The Easy Life in Kamusari by Shion MiuraMy rating: 4 of 5 stars
"Running around won't make the trees grow faster. Get plenty of rest, eat hearty, and tomorrow take what comes."
I LOVED this author's THE GREAT PASSAGE ever since a dear friend lent it to me (I'll never tire of saying what a big blessing a book club can be!), and so I'd been eyeing this Shion Miura novel for a long time. Imagine how thrilled I was when Amazon included it as one of ten free books for their "Read The World" campaign! (Go to https://www.amazon.com/article/read-t... . Even if you don't own a Kindle device, you can easily download it as an app on any phone!)
The tone of the teenaged protagonist was off-putting, at first, but it quickly wore off as Miura swept me up in the (surprisingly) compelling story of a "lost" high school graduate, someone unsure of what path to take in life, and how he found his purpose through the dignity of labor, working in an ancient forest in Kamusari.
"The incoherence of a crazy quilt, the orderliness of spun silk; these two opposites were subtly interwoven in village life."
Forestry, Miura tells us, has been in decline in this modern day, but she brings us to a special village so remote, there is no cell service, and barely any Internet.
And it is this separation from the modern world that holds the secret to this book's charm. Miura is known for her "humor and lightness," but this does not make the book inconsequential. Much like Studio Ghibli animated films, the laughter on the surface has hidden depths. Miura had me laughing at the antics of grown men staging a show for a loyal dog who underwent trauma, but she also had me tearing up at the day-to-day struggles of ageing men and women fighting to keep their sacred village traditions alive. For it is in the past, after all, that our roots come from. And how can we face our tomorrows if, root-less, we are swayed by every passing fad?
As a teacher for 14 years, I've seen how technology and social media gradually affected the mental health of teenagers, these half-adult, half-child, wholely precious youngsters whose bodies look grown up, but who are emotionally and intellectually unready to handle Real Life. She can be a b*tch, after all.
And so, I would thrust a copy of this book into the arms of every high school student of mine, if I could! Highly recommended! Its manageable length and simple language make it easily accessible to anyone looking for a good read, with timely reminders of what truly matters in Life: finding a job that you love, growing roots, and watering them for the next generation.
Book 2 in the series is coming out in a month, you betcha I'm shelling out money for it!
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