母語について考えさせられる一冊。『星条旗の聞こえない部屋』📚by リービ英雄
『星条旗の聞こえない部屋』📚by リービ英雄
英語を母語とするアメリカ人。
幼少期を父親の仕事の関係で台北で過ごす。外国人が外国語（日本語）を使って書いた小説である。外国語であるが故に新鮮で、自分の母語について改めて考えさせられる。
ナボコフ、コンラッド、クンデラなど、外国語で小説を書いて傑作を残した作家は何人かいるが、日本語と英語の言語的な違いを考えると、偉業としか言いようがない。
“A Room Where the Star-Spangled Banner Cannot Be Heard” by Hideo Levy
This is a novel by Hideo Levy, an American author.
He was born in the United States and spent several years in Taipei when young owing to his father’s work. Although his native tongue is English, he wrote this novel in Japanese, which is his second language. There are some writers who succeeded in composing masterpieces in their second language such as Nabokov, Conrad, and Kundera. However, given the stark differences between Japanese and English, I must say he has accomplished something extraordinary. By the way, he is also a translator of Man'yōshū.
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