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A review by joelogsliterature
Three Days of Happiness by Sugaru Miaki
emotional
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
3.5
I don’t usually read let alone log “light novels.” I use scare quotes because in Japan, and even on the Wikipedia article, this is just called a novel, but it got a manga adaptation and anime-looking front-cover art, so it gets the semi-perjorative. In any case, this one is pretty substantial in length (~80k words with the epilogues). It is also genuinely quite well-made and hits an emotional chord. A friend recommended it to me, promising it wouldn’t be slop. Good call.
The present scenario’s been played on several times with variation. There’s a new twist in the trichotomy of health, time or life here, and that’s both thematically and plot-important (notice the focus on the final two…), but the most refreshing part of the approach is how the characters respond. As for the more technical aspects of the writing, the translation is more-than-adequate, the resulting weaving of words light but confident. I’ll give props to the cute little literary references too, especially where Kusonoki laments having allowed his indulgent escape to media overflow his metaphorical basin.
While it’s unclear how Kusonoki could possibly have fallen so far, how his holding out hope could have led him to such a worthless life, the general idea reflected is something one sees more than they’d like to admit in the world. The inevitable confluence is clear early on, but the resolution is still sweet and meaningful. Clearly some care was given to the proper reinforcement of theme, and in this way, this really has a hint of literary fiction, though it’s too plot-focused to really give it the label.
The present scenario’s been played on several times with variation. There’s a new twist in the trichotomy of health, time or life here, and that’s both thematically and plot-important (notice the focus on the final two…), but the most refreshing part of the approach is how the characters respond. As for the more technical aspects of the writing, the translation is more-than-adequate, the resulting weaving of words light but confident. I’ll give props to the cute little literary references too, especially where Kusonoki laments having allowed his indulgent escape to media overflow his metaphorical basin.
While it’s unclear how Kusonoki could possibly have fallen so far, how his holding out hope could have led him to such a worthless life, the general idea reflected is something one sees more than they’d like to admit in the world. The inevitable confluence is clear early on, but the resolution is still sweet and meaningful. Clearly some care was given to the proper reinforcement of theme, and in this way, this really has a hint of literary fiction, though it’s too plot-focused to really give it the label.