Today I finished reading "Japan Sinks" by Komatsu Sakyo. I feel that the novel itself is quite ordinary in terms of storytelling, giving a sense of confusion. The characteristics of the main characters are not very distinct, but this novel is not focused on character portrayal. The plot of this book switches between several chapters of character stories and several chapters of ensemble drama. There are several times when the story of a character is not yet concluded and it switches to a macro perspective or ensemble drama. When it switches back, it is already a story that has taken place some time ago, which inevitably creates a sense of disjointedness. Although the narrative and characters of this work are quite ordinary, the portrayal of people in the face of disaster is very emotional, and reading it is quite touching.
The beginning of the novel mainly revolves around several main characters, the middle part mainly explains the principle of sinking, and the later part describes the whole event from a macro perspective. Due to the lack of focus on the characters, some character stories end abruptly and many things are left unexplained. However, the scientific aspects are quite detailed, but also boring because of the level of detail. Maybe people who are interested in geology would enjoy it.
If it weren't for watching the TV drama "Japan Sinks: People of Hope," which made me interested in this book, I probably wouldn't have persisted until the end. Having said that, what attracted me to continue reading until the end was the desire to see the outcome of Onodera and Reiko. I was also surprised to see Mayako in the end.
After finishing the book, I thought Reiko was already gone, but I saw discussions on Douban saying that there is a second part where the two meet again, so I suddenly wanted to see the related plot. However, the Chinese version of the second part was only published in 2008, and I couldn't find it online or in second-hand bookstores. I can only rely on fate.
However, reading the book reviews of the second part on Douban, one of the cosmopolitan viewpoints is quite interesting. The commentator believes that the author proposes to replace nationalism and patriotism with cosmopolitanism in the second part, "to achieve the integration of nationalities and countries on a global scale," and that Jews are typical examples of cosmopolitanism. This comment was written in 2011, when globalization was still prevalent. Thinking about the resurgence of nationalism around the world in 2022, it is inevitable to feel the changes and unpredictability of the world.