Book Review : Be With You.

my new target : at least make a book review once a month.

why?

well, i've been reading books, and it would be interesting to retell the story that i've read in my own words. hehe.

all right. on to the book.



Be With You
author: Takuji Ichikawa
translated by: Terry Gallagher
Published by: VIZ Media
ISBN: 1-4215-0762-5 (hard cover), 1-4215-1393-5 (paperback)

this might seem like a ghost story, but it's a sweet ghost story. hey wait, it's not really a ghost story..

it all started when Takumi's wife, Mio, died, leaving him and their six-year-old son, Yuji behind. struggling with neural disease, living a normal life is tough for Takumi, and it gets tougher when he had to take care of his only son alone. going to work is a battle for him, because taking transports made him dizzy, and his body tends to overreacted towards stimulus (if he's hungry, even just a little bit hungry, he'll just black out).

both of them yearn for the dead Mio, for assurance, for warmth, for a normal life. and one day, during the rainy season, after a year of her death, Mio came back. not as a ghost, but as flesh and blood. and thus the miracle begins (yeah, this sentence sucks). and yeah, giving out how Mio came back will be a big spoiler. XD

this story is basically about love, family and struggle in life. in the novel, Takumi questions the relevance of Mio's love towards him, and what is his purpose in life. as for Yuji, he always felt that his birth was the cause of his mother's death. and Mio too, had her problems, whether her decision to marry Takumi was right or wrong. there's also Nombre-sensei who had lived all his life for his sick sister, hovering between regrets, relieve, happiness and anger. bit by bit, the characters overcame their weaknesses through bonds between family and friends.

hmm.
i suck at reviewing.
oh well.
not forgetting, this book was made into a great movie (of the same title), sucky drama (of the same title), and a manga (i still haven't get a hold of it). and there'll be a US re-make of this movie in 2009.
oh oh!! soundtracks for both film and drama was sung by ORANGE RANGE! (Hana for the movie, and Kizuna for the drama)

orange kite says:
i'd give 10 for originality. the presentation style is different from any english novels, since it's originally written in japanese. a refreshing change, sweet but not caries-inducing. and it's written by a guy too!