ガラスの魚（読みもの）
The Glass Fish
カテゴリー: Japanese Children's Books、おすすめ！日本の子どもの本、読みもの／chapter books and novels
『ガラスの魚』
昭和20 年代、瀬戸内海の島で母親とふたりで暮らす中学１年生のアキラは、足のけががもとでせっかくの夏休みを棒に振ってしまう。夏休み最後の日、アキラは学校の近くの川で変死体を発見する。果たしてこれは事故か、それとも事件か？ 真相が明かされていくのに並行して、アキラを目の敵にしているクラスメートのチョーカイによる嫌がらせ、長く音信不通だった父親との再会、母親と漁協の組合長との間の再婚話、本土から転校してきた少女への恋、アキラをかわいがっていた祖母の死など、アキラを取り巻く人間関係が描かれる。何をやってもうまくいかない、ついてないと将来に不安をおぼえるアキラ。しかし、さまざまな人との出会いや別れを経て、精神的に成長していく。
海辺の町の人びとの日常が、まるで映像のように浮かび上がってくる文章で、読者を物語の世界に引き込む。戦後、日本が軍国主義から民主主義の国になり、これまでの価値観が大きく覆されるなか、時に危うさを感じさせながらも、たくましく生きる子どもたちの姿がまぶしい。最後の章、アキラとチョーカイがノーブレーキ自転車で急坂を駆け下り、度胸を競う「肝だめしレース」は、読後にさわやかな余韻を残す。1985 年刊『海のコウモリ』、1991 年刊『カモメの家』に続く3 部作の完結編。（笹岡）
| 出版社 | 理論社 |
|---|---|
| 初版年 | 2021年 |
| ISBN | ISBN978-4-652-20470-2 |
| ページ数 | 352頁 |
| サイズ | 19x14cm |
| 対象年齢 | 13歳から |
| キーワード | 親子、友情、恋愛、島 |
The Glass Fish
The final volume of a trilogy, the story takes place in the 1950s on an island in the Seto Inland Sea between Honshu and Shikoku. Akira, a first-year junior high student living with his single mother, spends most of his summer holidays in the hospital because of a leg injury. On the last day of vacation, he discovers a corpse in the river near his school. Was the victim killed in an accident or a crime? The truth is gradually revealed along with
depictions of Akira’s situation and his relationships with others.
Nothing seems to be working out for Akira, and he worries that his future is hopeless. His leg is slow to heal, his classmate Chokai picks on him, his father suddenly reappears after years of no contact, there’s talk that his mother might marry the head of the fishing coop, Akira has a one-way crush on a girl who transferred from another school, an older boy Akira looks up to is being chased by a criminal gang, and Akira’s grandmother, who had doted on him, dies. Through his interactions with various people, however, Akira grows and matures.
The author’s vivid prose brings to life the people and events of this seaside town, drawing the reader into Akira’s world. The children’s strength and resilience, despite their vulnerability, dazzle within the setting of a postwar Japan transitioning from militarism to democracy and the resultant disruption of traditional values. The final chapter, in which Akira and Chokai test their courage by racing brakeless bikes down a steep hill is exhilarating. (Sasaoka)
- Text: YAMASHITA Haruo | Ill. UNO Akira
- Rironsha
- 2021
- 352 pages
- 19x14cm
- ISBN ISBN978-4-652-20470-2
- Ages 13 +
Parent and child, Friendship, Falling in love, Island