So the monster can read thoughts - that's interesting! Tho I did have a little trouble understanding his stutter... Another thing that confused me was プロポーズ - did the monster mean it as in marriage proposal?
Yes the stutter is a challenge right? I hope nobody uses the monster to practice their Japanese :D. And yes, the monster is saying he's there to propose! I think we're all glad this is fiction...
Haha, yes, learned mistakes are difficult to correct :D And tbh, the woman's life consists of doing nothing except for staring at a tree, and then there's a fascinating magic monster in her house proposing to her - doesn't it instantly make life way less boring? :D Maybe she should invite the monster for tea or something, at least she now has somebody to have a real conversation with :D
Haha I love the idea of the woman settling for the monster because it makes her life less boring. Who knows, they might have a decent connection. Let's see if she says yes in the final pages...
The monster's stuttering speech pattern was interesting. Also the way he said しつぽ instead of しっぽ / 尻尾 on column 2 made me think about how a native Japanese reader would make the word "sound" in their mind upon reading. Would they pronounce the つ ? Unlikely, but I couldn't help but wonder... I was glad we trained for this in the previous challenge with all the obsolete kana.
Other words I didn't know in this part were 独楽 (こま, ateji ftw ?!) , 正視, 揺する (I was used to 揺る though) and 敵意 (yet again a case of kanji giving you the meaning straightaway).
Also I'm sorry but I won't be able to join the zoom call on Sunday after all... I'll be in the country enjoying the sun and abysmal cellular reception. Please channel any potential disappointment into arranging even more reading challenges in the future !
Sorry to hear you won't be able to join us on Sunday, but I'm sure there will be more opportunities. Thank you again for your analysis, as always very insightful. Your understanding and explanations are always so clear.
Yeah that's a great question. Because this is a contemporary story and the point is that the monster wrongly pronounces words, my bet is that we should read the つ, but I imagine someone who spends their days reading classical literature would not give it a second thought and read right past it.
Hahah sure, I'll turn the negative of your absence into the positive of more reading projects. (I'm seriously considering organizing one every other week...why not!) Too bad you won't be there, hopefully next time.
I think the description of the monster and it long claws, indicates the monster wants to hurt her, but then she says: それによく見ると、その獣はどうやら私に対して悪意….she could see the monster meant her no harm, this gives you a double feeling.
The sentence: ねえ奥さん、奥さん、私はここにプロポーズに来, where the monster wants to propose to her, is pathetic, because this isn’t love.
My feeling is that it's just the opposite of love, more like force, and also that the monster is a representation of something deeper. I will have to read the rest of the story to find out.
So the monster can read thoughts - that's interesting! Tho I did have a little trouble understanding his stutter... Another thing that confused me was プロポーズ - did the monster mean it as in marriage proposal?
Yes the stutter is a challenge right? I hope nobody uses the monster to practice their Japanese :D. And yes, the monster is saying he's there to propose! I think we're all glad this is fiction...
yes, the stutter was indeed hard to understand.
Haha, yes, learned mistakes are difficult to correct :D And tbh, the woman's life consists of doing nothing except for staring at a tree, and then there's a fascinating magic monster in her house proposing to her - doesn't it instantly make life way less boring? :D Maybe she should invite the monster for tea or something, at least she now has somebody to have a real conversation with :D
Haha I love the idea of the woman settling for the monster because it makes her life less boring. Who knows, they might have a decent connection. Let's see if she says yes in the final pages...
Yes, I also think that's interesting. And I also believe the monster wanted to propose.
Then I guess he's not really a bad guy :)
The monster's stuttering speech pattern was interesting. Also the way he said しつぽ instead of しっぽ / 尻尾 on column 2 made me think about how a native Japanese reader would make the word "sound" in their mind upon reading. Would they pronounce the つ ? Unlikely, but I couldn't help but wonder... I was glad we trained for this in the previous challenge with all the obsolete kana.
Other words I didn't know in this part were 独楽 (こま, ateji ftw ?!) , 正視, 揺する (I was used to 揺る though) and 敵意 (yet again a case of kanji giving you the meaning straightaway).
Also I'm sorry but I won't be able to join the zoom call on Sunday after all... I'll be in the country enjoying the sun and abysmal cellular reception. Please channel any potential disappointment into arranging even more reading challenges in the future !
Sorry to hear you won't be able to join us on Sunday, but I'm sure there will be more opportunities. Thank you again for your analysis, as always very insightful. Your understanding and explanations are always so clear.
Second that!
Yeah that's a great question. Because this is a contemporary story and the point is that the monster wrongly pronounces words, my bet is that we should read the つ, but I imagine someone who spends their days reading classical literature would not give it a second thought and read right past it.
Hahah sure, I'll turn the negative of your absence into the positive of more reading projects. (I'm seriously considering organizing one every other week...why not!) Too bad you won't be there, hopefully next time.
長い爪がはえていて
I think the description of the monster and it long claws, indicates the monster wants to hurt her, but then she says: それによく見ると、その獣はどうやら私に対して悪意….she could see the monster meant her no harm, this gives you a double feeling.
The sentence: ねえ奥さん、奥さん、私はここにプロポーズに来, where the monster wants to propose to her, is pathetic, because this isn’t love.
Hereby the link to the wordlist:
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1lTvCgrM3s6To8Cvw1qfBkAy1IZDKJtCY/view?usp=sharing
Right! So what do you think the monster's intensions are? (Perhaps too early to say?)
Thanks for the wordlist as always :)
My feeling is that it's just the opposite of love, more like force, and also that the monster is a representation of something deeper. I will have to read the rest of the story to find out.
Curious to hear your final verdict :)