Brilliant! ( )

Same as [b:New Penguin Parallel Text: Short Stories in Japanese|9985112|New Penguin Parallel Text Short Stories in Japanese|Michael Emmerich|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1348827091l/9985112._SY75_.jpg|14879715] - Emmerich's taste in stories is questionable at best. I think more than one had a bit of a dark sexual turn. But a good concept, and I really liked the addition of the CD to be able to hear the story too. I might buy the Essay version next. ( )

I read the majority of this in previous years but only just now read the very final story. If there was any delay it's because I first started this book to help me get back into reading Japanese and after a little bit I ended up quickly outgrowing the book. But it's so good that I had to finish the last story since the selections are fantastic.

1.) 神様 - Kawakami Hiromi
2.) むかし夕日の公園で - Otsuichi
3.) 肉屋おうむ - Ishii Shinji
4.) ミイラ - Yoshimoto Banana
5.) 百物語 - Kitamura Kaoru
6.) かける - Tawada Yoko

Michael Emmerich's stories mostly fall in the suspense genre but every story is fascinating. He starts off with a very simple story and as the collection progresses, the stories become more difficult. Included are rough side-by-side translations, a dictionary, a grammar explanation and an audio cd with a native speaker reading. A great book to have if you're trying to switch from classroom Japanese to real life Japanese.

And a real bonus as, because of this book, I've bought and read other stories/books by these authors since I had such a good time and I know that they are at a proper reading level for my Japanese. ( )