- 伊勢湾台風物語 The story of Isewan Typhoon
In 1959, a big typhoon hit my hometown, and over 5000 people died, including my relatives. My grandparents and parents (before marriage) lived near the ocean. My grandpa was one of the fire chiefs in that area and gave the orders to evacuate citizens. The most damage occurred from the collapsing coastal seawalls.
- Ichigensan いちげんさん by David Zoppetti
The book was written in Japanese by David Zoppetti. He is from Switzerland. He came to Japan and studied Japanese literature in the 1990s. After graduation, he worked at a Japanese TV station. Ichigensan is his first novel, and he won the 20th Subaru Prize for Literature in 1996.
I bought this book when I was a middle school student. I read it again last week. I can’t believe that a non-Japanese novelist wrote a story in Japanese. Writing is a beautifully expressed love between a foreigner and a blind girl.
- だから、あなたも生きぬいて So Can You by Mitsuyo Ohira/John Brennan (English translation)
She is a lawyer, professor, and artist. The book is her autobiography. She was bullied by classmates at school. At 14, she joined the gang, and at 16, she got married to the mafia. A few years later, she divorced and worked in a hostess club (a type of nightclub). At 22, she passed the real estate exam and the judicial scrivener (paralegal) exam. At 26, she studied law at university. At 29, she passed the bar exam and became a lawyer.
When I bought this book, I was a high school student. After reading, I was really impressed.
Life is unpredictable. Don’t give up!
Photos by LILI
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