Read Real Japanese Fiction: Short Stories by Contemporary Writers
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- Type：Epub+TxT+PDF+Mobi
- Create Date：2021-11-27 11:16:02
- Update Date：2025-09-23
- Status：finish
- Author：Michael Emmerich
- ISBN：1568366175
- Environment：PC/Android/iPhone/iPad/Kindle
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Summary
Long-awaited by teachers and students， Read Real Japanese Fiction presents short works by six of today's most daring and provocative Japanese writers。 The spellbinding world of Hiromi Kawakami; the hair-raising horror of Otsuichi; the haunting， poignant prose of Banana Yoshimoto; even the poetic word-play of Yoko Tawada - whatever a reader's taste， he or she is sure to find something of interest and value in this book， suitable for students at the intermediate level and above。
As in real Japanese novels， the text on each page runs from top to bottom and from right to left。 Each double-page spread features translations of all the difficult passages。 In the back of the book， moreover， is a built-in Japanese-English learner's dictionary and a notes section covering issues of nuance， usage， grammar and culture that come up in each story。 Best of all， the books comes with a free audio CD containing narrations of the stories， performed by a professional voice actress。
As in real Japanese novels， the text on each page runs from top to bottom and from right to left。 Each double-page spread features translations of all the difficult passages。 In the back of the book， moreover， is a built-in Japanese-English learner's dictionary and a notes section covering issues of nuance， usage， grammar and culture that come up in each story。 Best of all， the books comes with a free audio CD containing narrations of the stories， performed by a professional voice actress。
Reviews
Colin
，
A valuable learning resource for the student of Japanese， not least because of the careful and methodical way that the translators have rendered the parallel text - providing direct translations of difficult clauses and a painstakingly comprehensive set of translators’ notes and glossary at the back of the book （which is really its front）。 But what I like about this better than the Penguin volume is that the stories themselves are simply much better and more approachable - making the experience A valuable learning resource for the student of Japanese， not least because of the careful and methodical way that the translators have rendered the parallel text - providing direct translations of difficult clauses and a painstakingly comprehensive set of translators’ notes and glossary at the back of the book （which is really its front）。 But what I like about this better than the Penguin volume is that the stories themselves are simply much better and more approachable - making the experience of reading much less of a slog with an uncertain narrative payoff at the end。 Here the stories range from charming pastoral parables about otherness （Kawakami’s playful Kamisama） to chilling horror （Otsuichi’s and Kiamura’s offerings） and the delightfully short and punny Kakeru， which basically runs the entire gamut of meanings of the titular Japanese word - a story that， as the editors comment， must surely have been written for the express benefit of the Japanese learner himself。 The two meatier stories （Parrot Meat Market and Mummy） do hew closer to that meandering， freewheeling quality common to the Japanese short story， but they still maintain that compulsively readable quality that is important to maintain when reading a foreign text where the words come haltingly - the desire to read should， after all， be stoked by the desire to get better at reading but it is the desire to keep reading a rip-roaringly compelling story is key to the very exercise， after all。I give this: 4 out of 5 light sources 。。。more
Pinky
，
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers。 To view it， click here。 Six short stories bound to delight tales of a bear on a picnic， mummified cats， Butcher's with naughty sons and frightening experiences in the sand box。 Six short stories bound to delight tales of a bear on a picnic， mummified cats， Butcher's with naughty sons and frightening experiences in the sand box。 。。。more
Yasamin Seifaee
，
این نظری که دارم میدم واسه نسخه ی ترجمه ی فارسیشهواقعا نمیدونم مشکل از من بود یا ترجمه، تقریبا هیچ چیز درست و حسابی ای از داستان ها نفهمیدمیه جا متن رسمی بود یه جا محاوره ای، یه جا معلوم نبود چی بود！یه جاهاییش هم انگار سانسور شده بود، و اگه همینطور باشه، نمیدونم چرا وقتی داستان کوتاهی رو سانسور میکنن چاپش میکنن؟ چیزی ازش نمی‌مونه که！به هر حال چون به خاطر ترجمه هیچی نفهمیدم از داستان ها، یک ستاره میدم
El
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بهترین مجموعه داستانی که بعد از مدت‌ها خوندم。 عجیب و خوشمزه و اشتهاآور。
Maira M。 Moura
，
This is THE book to initiate your literacy on Japanese fiction。 It is divided in 3 parts: from the backover （on a western sense） to halfway the spine we have six tales as they were written and published and read by the Japanese on one page， and their rough， almost literal translation on the next。 Starting from the opposite cover we have an extensive glossary and then an even more extensive series of grammar notes explaining all sentences that are not easily understandable for， at least， a N3 lev This is THE book to initiate your literacy on Japanese fiction。 It is divided in 3 parts: from the backover （on a western sense） to halfway the spine we have six tales as they were written and published and read by the Japanese on one page， and their rough， almost literal translation on the next。 Starting from the opposite cover we have an extensive glossary and then an even more extensive series of grammar notes explaining all sentences that are not easily understandable for， at least， a N3 level student like me。 The kanji are numerous and once their appear， with their reading attached to them， next time the same is repeated in a story， it will not have its reading hanging like a parrot on one's shoulder， but the reader is challenged to remember it。I was surprised at how easy it was for me， who still struggles with children's book， to read the first story。 It doesn't mean from now on I can open any book in "real Japanese" and read it like a native， but it surely gave me confidence to continue pursuing that self-satisfying goal of being able to read Japanes fiction in its original form。 。。。more
Finlay
，
Same as New Penguin Parallel Text: Short Stories in Japanese - Emmerich's taste in stories is questionable at best。 I think more than one had a bit of a dark sexual turn。 But a good concept， and I really liked the addition of the CD to be able to hear the story too。 I might buy the Essay version next。 Same as New Penguin Parallel Text: Short Stories in Japanese - Emmerich's taste in stories is questionable at best。 I think more than one had a bit of a dark sexual turn。 But a good concept， and I really liked the addition of the CD to be able to hear the story too。 I might buy the Essay version next。 。。。more
Jonathan Peto
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I started this eons ago， but I wasn't committed enough and kept stopping and restarting with the first story over and over again。 Finally， last November or December， I started in ernest。 I couldn't have done it without the translation of complex passages though。 I love the audio narration too and will use it to revisit these stories again， hopefully with much less reliance on the translation and notes。The stories， including the first one， were enjoyable or very enjoyable。 In the first one， by Hi I started this eons ago， but I wasn't committed enough and kept stopping and restarting with the first story over and over again。 Finally， last November or December， I started in ernest。 I couldn't have done it without the translation of complex passages though。 I love the audio narration too and will use it to revisit these stories again， hopefully with much less reliance on the translation and notes。The stories， including the first one， were enjoyable or very enjoyable。 In the first one， by Hiromi Kawakami， the narrator takes a walk with a bear who speaks and lives in a nearby apartment。 Other bears in the story world don't live like this， it seems， but most people don't pay much attention to it。 The second to last story by Kaoru Kitamura is a horror story about a male college student escorting a girl home from a party。 I'm not ready for it yet， but I want to check out more of Kitamura's and Kawakami's writing in Japanese。 。。。more
Rosa
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Brilliant！
Jacob van Berkel
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I already knew from reading the Penguin 'Short Stories in Japanese' and two novels he translated that Michael Emmerich's style of translating and writing really disagrees with me。 Despite that， this reader （along with its non-fiction companion） remains the best （of the now 6） I've so far used。 The grammar explanations are especially comprehensive and helpful， and Emmerich stacks a lot of extra example sentences in there， which I really appreciated。Of the two 'Read Real Japanese' books， I probabl I already knew from reading the Penguin 'Short Stories in Japanese' and two novels he translated that Michael Emmerich's style of translating and writing really disagrees with me。 Despite that， this reader （along with its non-fiction companion） remains the best （of the now 6） I've so far used。 The grammar explanations are especially comprehensive and helpful， and Emmerich stacks a lot of extra example sentences in there， which I really appreciated。Of the two 'Read Real Japanese' books， I probably like this one best because （most of） the stories in this book are way more interesting and enjoyable than the essays in Janet Ashby's non-fictional 'Read Real Japanese' reader （which， except for the one by Hideo Levy， were pretty pointless and boring） although I prefer Janet Ashby's more straightforward style of translating and teaching over Emmerich's。The audio CD， as with the non-fiction version， is pretty challenging， because， while we are told in the introduction of the book that audio is supposed to be at "natural speed"， it seems that the voice actress naturally speaks unnaturally fast。 Would definitely recommend。 。。。more
DaveD
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A really great learning tool that I will continue to use to try to improve my reading ability in Japanese。 I did find some of the stories quite strange， but it was nice to be introduced to Japanese authors that were mostly unknown to me。 If you're around an intermediate level of Japanese， this is a good choice of book to read。 A really great learning tool that I will continue to use to try to improve my reading ability in Japanese。 I did find some of the stories quite strange， but it was nice to be introduced to Japanese authors that were mostly unknown to me。 If you're around an intermediate level of Japanese， this is a good choice of book to read。 。。。more
Heidi
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This was super interesting to read and a great Japanese learning tool。 I didn't care for all of the selections， but it introduced me to some Japanese writers。 The English translations were very helpful and the notes in the back explain various expressions and grammar points。 CD recording is a bonus for listening practice。 Five stars because it's such a good resource for English speakers learning Japanese。 This was super interesting to read and a great Japanese learning tool。 I didn't care for all of the selections， but it introduced me to some Japanese writers。 The English translations were very helpful and the notes in the back explain various expressions and grammar points。 CD recording is a bonus for listening practice。 Five stars because it's such a good resource for English speakers learning Japanese。 。。。more
Anastasia
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as a person who absorbs information through reading， this book was honestly my saviour among all the children's fairytales written in hiragana。 i found the stories brilliant as well - 6 stories， from really touching ones to really scary ones （a hundred stories， im looking at you）。 japanese text， vertically， from right to left， as it usually is in actual books in japanese， on one side， english translation to phrases on the other。 like， for me personally there is virtually no better way to learn j as a person who absorbs information through reading， this book was honestly my saviour among all the children's fairytales written in hiragana。 i found the stories brilliant as well - 6 stories， from really touching ones to really scary ones （a hundred stories， im looking at you）。 japanese text， vertically， from right to left， as it usually is in actual books in japanese， on one side， english translation to phrases on the other。 like， for me personally there is virtually no better way to learn japanese， since just plowing through books and endlessly looking up words （as i did when learning english and spanish） did nothing for me and left the meaning unclear。 long story short， a very good resource， if you like to read！ 。。。more
Fernando Torre
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The stories were interesting （although too many horror-ish stories in my opinion， not balanced enough）。 This type of book is very helpful for intermediate learners of Japanese。 My only other criticism beside story genres is the fact that the grammar explanations are on the other side of the book， making flipping around too troublesome。
Carola
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Earlier this year I already reviewed Read Real Japanese Essays。 The Fiction version has the same set-up as that book， so I won't get into that again （check the Essays review for that）。 The structure of the book just works， and it's awesome for students of Japanese， the end。Anyway！ Let's get into content。 While I enjoyed Essays， Fiction was infinitely more interesting to me。 It's so enjoyable reading Japanese literature in Japanese （makes you feel like you actually accomplished something in y Earlier this year I already reviewed Read Real Japanese Essays。 The Fiction version has the same set-up as that book， so I won't get into that again （check the Essays review for that）。 The structure of the book just works， and it's awesome for students of Japanese， the end。Anyway！ Let's get into content。 While I enjoyed Essays， Fiction was infinitely more interesting to me。 It's so enjoyable reading Japanese literature in Japanese （makes you feel like you actually accomplished something in your studies， haha）， and Michael Emmerich's （the editor） selection of short stories is spot on。I am sure many J-lit enthusiasts are familiar with Banana Yoshimoto and Hiromi Kawakami， and possibly Otsuichi and Yoko Tawada。 If you aren't， check them out！ And then this collection also has Shinji Ishii and Kaoru Kitamura， who are a great addition and authors I definitely want to check out in the future。As for the level of Japanese， the stories in Fiction were more readable than the essays， in my honest opinion。 I （N2） breezed through most of them without any problem。Hiromi Kawakami - GodTypical Kawakami。 After my disappointment with Manazuru， this was nice。 Not my favourite， but I enjoyed it all right。 It's not the easiest story in the book， but Kawakami's style is quite straightforward and if you feel you're ready to read real literature， this shouldn't be a big challenge。Otsuichi - Long Ago， in the Park at TwilightThis story was a bit of a disappointment。 I like Otsuichi， his style is properly creepy， but I do not think this was a masterpiece。 Short and easy to read though。Shinji Ishii - The Parrot Meat MarketOhhh this one was weird。 I have no idea what to think about it， but I think I enjoyed it？？ I guess？ It's interesting enough。 This was one of the more difficult stories in the book。Banana Yoshimoto - MummyThis story was really weird。 Well done， Yoshimoto， well done。 I can't quite pinpoint if it's what I expect of Yoshimoto or not。 Anyway， I enjoyed it （more than most of Yoshimoto's things I've read lately）。Kaoru Kitamura - One Hundred StoriesI realllly liked this story。 The language is simply and straightforward， and a very easy read。 The plot was fun！ A better horror story than Otsuichi's， tbh （sorry， Otsuichi）。 This story definitely made me want to check out more by Kitamura。Yoko Tawada - To PunThis story is literally everything that is wrong with the Japanese language （so I say， with love）。 It's really short， not even two full pages， and it's surprising。 I really enjoyed it and it made for a perfect final story to end the book with。 I'm also quite curious about Tawada's other works now。 I had only vaguely heard of her and had no idea she writes in both Japanese and German， which is just all the more reason for me to check her out。 。。。more
Bryan Williams
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Great way to practice reading Japanese books。
Skivvy Jones
，
One of the best。 I like editor/translator Michael Emmerich's notes and enthusiasm for the stories in this book。 I return to it often （how often can we say that about language books） and I must admit it feels really cool to finally be able to read （or read along） with these Japanese stories。 Be persistent。 I can't recommend this book enough。 One of the best。 I like editor/translator Michael Emmerich's notes and enthusiasm for the stories in this book。 I return to it often （how often can we say that about language books） and I must admit it feels really cool to finally be able to read （or read along） with these Japanese stories。 Be persistent。 I can't recommend this book enough。 。。。more
holly
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Funny stories to practice Japanese with。
Tiger Lily
，
This book is absolutely AMAZING！ I couldn't recommend it more。 It contains stories of all genres and all levels; no matter what type of person you are you're surely going to find something that interests you in this fantastic book！ The glossary of words at the end and the bilingual translations are of great help too， especially in order to understand idioms or certain nuances which I hadn't managed to grasp even after years of learning Japanese。 Some of the texts are really difficult， but the en This book is absolutely AMAZING！ I couldn't recommend it more。 It contains stories of all genres and all levels; no matter what type of person you are you're surely going to find something that interests you in this fantastic book！ The glossary of words at the end and the bilingual translations are of great help too， especially in order to understand idioms or certain nuances which I hadn't managed to grasp even after years of learning Japanese。 Some of the texts are really difficult， but the entertaining narratives make learning kanji a thousand times more fun and interesting than your average grammar book。 This is definitely an excellent example of how real language learning in context pays off; Even after the first narrative I already felt my level of Japanese had gone up and I was getting much more comfortable at reading。The author has done a fantastic job， and I'll certainly be buying the Read Real Japanese Essays too！ 。。。more
I。
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It's a good source for learning Japanese， I guess， but I didn't particularly enjoy the selected stories。 Except for Kitamura Kaoru's piece。 That one was splendid。 It's a good source for learning Japanese， I guess， but I didn't particularly enjoy the selected stories。 Except for Kitamura Kaoru's piece。 That one was splendid。 。。。more
G
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At last！ A book that makes me LIKE Japanese literature！
Christian
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Good:The stories are short， interesting and not too difficult。 On the right page is the original and on the left some translations。 The only bits that are left untranslated will be easy enough to understand for the intermediate learner。Meh:Not sure how useful the notes are。 They are in a separate section of the book so reading the story and reading the notes can't be done at the same time。 And there are quite a lot of those annotations （taking a good 20-25% of the book）。 On the other hand， those Good:The stories are short， interesting and not too difficult。 On the right page is the original and on the left some translations。 The only bits that are left untranslated will be easy enough to understand for the intermediate learner。Meh:Not sure how useful the notes are。 They are in a separate section of the book so reading the story and reading the notes can't be done at the same time。 And there are quite a lot of those annotations （taking a good 20-25% of the book）。 On the other hand， those notes are helpful。 It's an interesting way to review some grammar points after you're done with the stories I guess！ Too bad that when I'm done with a story， I want to move on to the next story and that when I'm done with a book， I want to move one to the next book。Bad:The mini-dictionary containing every word used in the book。 What a waste of space！ We have Internet and anyway， 90% of the text is already translated （again， apart from the easiest stuff）！Also that's only my opinion and a lot of people like audio， but I could care less about the CD。 Less peripheral features and more content please！All in all it's a really book to get started reading Japanese。 Probably the best reader I've read so far。 。。。more
Michael
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Wish this book had existed when I was learning Japanese--but still find lots to learn from it after thirty years！
Marcus Lira
，
Wow， it really is actual Japanese fiction！
Thomas Dimattia
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Still the best book ever to bridge the gap between the Japanese student and the world he or she is trying to peer into。
Simon
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This book really whetted my appetite for getting into Japanese literature。 It has a good cross-section of authors and stories。 The format made it very easy to read the stories with large font with furigana over kanji and translations of most phrases on the opposite page。 It also has a dictionary at the back， but I never used it as it was generally easy to guess the meaning of a word from the translation。 The CD was good to listen to。 The thing that I found the most helpful were the translation n This book really whetted my appetite for getting into Japanese literature。 It has a good cross-section of authors and stories。 The format made it very easy to read the stories with large font with furigana over kanji and translations of most phrases on the opposite page。 It also has a dictionary at the back， but I never used it as it was generally easy to guess the meaning of a word from the translation。 The CD was good to listen to。 The thing that I found the most helpful were the translation notes given at the back of the book。 They brought out subtleties in the Japanese text and described grammar points。 I really hope that more books are produced in this series in the future。 。。。more
Joy
，
While I did not like all of the stories， that really isn't the point of this book。 It's a nice introduction to contemporary Japanese fiction in a user-friendly format that helps you increase your ability to read authentic Japanese independently。 I prefer this format （translations for tricky sections on a facing page with a full glossary in the back） to side-by-side translations because I think it encourages the reader to try to figure out the meaning on their own。 I actually like that the glossa While I did not like all of the stories， that really isn't the point of this book。 It's a nice introduction to contemporary Japanese fiction in a user-friendly format that helps you increase your ability to read authentic Japanese independently。 I prefer this format （translations for tricky sections on a facing page with a full glossary in the back） to side-by-side translations because I think it encourages the reader to try to figure out the meaning on their own。 I actually like that the glossary is in the back （as opposed to having all words defined on the page they appear） because it makes you think twice about whether or not your really need to know the definition of a specific word to keep reading or if you can make a reasonable guess and keep moving without stopping to consult the glossary and losing the flow of the story。 。。。more
Victoria Chan
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I wrote a nice review， but bloody page lost it。 So here I summarise: Loved it， esp the story， 神様。
Keith
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