Discussion for the August 2014 Advanced Book Club selection goes here.

*SPOILER INSTRUCTIONS*

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The Butler did it.

Just finished the first section (I think, if the big parts are chapters is there a name for the sub-chapters that just have a number?). Wow that was intense! I shouldn't have read it right before I went to bed though...it gave me battlefield nightmares.^^; Really nice start though. So far it seems like a standard gritty war story, but I'm hoping it will branch out a bit in the next few chapters. It sure got my attention at any rate.
So far I'm finding the book surprisingly easy...there is military jargon, but most of it I can get the gist of by the kanji, and the slang-y way of talking is something I'm familiar with from shounen sports anime.

Not sure if something from so early in the book can count as a spoiler, but just in case:

*SPOILER* (from chapter 1, section 1)
I'm really liking Rita so far. I like strong female characters in general, but she seems like she could be very interesting if she gets fleshed out a bit more.

Has anyone seen the film "Edge of Tomorrow"? I heard that the script for the movie was adapted from this book.

Kenji86 Wrote:Has anyone seen the film "Edge of Tomorrow"? I heard that the script for the movie was adapted from this book.

Yep, I saw it, in fact I wrote a comparison / review of the book and film a while ago, here: http://forum.koohii.com/showthread.php?tid=11836

While they share some obvious commonalities, the book the film end up going in different directions. I liked the film, but I preferred the book.

I tried to avoid giving away any major plot points in my review, so it is safe to read (for now), although perhaps it will be easier in due course to use that thread for discussing the plot so as to avoid spoiling this one?

Incidentally, the trailer for Edge of Tomorrow gives away a major plot twist, so if you are reading AYNIK I would avoid watching it for now (its safe to watch once you get about 60% of the way in).

Bokusenou Wrote:Just finished the first section (I think, if the big parts are chapters is there a name for the sub-chapters that just have a number?). Wow that was intense! I shouldn't have read it right before I went to bed though...it gave me battlefield nightmares.^^;

ご苦労様！ Nice work... if you got through that in one sitting, you'll be fine with the rest of the book.

Bokusenou Wrote:Really nice start though. So far it seems like a standard gritty war story, but I'm hoping it will branch out a bit in the next few chapters. It sure got my attention at any rate.

Yep, it branches out. Plenty of plot twists to come. Keep reading :-)

Bokusenou Wrote:Not sure if something from so early in the book can count as a spoiler, but just in case:

Hmm, I don't think it is a spoiler, but it is a good habit to get into I guess. Rita is a great character - she was pretty cool in the film too but definitely way more hardcore in the book.

One phrase I had slightly difficult with from chapter 1 was ぱぱぱっと, as used here:

ドップラーレーダーを確認するヒマがない。
とりあえず、撃った。
ぱぱぱっと土煙があがった。

Actually from the context you can kind of imagine… but later in the book ぱぱぱっと is used in a completely different context that made me wonder if I actually know what it means. It doesn’t appear in any of my dictionaries. Anyone know?

NickT Wrote:One phrase I had slightly difficult with from chapter 1 was ぱぱぱっと, as used here:

ドップラーレーダーを確認するヒマがない。
とりあえず、撃った。
ぱぱぱっと土煙があがった。

Actually from the context you can kind of imagine… but later in the book ぱぱぱっと is used in a completely different context that made me wonder if I actually know what it means. It doesn’t appear in any of my dictionaries. Anyone know?

I thought it was just ぱっと with some extra ぱs in front of it meaning 'rapid' or 'quick'.

What was the context you saw it in that confused you?

Without any other context I thought ぱぱぱ is supposed to represent the sound of the gun firing -- the dust clouds are rising from where the bullets hit? I'm not actually reading the book though so I could be wrong.

yudantaiteki Wrote:Without any other context I thought ぱぱぱ is supposed to represent the sound of the gun firing -- the dust clouds are rising from where the bullets hit? I'm not actually reading the book though so I could be wrong.

That would be my first guess too but I'm not reading the book either so yeah lol.

yudantaiteki Wrote:Without any other context I thought ぱぱぱ is supposed to represent the sound of the gun firing -- the dust clouds are rising from where the bullets hit? I'm not actually reading the book though so I could be wrong.

Nyanda Wrote:I thought it was just ぱっと with some extra ぱs in front of it meaning 'rapid' or 'quick'.

What was the context you saw it in that confused you?

OK well I hope this is not a spoiler for anyone - The line itself has no real significance in terms of the overall plot. The phrase is from Section 2 Chapter 2. I've whited out the context on either side though, as it hints slightly at some of things that happen in the book, but it might be useful to translate it for those that don't care about spoilers.

したっと華麗に跳びあがり、シャスタはぼくの手からシリコンチップをかすめとった。
「ちょっと待っててください。ぱぱぱっと交換しちゃったら、書類を書いてあげます。持ってっていいですよ」
「ありがとう」
「それと……ひとつ聞いていいですか？」
「どうぞ」
「その左手に書いてある、四十七って数字はなにか意味があるんですか？」
　ぼくは返答に窮した。

I still think it just means 'quickly' or 'rapidly' based on the two sentences you have provided, since it makes sense in both situations.

Not only that but in all of the places I have found it being used via Google searches make sense when thinking about it as the same meaning as ぱっと.

But as has already been said I can't find the word in it's entirety in a dictionary so if somebody could prove me wrong that would be very welcome indeed.

SUGGESTION: When you're done reading the book, write a blog post about it - in Japanese. Post it anywhere you like (Lang-8, iTalki, Ameblo), and then post the link here.

Nyanda Wrote:I still think it just means 'quickly' or 'rapidly' based on the two sentences you have provided, since it makes sense in both situations.

Yeah I think you are right. Thanks!

Nyanda Wrote:But as has already been said I can't find the word in it's entirety in a dictionary so if somebody could prove me wrong that would be very welcome indeed.

I still can't find ぱぱぱっと, but I eventually found ぱぱっと on Weblio: http://www.weblio.jp/content/ぱぱっと

ぱぱっ と
（ 副 ）
動作がすばやいさま。ぱっぱと。 「 －かたづける」

I did find ぱぱぱっと on yourei.jp (http://yourei.jp/ぱぱぱっと), but that only has examples and no definition.

Unfortunately my Kindle dictionary was not much help in the circumstances.

I may need to give up on this one. It's interesting, but there are small sections it's hard for me to decipher without a lot of work. Mostly some of the dialogue between the soldiers. Aaargh.

I may tackle GO, which feels a little easier, but for now I think I'm going to finish this Akagawa Jirou book I'm almost halfway through.

gaiaslastlaugh Wrote:I may need to give up on this one. It's interesting, but there are small sections it's hard for me to decipher without a lot of work. Mostly some of the dialogue between the soldiers. Aaargh.

I may tackle GO, which feels a little easier, but for now I think I'm going to finish this Akagawa Jirou book I'm almost halfway through.

Yeah its quite a tough book, hence why it was the 'advanced' recommendation, with GO being 'intermediate'. I found GO a much smoother and easier reading experience overall, although I think AYNIK did get easier after the initial battle sequences.

The first time I attempted to read AYNIK I was at N2 level and I had to give up too. I tried again a few years later after passing N1 and enjoyed it much more that time (and finished it). Having said that I would categorise myself as a "low N1", having kind of fluked the exam a bit, so your mileage may vary. Also, in retrospect, I now realise that I gave up having already finished the hardest part of the book.

Out of interest, what is your Japanese level? It may also be useful to other people considering reading this book to, so they can make an informed decision.

gaiaslastlaugh Wrote:SUGGESTION: When you're done reading the book, write a blog post about it - in Japanese. Post it anywhere you like (Lang-8, iTalki, Ameblo), and then post the link here.

I may just do that. Don't hold your breath, though, it might take me a while to get round to it :-)

NickT, I'm at N2 level. (I took N2 last year and missed by five points; I expect to pass this year.) I can read a fair range of native material without much problem, including news articles on NHK, HuffPo Japan, and ASCII. I've read about 30 books and 単行本 to date.

I know I could finish this if I really ground through it, but it doesn't seem worth the effort at the moment, especially when I have a huge stack of books sitting on my shelf. Like you noted, GO seems like a much more straightforward read; I'll probably switch to that.

a bit offtopic but I bought the manga version of this book. Looking forward to reading it! ^^

https://cyberpunkcahoots.files.wordpress.../manga.jpg

Holy shit this book is so hard it's almost comical :o

Update: thought this bit was hilarious

リタの階級は准尉だ。軍隊ヒエラルキーにおいて、少佐と准尉は、すこしばかり気取ったレストランで出てくるコース料理とファミリーレストランのランチセットくらいの差がある。ちなみに、初年兵のぼくはファストフード。それもつけあわせでむやみと大量に出てくるポテトである。

anotherjohn Wrote:Holy shit this book is so hard it's almost comical :o

More or less my reaction as well :-p I gave up and started reading GO after I finished my last book. I'm having a much better time with that one.

Finally finished, with much assistance from Rikaichan.

Enjoyed the book, though I couldn't help thinking that the story was constrained by the author's consideration of possible anime/movie budgets, and the possibility of a sequel.

If this is inappropriate please feel free to ignore/delete, but I am currently trying to mine All You Need Is Kill. I have a hard copy of the Japanese light novel and an e-version of the English translation, but I was wondering if anyone knows if an electronic version of Japanese original is 'out there' anywhere to download... Would prefer to copy and paste than type in the sentences...

Very off topic, but why is everything with Japanese learners a 'light novel'? As far as I'm aware, there's nothing 'light' about this novel - either in the Japanese-publishing-market sense or in terms of content.

Anyway, the answer to your question is 'yes'. It's a so-called 'innocent book', which I'm sure is a searchable term. And I'm sure Nyaa has it.

"Light Novel" just refers to a novel with a target audience or junior high or high school students, it has absolutely nothing to do with the perceived difficulty. Generally, they have some sort of manga-esque picture. I just checked my physical copy, it's got pictures roughly every 80 or so pages, plus from a marketing stand point the last page advertising All You Need is Kill 2 quotes "最強のライトノベル、続編準備中！",

Thanks for the heads-up Aikynaro!

RandomQuotes Wrote:I just checked my physical copy, it's got pictures roughly every 80 or so pages, plus from a marketing stand point the last page advertising All You Need is Kill 2 quotes "最強のライトノベル、続編準備中！",

There is going to be a sequel? Cool... I'm in :-)