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| Iggy 8323th Post
 
Platinum Carpet V.I.P- Board Master
     
     
     
     
     
|  "Thread Hijack : Brave Story and other books" , posted Fri 18 Jan 06:13
I have never read this book nor have I read translations in years (let alone english translations) so I'll hijack this thread to say Brave Story is a great, great book.
The movie is a brainless pile of scenes without any meaning or continuity, the manga is... well, I don't know enough words in any language to state what I think of it, but the original novel is a real piece of literature.
It's kinda like Neverending Story, it tells the story of a boy whose parents get a divorce (and not an easy one, if there even is such a thing), and he goes to a fantasy world to ask the Goddess of Fate to fix things up.
It's well written, it's clever, it states really interesting things about individual responsibility , racism and the place of individuals in the world, and...
Well, I can't say anything more specific without spoiling it, but, yeah. All I can add is the movie sends the main character in another world after 15 minutes, while the book makes it happen after 350 pages. The level of depth in the boy's psychology and his everyday life is quite stunning.
And I'm not only saying this because I... know the French translator and I like what he does. I also dig it because the main character's best friend plays Karin in Street Fighter Zero 3. Besides, I think he's not a cheap V-ISM whore, but maybe that last detail is left open to each reader's interpretation.
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| Makondo99 361th Post
Silver Customer
| "Re(1):Night on the Galaxy Railroad/賢&#" , posted Fri 18 Jan 06:18
quote:
Hey kids, this is a long shot, but I figure there must be enough Japanese literature folk (casual or academic) that I can ask this, plus I refuse to actually deal with any forum besides the Cafe. So!
I was hoping to share Miyazawa Kenji's 『銀河鉄道の夜』/'Night on the Galaxy Railroad' with some friends so I can talk about it with them, but I have no idea how to find any English versions. I love the original, but from what I can tell there's been a variety of translations of various qualities, many out of print. Kodansha has their bilingual book series of course, but I have no experience with their English renditions, either. Anyone have any experience reading this in English?
I think there's an anime based on this book? Maybe you can use it as a starter (if your friends are keen on anime, that's it)
Descarta
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| Maou 1340th Post
Red Carpet Executive Member
| "Re(1):Thread Hijack : Brave Story and other b" , posted Fri 18 Jan 06:21
quote:
he's not a cheap V-ISM whore
But I am with Sakura.
Anyway, found Kodansha's English copy by John Bester, which sounds to be excellent present material. I'll see how I find it.
You should definitely consider the original, though, which is just wonderful. I'm reminded of Saint Exupery not for the content so much as for the sophisticated, haunting, melancholy story that is nonetheless in the category of "children's literature," at least in theory. The imagery that accompanies the sad galaxy train as it weaves alongside the "river" that is the 銀河 is simply marvelous, and Kenji of course is a writer that everyone in Japan has read and everyone abroad should have read.
From the perspective of this forum, there might be even more reason, just given that the novel's imagery has such a powerful place in the imagination that it's reappeared many a time in others' works, also to great effect. Witness Matsumoto's superb Galaxy Express 999/銀河鉄道９９９ railray to the stars, or even the unforgettable Phantom Train/魔列車 sequence in Final Fantasy VI for that matter, and it's clear how relevent Kenji's bittersweet and possibly life-and-death crossing train is.
人間はいつも私を驚かせてくれる。不思議なものだな、人間という存在は．．．
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| HAYATO 834th Post
Red Carpet Regular Member+
| "Re(1):Thread Hijack : Brave Story and other b" , posted Sat 19 Jan 02:22
quote:
I have never read this book nor have I read translations in years (let alone english translations) so I'll hijack this thread to say Brave Story is a great, great book.
The movie is a brainless pile of scenes without any meaning or continuity, the manga is... well, I don't know enough words in any language to state what I think of it, but the original novel is a real piece of literature.
It's kinda like Neverending Story, it tells the story of a boy whose parents get a divorce (and not an easy one, if there even is such a thing), and he goes to a fantasy world to ask the Goddess of Fate to fix things up.
It's well written, it's clever, it states really interesting things about individual responsibility , racism and the place of individuals in the world, and...
Well, I can't say anything more specific without spoiling it, but, yeah. All I can add is the movie sends the main character in another world after 15 minutes, while the book makes it happen after 350 pages. The level of depth in the boy's psychology and his everyday life is quite stunning.
And I'm not only saying this because I... know the French translator and I like what he does. I also dig it because the main character's best friend plays Karin in Street Fighter Zero 3. Besides, I think he's not a cheap V-ISM whore, but maybe that last detail is left open to each reader's interpretation.
And with PSP's "Brave Story new Traveller" designs coming from Akiman, the circle is now complete...
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| Pollyanna 2426th Post
Platinum Carpet V.I.P- Board Master
| "Re(3):Thread Hijack : Brave Story and other b" , posted Thu 31 Jan 22:05
Just finished Brave Story a few hours ago, watched the movie again (which I had almost completely forgotten), and...kind of...laughed and tore at my hair. When I watched it the first time, I was confused. In the end, reading the book only added to that confusion.
Also, Jozo was my favorite character, so seeing him get raped so bad in the movie was quite upsetting.
Anyway, on the off chance that anyone reads this thread, I fully endorse Iggy's recommendation of the book.
I cried all the way through the ending, not because it was especially sad or touching, but because it was exactly what it needed to be. I see so few things that solidly present a theme and stick to it to the end. 9 out of 10 anythings have cheesy unsatisfying endings that make you wonder what the creator was even going for in the first place.
In fact, I'm so used to that happening that I was waiting for Brave Story to self-destruct. But it never did...and just thinking about that is putting tears in my eyes again.
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