspectives of three people at the same time.

There are many other intricately designed parts, such as the perspective of the baby the child meets on the street, which is painted completely black to express unspoken words. There are also many other gimmicks that will be irresistible to book lovers, such as horizontal text suddenly appearing in the vertical text, and unreadable sections that look like they have been erased with a pen.

The story follows the protagonist Federico, who separates from his wife and moves with his 11-year-old daughter from Mexico to a town on the outskirts of Los Angeles, and depicts the events that occur there.

In the first part, the protagonist becomes aware of the presence of "Saturn" watching over them from above, and in the second part, it is revealed that this Saturn is the author.
The protagonist believes that Saturn (the author) separated him from his wife to make the story more interesting, and declares war on Saturn. The ``reality'' of the characters in the book the author writes and the ``reality'' of the author's actual life become mixed together.

There's a scene where one of the supporting characters goes to meet Saturn (the author) and says, "It's me," but because he's a supporting character, Saturn (the author) doesn't remember him and asks, "Who are you?". I was so shocked by this scene that I thought, "Poor thing!" as I continued reading (laughs).

I'm still in the middle of writing it, but I'm looking forward to seeing how Saturn (the author) and the characters interact with each other and how the story progresses.

Who came up with this book design, the author or the designer?

I'm not sure, but the design of the original work seems to be the same. The binding is really elaborate, for example, when you try to remove the cover band, it sticks to the main body and won't come off. What is this? When you open it, the cover and band are one. One of the characters is a doctor called an origami surgeon who makes organs and blood vessels out of paper, and I wonder if this cover was folded like origami because of that image.

If I take this book on a trip, I might never come back.

That's the feeling. I think it puts you in a world that's a bit like magic realism in Latin literature, where you can't really tell if it's real or not.
It's a work that can be enjoyed greatly, even just as a book.

This time, I brought the book that Nakaniwa-san lent me.

I remembered that at a previous reading group , he was talking about the worries he faced as a musician, saying, "There are times when I don't know if I have passion," so I couldn't help but recommend this book to him (laughs).

That's right. In this book it says something like "All passion comes from anger."
By the way, the reason I want to take this book with me on the road is because I'm currently touring with my band and I take this book with me.

The book candidly covers everything from Eikichi Yazawa's upbringing, to his move to Tokyo with the aim of becoming a star, the struggles he faced as an amateur, his time with Carol, when he became famous, and how the band broke up and he decided to pursue a solo career.

Until now, I thought it was a little unique and difficult to get into, but after reading this, I thought Yazawa Eikichi was really cool.

In the text, he repeatedly writes things like, "I'm always angry." I once read in another book that "passion comes from anger," and this person seems to agree.
His mother left him when he was young, his father died, and he was passed around from one relative to another. He was eventually taken in by his grandmother and graduated from high school, but his success story began when he moved to Tokyo to become a rock artist.

Eikichi Yazawa had a life of hardship ever since he was young, but he overcame it all with passion born from his anger.

I think people in the world can be divided into three types: those who are consumed by anger, those who control their anger, or those who suppress their anger. Personally, I've tended to suppress my anger, or rather, I've tried to ignore it.

But he's got his anger under control.
It looked so cool, like riding a wild horse. It made me want to try to control my anger too.

He has an incredible hunger for success.

One episode that left a strong impression on me was when, as a child, he was poor and couldn't even eat ice cream, and a rich kid in the neighborhood put ice cream on his cheek and said he would let him eat it, which he found humiliating. In reality, he really wanted to eat the ice cream on his cheek, but he didn't want to eat it because it would be humiliating, so he would lick it off later when the kid wasn't looking.
At that moment, he explodes with anger and says, "I'm going to become rich no matter what." That's what drives him.

Does this book reflect the work of The Crater (the band that Kikunae is in)?

It's reflected in my live performances too, as they've changed a bit.

Wow, I'll have to go see it next time.

Has your musical style changed as well?

Well, my musical style hasn't changed that much, but when I write songs, I'm really conscious of anger. I try to carry that anger with me on stage, too.

What do you mean?

I don't know how everyone sees a live performance, but in my case, there is a lot of planning involved. The order of the songs, the lighting, and even the content of what I say are all decided to a certain extent, so the range of expression is limited, so it's difficult to express emotions. If I don't think about it, I'll end up sounding like a robot.
I was thinking about this when this book was introduced to me at a great time. I used to think that anger was a bad thing, but now I realize that it can also be transformed into a positive expression.

Your values have changed.

It's a simple thing: you just have to get over your anger. Up until now, I've tried not to let myself get angry, but now I make the effort to let myself get angry.

As the theme is "travel", we will introduce the story of a person who gets lost in the "Land of the Last Things."
This book is a long letter written to a friend by the protagonist Anna, who travels to the "Land of the Last Things" in search of her brother, and describes the tragedy that occurs there. It is written in her monologue, which continues for a long time.

"The Land of the Last Things" is a place where "nothing new is born" and "things disappear one by one." There is no order, no food, no homes, people are in chaos, everyone is hungry, and they are risking their lives to find a piece of bread.

People are so hungry that they talk about imaginary foods, and the descriptions are quite detailed. For example, they talk about a full course meal, starting with soup and appetizers and ending with dessert, describing the aroma of the food, the thrill it gives when it hits your tongue, and the comfort it gives as it travels down your throat and into your stomach. In the end, some people even believe that talking about food is nutritious. The protagonist calls the insubstantial words that are spoken "ghost words."

Also, more than half of the people in the city are homeless, and real estate agents are showing them "non-existent properties" and taking commission. People are lining up at real estate agencies, holding all their money, just to see pictures of happy people in their homes.
Rain is a nuisance for the homeless, as their clothes and shoes get wet, causing them to pay the price for hours and days to come. Bad weather is caused by people's gloomy moods, so a religious group called the "Smile Society" has even emerged, preaching a cheerful attitude.

In this end-of-the-world world, death is all the rage. People are very interested in "how to die." For example, a new cult-like group called "Runners" has appeared, where people sprint around the city at full speed like crazy and die, and "Jumpers" have appeared, who are obsessed with how high they can take their "last leap" artistically. Death has become a way for people to express themselves.
Many people are choosing to entrust their lives to others, with euthanasia clinics becoming extremely popular and some turning to assassination clubs... the "death" business is thriving.

Having been lost in this world, she knows that she will never find her brother and that she will never be able to escape from this world, but she continues to live without hope.

It's like a fable about a world where everything becomes less and less fulfilling, and the closer we get to zero, the more refined we become.
The protagonist said that in a world where things are disappearing, even words are "ghosts," and the scene where he burns books in the library is symbolic. It's like a ritual to throw away words...
The inhabitants of the "Land of the Last Things" have a lack of material things, so they cling to words and concepts in an attempt to feel fulfilled, but it felt like they were burning the books in an attempt to break away from that world.

Will the world continue to get worse at the end?

Yes, it continues to get worse and worse. It continues without any relief.

Without any resolution?

The problem is never resolved. At the end, he writes to his friend, "I'll write you another letter when I reach my destination," but the next letter never arrives, and I think this letter probably didn't reach its destination either.

Speaking of fantasy food, I remember something. When I was in high school, I was doing long distance track and field, and I was told to lose weight no matter what, but I couldn't run if I didn't eat.
I don't eat to the limit, but I eat to run. I was like a neurotic, but I would run for about 50 minutes every day during morning practice while talking about food with the other members. It's because I can't eat to the limit that we talk about food, and when I get home, I'll watch a food program and drink protein and feel satisfied. That's what I remembered.

It's a book with a mysterious impression. If you read it while traveling, it will probably make you feel uneasy at your destination.

It would be interesting if you were planning to go to a tourist spot, but when you arrived, you found that the country was just like in this novel.

I absolutely hate it.

But have you ever had a dream like that? A dream where you arrive at a completely unfamiliar place that is completely different from your destination and feel really scared.