Butter rice! I ate it growing up for sure. It must be a thing that Japanese mothers make their kids? I can imagine that it's not exactly something you would "serve" people. I always love your reflections on your current reading. I did not like Breasts and Eggs, and I felt like maybe I was the only one. I also started listening to the audiobook version of ノルウェイの森 in Japanese and was startled at how much I dislike it. Audible has more Japanese audiobooks now and it's great to be able to leave some of the kanji deciphering to someone else!
I loved Butter. Though it really was on the long side and had that explain-y quality that books sometimes have, or like TV shows that leave nothing unfinished or not concluded.... but overall I thought it was one of the best novels I've read recently!
Hmm... I liked "Butter" but felt that it just tried to jam-pack too many social issues into one novel. I felt the same about Kawakami's "Breasts and Eggs".
Thank you! Did you see bird was on the booker Prize shortlist? I still haven’t read it! But I’m looking forward to it! I also really want to read small boat and perfection!
Some books on prize shortlists are hyper-topical - how could Orbital not win when the guys were stuck on the ISS? Sometimes you want a book that can transcend the concerns of the moment, one that has staying power and could speak to any generation, that is a classic in the making. I felt that Big Bird achieved that. Nice that the JT article recognises the work of both Polly Barton and Asa Yoneda, particularly in enabling the rise in global interest in contemporary Japanese women's writing. And now with new entrants in the field like Yuki, we begin to get a native speaker's angle rather than having to rely on L2 translators. Thanks to Paula Bardell-Hedley for sharing the JT article on this week's Winding Up the Week blog post.
One thing I can say from the language and translation point of view, at the beginning, I was interested in how she was telling such a story in quite simple language, 7th or 8th grade. As it evolves and the conversation becomes more complex, so does the language - clever.
This is such a wonderfully timely message! I just finished hunchback this morning and I was thinking of starting bird, but I didn’t like the opening chapter and so I quit. I was really glad to get your message that you loved it and that I should keep going!
Keep going, it is about evolution after all! I shared with my daughter who wants me to move closer to her. We are very alike, sound alike on the phone, but we have those "small differences". Did you get to that bit when me meets me? It kicks on from there.
Speaking of Grand Maison Tokyo, do you remember Tampopo? I loved that film--more about noodles than haute cuisine or butter, but a vicarious thrill for the tastebuds.
Enjoyed your literary musings as always! I've been avoiding Butter like I tend to avoid everything that gets hyped up a lot but you've confirmed (again) that I should check it out soon.
I recently started reading another popular work, 汝、星のごとく by Nagira Yuu & it's been very promising so far! Love the premise & the writing style. Since it came out a while ago, maybe you've read it?
Butter rice, hmm... I used to add butter to my (non-Japanese) rice a lot, it really makes it taste so much better! Very classic Japanese to add soy sauce as well, maybe I should give it a try.
I still have never tried it and in the book she likes to put an egg on top! Probably a Friday egg! It doesn’t sound that good to me but if you try it, maybe I’ll try it too! I have never heard of that author, and I’m going to look it up!
Butter is such a foundation food, even if we avoid it a lot of the time. I remember my first trip back to France after having lived there as a child. It was the taste of French regional butter at my godfather's country house. I had missed it so much. I tried in vain to find that taste in US butter. An aside, I wonder what inspired BTS's massive hit, 'Butter'?
My mom was a health freak when I was growing up and we were never allowed to eat butter and we always had margarine and it’s kind of ironic because that’s now known to be unhealthy! Now in California European butter is really fashionable. Right now I have Italian and French butter in the fridge! I also have Irish unsalted somewhere in the fridge! I’m going to look up that I don’t remember it!! Do you like the song?
La Grande Maison is marvelous! As for bataa -- ha! Just today I prepared a fresh slice of bread simply for the joy of a thick layer of butter on it! Wonderful piece, Leanne. Would you please pass the bataa?
I’m so happy that you like the show!! I think they have a version in Paris as well that maybe is coming out soon? I’m not 100% sure about that but isn’t the show wonderful? Bread and butter! The ultimate!
Have read Under the Eye of the Big Bird - in a day! All I can say is everyone - everyone - should read that book. If it doesn't win the prize I will be amazed that the judges can find a better book. Can't tell you anything about it, would spoil it for you, just read it.
Butter rice! I ate it growing up for sure. It must be a thing that Japanese mothers make their kids? I can imagine that it's not exactly something you would "serve" people. I always love your reflections on your current reading. I did not like Breasts and Eggs, and I felt like maybe I was the only one. I also started listening to the audiobook version of ノルウェイの森 in Japanese and was startled at how much I dislike it. Audible has more Japanese audiobooks now and it's great to be able to leave some of the kanji deciphering to someone else!
I loved Butter. Though it really was on the long side and had that explain-y quality that books sometimes have, or like TV shows that leave nothing unfinished or not concluded.... but overall I thought it was one of the best novels I've read recently!
Hmm... I liked "Butter" but felt that it just tried to jam-pack too many social issues into one novel. I felt the same about Kawakami's "Breasts and Eggs".
I’m only about halfway through and so can’t say for sure or not but so far I love it! But I definitely felt what you said about breast and eggs!
❤️
https://www.japantimes.co.jp/culture/2025/03/29/books/mizuki-tsujimura-yuki-tejima/
Thank you! Did you see bird was on the booker Prize shortlist? I still haven’t read it! But I’m looking forward to it! I also really want to read small boat and perfection!
Some books on prize shortlists are hyper-topical - how could Orbital not win when the guys were stuck on the ISS? Sometimes you want a book that can transcend the concerns of the moment, one that has staying power and could speak to any generation, that is a classic in the making. I felt that Big Bird achieved that. Nice that the JT article recognises the work of both Polly Barton and Asa Yoneda, particularly in enabling the rise in global interest in contemporary Japanese women's writing. And now with new entrants in the field like Yuki, we begin to get a native speaker's angle rather than having to rely on L2 translators. Thanks to Paula Bardell-Hedley for sharing the JT article on this week's Winding Up the Week blog post.
This is a lovely conversation with Hiromi and Asa and the impact of the time lag between Fukishima which sparked the idea and the publication of Big Bird in English. https://thebookerprizes.com/the-booker-library/features/hiromi-kawakami-and-asa-yoneda-interview-under-the-eye-of-the-big-bird
One thing I can say from the language and translation point of view, at the beginning, I was interested in how she was telling such a story in quite simple language, 7th or 8th grade. As it evolves and the conversation becomes more complex, so does the language - clever.
This is such a wonderfully timely message! I just finished hunchback this morning and I was thinking of starting bird, but I didn’t like the opening chapter and so I quit. I was really glad to get your message that you loved it and that I should keep going!
Keep going, it is about evolution after all! I shared with my daughter who wants me to move closer to her. We are very alike, sound alike on the phone, but we have those "small differences". Did you get to that bit when me meets me? It kicks on from there.
Speaking of Grand Maison Tokyo, do you remember Tampopo? I loved that film--more about noodles than haute cuisine or butter, but a vicarious thrill for the tastebuds.
I would say that’s my favorite movie of all times along with Ozu’s Tokyo story!
Enjoyed your literary musings as always! I've been avoiding Butter like I tend to avoid everything that gets hyped up a lot but you've confirmed (again) that I should check it out soon.
I recently started reading another popular work, 汝、星のごとく by Nagira Yuu & it's been very promising so far! Love the premise & the writing style. Since it came out a while ago, maybe you've read it?
Butter rice, hmm... I used to add butter to my (non-Japanese) rice a lot, it really makes it taste so much better! Very classic Japanese to add soy sauce as well, maybe I should give it a try.
I still have never tried it and in the book she likes to put an egg on top! Probably a Friday egg! It doesn’t sound that good to me but if you try it, maybe I’ll try it too! I have never heard of that author, and I’m going to look it up!
Butter is such a foundation food, even if we avoid it a lot of the time. I remember my first trip back to France after having lived there as a child. It was the taste of French regional butter at my godfather's country house. I had missed it so much. I tried in vain to find that taste in US butter. An aside, I wonder what inspired BTS's massive hit, 'Butter'?
My mom was a health freak when I was growing up and we were never allowed to eat butter and we always had margarine and it’s kind of ironic because that’s now known to be unhealthy! Now in California European butter is really fashionable. Right now I have Italian and French butter in the fridge! I also have Irish unsalted somewhere in the fridge! I’m going to look up that I don’t remember it!! Do you like the song?
The visuals and video were great, the song, not so much.
La Grande Maison is marvelous! As for bataa -- ha! Just today I prepared a fresh slice of bread simply for the joy of a thick layer of butter on it! Wonderful piece, Leanne. Would you please pass the bataa?
I’m so happy that you like the show!! I think they have a version in Paris as well that maybe is coming out soon? I’m not 100% sure about that but isn’t the show wonderful? Bread and butter! The ultimate!
I’m really looking forward to reading Butter too.
You are going to love it!!!!
Have read Under the Eye of the Big Bird - in a day! All I can say is everyone - everyone - should read that book. If it doesn't win the prize I will be amazed that the judges can find a better book. Can't tell you anything about it, would spoil it for you, just read it.