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A review by mairispaceship
The Easy Life in Kamusari by Shion Miura
5.0
After a little reading slump, this was exactly the kind of book I wanted to read and I'm so glad I found it on a whim.
The Easy Life in Kamusari is one of those books that glorifies the tiny moments of ordinary life and taking pride in your job. Coming off the back of [a:Shion Miura|5026987|Shion Miura|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1407648863p2/5026987.jpg]'s [b:The Great Passage|34945597|The Great Passage|Shion Miura|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1493013302l/34945597._SY75_.jpg|56217210] (which was an incredibly detailed account of the teams who create dictionaries) this book instead turns to the slightly less glamorous forestry industry, set deep in the woodlands of Japan. Treating the profession with utmost respect and sharing more information than I could ever possibly want to know, the book follows Yuki Hirano, a recent college graduate who accepts an internship in the forestry department. But his "easy life" turns out to be anything but easy. The work is back breaking, there's no internet at all, and the village people have strange customs and are mistrustful of outsiders like him. Over the course of his year's internship he's met with trials and tribulations, but rises to them well.
As a book, I probably preferred [b:The Great Passage|34945597|The Great Passage|Shion Miura|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1493013302l/34945597._SY75_.jpg|56217210] a tiny bit more, but both were great slices of life. I decided to rate this one 4.5, and rounded up out of respect to the author.
A final note, I think "slice of life" books with the tiniest dash of magical realism are my favourite genres of books, and this one does it very well. I'm excited to read the next in the series.
The Easy Life in Kamusari is one of those books that glorifies the tiny moments of ordinary life and taking pride in your job. Coming off the back of [a:Shion Miura|5026987|Shion Miura|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1407648863p2/5026987.jpg]'s [b:The Great Passage|34945597|The Great Passage|Shion Miura|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1493013302l/34945597._SY75_.jpg|56217210] (which was an incredibly detailed account of the teams who create dictionaries) this book instead turns to the slightly less glamorous forestry industry, set deep in the woodlands of Japan. Treating the profession with utmost respect and sharing more information than I could ever possibly want to know, the book follows Yuki Hirano, a recent college graduate who accepts an internship in the forestry department. But his "easy life" turns out to be anything but easy. The work is back breaking, there's no internet at all, and the village people have strange customs and are mistrustful of outsiders like him. Over the course of his year's internship he's met with trials and tribulations, but rises to them well.
As a book, I probably preferred [b:The Great Passage|34945597|The Great Passage|Shion Miura|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1493013302l/34945597._SY75_.jpg|56217210] a tiny bit more, but both were great slices of life. I decided to rate this one 4.5, and rounded up out of respect to the author.
A final note, I think "slice of life" books with the tiniest dash of magical realism are my favourite genres of books, and this one does it very well. I'm excited to read the next in the series.