Month: August 2017

世界から猫が消えたなら by 川村元気

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世界から猫が消えたなら・せかいからねこがきえたなら is a novel by 川村元気・かわむらげんき. A film based on the novel was released last year. I haven’t seen the film but I plan to. Even if I am posting this in the “currently reading” category of my blog, I am not really reading this book, I am listening to the audiobook. I bought it on the site Febe.jp and have listened to it almost every day since then (even if only for 10 minutes). It is part of my strategy to improve my listening skills. As I usually listen to the audiobook while doing other things like cooking or playing with my cats, I am not always 100% concentrated on what I hear. But I still can understand most of what is said, partly because the book is easy, partly because I listened to it several times. About the story To be honest, I am a little disappointed by the book, but that is maybe because I had too high expectations after I read the summary: a young man who is about to die …

NHK radio journal’s “シリーズ戦争を考える”: War orphan ～ 小倉勇さん

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This week, the NHK radio journal has started a series to commemorate the end of the war. I listened to the first episode and, as usual, was totally unable to follow what was being said. I understood enough to know that a man in his 80’s (whose name is M. Ogura) was talking about his experience of American air raids. As I really wanted to hear his story, I listened to the episode several times and was finally able to understand enough to follow the narrative. When the NHK announcer speaks, I can follow, but sadly, I can’t understand well what M. Ogura says. But, as I really would like to be able to comprehend everything, I feel motivated to keep studying. This episode is called 終戦が地獄の始まりだった～戦争孤児・小倉勇さん and was launched for the commemoration of the end World War II in Asia, on August 15th. This episode is about 小倉勇さん（おぐら・いさむ）who is now 85 years-old, and is telling for the first time his experience of the war. Even if I listened to the interview/reportage several times, I still …