A cry of love from the center of the world

Original Language: Japanese

Títutulus original: Sekai no chushin de, ai wo sakebu (At the heart of the world, escaping love)

Translation: Lourdes Porta Fuentes

Year of publication: 2001

Valoración: Read

And what sort of story shall we hear? Ah, it will be a familiar story, a story that is so very, very old, and yet it is so new. It is the old, old story of love. Samuel Johnson.

That nobody is fooled: a bestseller it’s a bestseller Here and in China (or in Japan), although it is presented in an edition that tries to make it go through an exponent of the new Japanese narrative “Murakamiana”. And, of course, a mysterious and very kawaii Japanese girl could not be missing on the cover, which is misleading. If the editorial were honest with the type of book he is selling, he should put on the cover two hugged young people: he with an American football jacket, she dressed as a cheerleader and the title in italics.

Two brilliant young people, each in their own way, fall in love; One of them dies and the other is alone, clinging to the hope of an eternal love that overcomes any barrier, even death. It would only be missing that their first kiss was while representing Romeo and Juliet in the work of the high school. That? Oh really? Yes, such scene exists in this book. Upon arriving at that point I was at all abandon it, but, making guts heart, I continued.

The novel is full of clichés typical of youth romance. Not to disregard, I will describe them as the authors of the genre usually do: Friends to lovers, Opposites attract, Soul mates, Emotional scars… With this I hope you get a clear idea of ​​what you will find in the book, for better or worse.

However, not everything can be the result of chance. Something had to connect with millions of readers, mainly in Japan (although it has translated into numerous languages). Who does not like, from time to time, let out some tears while eats ice cream next to the window on a rainy day? (Maybe they already realized that I am also using clichés in this review). In addition, it is an entertaining reading that, although it is quite predictable, offers moving passages when the drama is not forced too much.

This can be a novel full of topics and sentimental resources that we have seen many times, but also shows that, even in the most typical stories, there is space for genuine emotion (you have to look for it). If you read without pretensions, you can provide a time to move us and give us a break in the boredom of everyday life.