Book Girl - The Famished Spirit
Synopsis
“Book Girl - The Famished Spirit” is the 2nd volume of the series of the Light Novel titled “Book Girl”, written by Mizuki Nomura. It was translated and distributed by Yen Press.
The story started with a peaceful day in the Book Club room, where Konoha Inoue, a 2nd year in high school, was writing snack -in the word’s literal meaning- for the club’s president, Amano Tohko, 1 year of his senior. But the peace didn’t last long. Tohko went back from the club’s mailbox with a mysterious letter: There were only numbers in it. They meant “hate you - help - a ghost - I’m scared - it hurts - go away” according to Tohko.
Refused to believe in the ghost, Tohko dragged Inoue along to stake out the mailbox at night. The culprit did appear: it was a girl in their school’s old uniform. She introduced herself as Kayano Kujo, a ghost. Tohko was petrified when she tried to grab Kayano’s hand: it was cold and as thin as if there were nothing else except bones.
The next morning, they found out there was actually a girl in their school who looked exactly like last night’s Kayano, though her name was Hotaru Amemiya. After having brought her in anemic state to the nurse office, they heard a shocking confession from Amemiya: “Maybe you have met my ghost!”
Inoue didn’t want to be dragged on Tohko’s childish impulsion, he avoided her at most. Unfortunately, he got caught by her cousin, Ryuto Sakurai, a handsome guy. Ryuto wanted Inoue to help him investigating Hotaru whom it seemed he had a crush on. Inoue reluctantly joined the party.
By helping, Inoue only had to meet Ryuto every while and now and to see how smoothly the investigation went on with Ryuto’s awesome skill of extracting information from women. As result, they suspected her guardian, who has been taking care of her since her dad’s death, for having ill-treated her and caused mortal accidents to all the guys she went out with. They even dared going to Hotaru’s mansion and accidentally saw her on a rage. She, alone, was breaking everything while paying no care about how much she was bleeding. Inoue’s trauma from the past resurfaced, he ran out of there covering in cold sweat.
Inoue didn’t tell Tohko anything, either about Ryuto, or his meeting with Kayano several times in the night at school. Tohko, despite everything, continue her own detective game and got in troubles with the police. This time, Inoue knew he couldn’t deny his responsibility anymore, he followed Tohko’s instructions. They encountered again Hotaru’s madness and were almost burned in a locked room with only books and numbers written in red ink on over the wall.
Tohko, who ate stories and talked of her limitless imagination, finally uncovered the sad truth. It’s more than sad; it’s a twisted Wuthering Heights, as vengeful, but a lot more dramatic and cruel. Here, Catherine Earnshaw didn’t marry the rich Edgar Linton for his prosperity, but she wanted to protect the child she had with Heathcliff - whom she truly loved. Her daughter, Catherine Linton, wasn’t locked in Wuthering Heights, but had an incurable illness just like her mom. She, during her last days, desired love from her beloved man; but then she got to know, she despised him the most in the world. The man who killed her gentle dad, her kind aunt; who stole her fortune; who destroyed her paradise-like life; the man who locked her up; who had her acting like her mom; the man for whose sake her mom had to betray her dad. And most of all, the man she actually fell in love - as a man.
What has transformed the tale to that extent… it was a third party’s unskillful conducting hand. This person had been trying to rewrite Catherine’s fate, but the tempest had gotten out of control. She decided to call for help from the Book Girl as her last resort.
Review
This is the best among the 3 installments of Book Girl that have been released in English up until now. I’ve gotten so into it that I had to go and buy the original Wuthering Heights. Though, I had to say this spin-off story is far better than the original. I may seem biased to many and I won’t deny it.
Emily Bronte's Wuthering Heights was like a number of dark tales connected together, with misunderstandings intertwined and egoist people tried to hurt each other. Furthermore, the old writing style and I simply don't get along well.
What I find the most creative in Book Girl’s version of Wuthering Heights is that the Ellen Dean here was neither a bystander who simply told the dark tale, nor a scheming one who tried to manipulate the kids’ life. She, herself, looked up to Hotaru Amemiya who had the courage, the will and the ability to pursuit her dream. In the opposite, she had everything that everyone wants except the freedom to dream. That’s why she was lost when the beautiful and powerful Hotaru suddenly became a walking corpse. By pure chance, she discovered the similarities between Hotaru’s situation and Wuthering Heights’ Catherine Linton. Unable to accept the outcome, she, who doesn’t like reading, even less writing, decided to rewrite the tale.
The revelation of the third party’s hand, Maki Himekura - who always helped Tohko and companions, is quite forced. But I think that’s pretty refreshing: it enlightens the dark Hotaru, thus puts the reader in a deeper loss of thought… Why did it happen to this girl?
More else, the pain got harder to bear when I understood the love Hotaru hold for her biological father was actually a romantic love… and that was only because of the stories she had been told by her mom. Despaired, as the only way to get revenge, in her last moment, she called out “… Father” while falling in slumber in his arms. He, the one who wanted to reverse time and get everything back, has paid for his crime.
This is a hit-or-miss deal, especially for people who aren’t familiar with Japanese Culture. Thus, I found that courageous.
Book Girl - The Famished Spirit doesn’t only blew a new breath on Wuthering Heights, it also gets its hand on MacDonald’s The Day Boy and the Night Girl.
I couldn’t hold back my tears at the epilogue, when Ryuto Sakurai received the letter left by the passed away Hotaru Amemiya:
I'm sorry that I hurt you, Ryu.
I'm grateful that you would be with me, even the way I am.
You were the only one who likes "Hotaru", Ryu.
That man - My father - My aunt - everyone saw my mother through me. Everyone loves me because I looked like her, not because of me. But you were looking at Hotaru all along, Ryu. You told me you loved me, and you called me by my name.
Hotaru Amemiya.
You were my "Day Boy". Maybe the last gift I received from God was being allowed to know you. If I could have lived with you in the world of light, I think I would have been as happy as the girl in that story.
But I couldn't leave that room where there was only darkness.
That was the only place I could live. I wanted to be there more than heaven, more than anywhere. I really am sorry, Ryu. Thank you for everything.
By hurting, she actually stabbed him 9 times in the stomach. This reveals another one of Hotaru’s suffers. She was unable to bring herself to love the Day Boy, Ryu, which would help her free herself from the darkness.
I didn't want her to tell me she was sorry or to thank me or anything. Hotaru - I wish you'd love me [...] I would have fed you all sorts of stuff and fattened you up. --- Ryuto Sakurai
One by one, with Book Girl, Mizuki Nomura introduces to the reader well-known titles, in some sort of detective story. I believe even people unfamiliar with Japanese literature will also enjoy it, especially teen audience.
.
“Book Girl - The Famished Spirit” is the 2nd volume of the series of the Light Novel titled “Book Girl”, written by Mizuki Nomura. It was translated and distributed by Yen Press.
The story started with a peaceful day in the Book Club room, where Konoha Inoue, a 2nd year in high school, was writing snack -in the word’s literal meaning- for the club’s president, Amano Tohko, 1 year of his senior. But the peace didn’t last long. Tohko went back from the club’s mailbox with a mysterious letter: There were only numbers in it. They meant “hate you - help - a ghost - I’m scared - it hurts - go away” according to Tohko.
Refused to believe in the ghost, Tohko dragged Inoue along to stake out the mailbox at night. The culprit did appear: it was a girl in their school’s old uniform. She introduced herself as Kayano Kujo, a ghost. Tohko was petrified when she tried to grab Kayano’s hand: it was cold and as thin as if there were nothing else except bones.
The next morning, they found out there was actually a girl in their school who looked exactly like last night’s Kayano, though her name was Hotaru Amemiya. After having brought her in anemic state to the nurse office, they heard a shocking confession from Amemiya: “Maybe you have met my ghost!”
Inoue didn’t want to be dragged on Tohko’s childish impulsion, he avoided her at most. Unfortunately, he got caught by her cousin, Ryuto Sakurai, a handsome guy. Ryuto wanted Inoue to help him investigating Hotaru whom it seemed he had a crush on. Inoue reluctantly joined the party.
By helping, Inoue only had to meet Ryuto every while and now and to see how smoothly the investigation went on with Ryuto’s awesome skill of extracting information from women. As result, they suspected her guardian, who has been taking care of her since her dad’s death, for having ill-treated her and caused mortal accidents to all the guys she went out with. They even dared going to Hotaru’s mansion and accidentally saw her on a rage. She, alone, was breaking everything while paying no care about how much she was bleeding. Inoue’s trauma from the past resurfaced, he ran out of there covering in cold sweat.
Inoue didn’t tell Tohko anything, either about Ryuto, or his meeting with Kayano several times in the night at school. Tohko, despite everything, continue her own detective game and got in troubles with the police. This time, Inoue knew he couldn’t deny his responsibility anymore, he followed Tohko’s instructions. They encountered again Hotaru’s madness and were almost burned in a locked room with only books and numbers written in red ink on over the wall.
Tohko, who ate stories and talked of her limitless imagination, finally uncovered the sad truth. It’s more than sad; it’s a twisted Wuthering Heights, as vengeful, but a lot more dramatic and cruel. Here, Catherine Earnshaw didn’t marry the rich Edgar Linton for his prosperity, but she wanted to protect the child she had with Heathcliff - whom she truly loved. Her daughter, Catherine Linton, wasn’t locked in Wuthering Heights, but had an incurable illness just like her mom. She, during her last days, desired love from her beloved man; but then she got to know, she despised him the most in the world. The man who killed her gentle dad, her kind aunt; who stole her fortune; who destroyed her paradise-like life; the man who locked her up; who had her acting like her mom; the man for whose sake her mom had to betray her dad. And most of all, the man she actually fell in love - as a man.
What has transformed the tale to that extent… it was a third party’s unskillful conducting hand. This person had been trying to rewrite Catherine’s fate, but the tempest had gotten out of control. She decided to call for help from the Book Girl as her last resort.
Review
This is the best among the 3 installments of Book Girl that have been released in English up until now. I’ve gotten so into it that I had to go and buy the original Wuthering Heights. Though, I had to say this spin-off story is far better than the original. I may seem biased to many and I won’t deny it.
Emily Bronte's Wuthering Heights was like a number of dark tales connected together, with misunderstandings intertwined and egoist people tried to hurt each other. Furthermore, the old writing style and I simply don't get along well.
What I find the most creative in Book Girl’s version of Wuthering Heights is that the Ellen Dean here was neither a bystander who simply told the dark tale, nor a scheming one who tried to manipulate the kids’ life. She, herself, looked up to Hotaru Amemiya who had the courage, the will and the ability to pursuit her dream. In the opposite, she had everything that everyone wants except the freedom to dream. That’s why she was lost when the beautiful and powerful Hotaru suddenly became a walking corpse. By pure chance, she discovered the similarities between Hotaru’s situation and Wuthering Heights’ Catherine Linton. Unable to accept the outcome, she, who doesn’t like reading, even less writing, decided to rewrite the tale.
The revelation of the third party’s hand, Maki Himekura - who always helped Tohko and companions, is quite forced. But I think that’s pretty refreshing: it enlightens the dark Hotaru, thus puts the reader in a deeper loss of thought… Why did it happen to this girl?
More else, the pain got harder to bear when I understood the love Hotaru hold for her biological father was actually a romantic love… and that was only because of the stories she had been told by her mom. Despaired, as the only way to get revenge, in her last moment, she called out “… Father” while falling in slumber in his arms. He, the one who wanted to reverse time and get everything back, has paid for his crime.
This is a hit-or-miss deal, especially for people who aren’t familiar with Japanese Culture. Thus, I found that courageous.
Book Girl - The Famished Spirit doesn’t only blew a new breath on Wuthering Heights, it also gets its hand on MacDonald’s The Day Boy and the Night Girl.
I couldn’t hold back my tears at the epilogue, when Ryuto Sakurai received the letter left by the passed away Hotaru Amemiya:
I'm sorry that I hurt you, Ryu.
I'm grateful that you would be with me, even the way I am.
You were the only one who likes "Hotaru", Ryu.
That man - My father - My aunt - everyone saw my mother through me. Everyone loves me because I looked like her, not because of me. But you were looking at Hotaru all along, Ryu. You told me you loved me, and you called me by my name.
Hotaru Amemiya.
You were my "Day Boy". Maybe the last gift I received from God was being allowed to know you. If I could have lived with you in the world of light, I think I would have been as happy as the girl in that story.
But I couldn't leave that room where there was only darkness.
That was the only place I could live. I wanted to be there more than heaven, more than anywhere. I really am sorry, Ryu. Thank you for everything.
By hurting, she actually stabbed him 9 times in the stomach. This reveals another one of Hotaru’s suffers. She was unable to bring herself to love the Day Boy, Ryu, which would help her free herself from the darkness.
I didn't want her to tell me she was sorry or to thank me or anything. Hotaru - I wish you'd love me [...] I would have fed you all sorts of stuff and fattened you up. --- Ryuto Sakurai
One by one, with Book Girl, Mizuki Nomura introduces to the reader well-known titles, in some sort of detective story. I believe even people unfamiliar with Japanese literature will also enjoy it, especially teen audience.
.