currently reading

Currently reading: 「放送禁止」by 長江俊和

I am now reading one of the shortest books on my reading list: 「放送禁止」by 長江俊和. After 「イノセント・デイズ」 which was a long novel with deep implications, I didn’t want to dive just yet into another long novel. I chose 「放送禁止」 to serve as a recreation.

Why I chose this book

Among the best-sellers that I saw in Kyoto’s bookshops last December, was another book by 長江俊和 (ながえ・としかず) which title kindled my interest: 「出版禁止」. I was attracted both by the title and the cover, which seemed to be full of mysteries.

I finally bought 「放送禁止」instead because it was written previously and I thought it would be better to start with the first title of the “禁止” series, though I didn’t know, and still don’t know if the stories are linked.

About the drama, the film and the book

I wasn’t aware at the time that “放送禁止” is actually the name of a drama. I thought that the drama might be an adaptation of the book but in fact, it is the other way around. There is also a film.

What I understand is this:

The drama came first. It presents itself as a real reportage, but it is, in fact, a fiction. I saw some extracts, and you could swear that it is a documentary made for the television. I understand that there are several episodes and one of the most famous ones may be the second one: “ある呪われた大家族”, broadcasted in 2003.

Later, there have been several film adaptations, including “ニッポンの大家族 Saiko! The Large family” (2009), which is a sequel (続編・ぞくへん) to the drama episode “ある呪われた大家族”. According to the Wikipedia page, there are three films.

And then comes our book. It was first serialised in 2009 and published as a book in 2016. A look into the contents tells us that there are three episodes in it:

  • 呪われた大家族 (episode 2 of the drama)
  • ストーカー地獄編 (episode 3)
  • しじんの村 (episode 5)

I have started the first chapter and watched a little bit of the drama out of curiosity, and both are very similar. The book seems to stay very close to the drama. Each chapter is presented as a reportage made for the television and we follow the filming staff as they make the documentary. Therefore the book, as well as the drama, both make the stories look like real stories.

Conclusion

At first, I was a little disappointed to know that the book was not the original version, but it does not matter, really. I am enjoying it and I hope that I can finish it soon. It will tell more about it in my review!

About

I’m learning Japanese, Korean and Chinese to read mystery novels and play video games in these languages.

Learning languages has always been one of my favourite hobbies, but I’m not a social person, I don’t like to meet new people and make friends, this is just not me. I keep hearing that languages are meant for communication, that we have to actively use them, talk to people, etc. and for a long time, I thought I was weird to learn languages just for me, just to enjoy media, culture and entertainment in a foreign language, with absolutely zero interest in communicating with natives.

Now I don’t really care what people think, and this blog helped me a lot to stop doubting myself and just do what I enjoy doing.