I was also reading a Manga comic after a long time and it was an interesting experience to read from the back to the front and read the graphic panels and the dialogues from the right to the left. I was happy to read that explanation, because it shone light on the challenges of translating dialect from one language to another. But there was a note at the end of the book which said that people in that island spoke a dialect which was different from the Japanese spoken in cities and because the translators wanted to highlight that, they used words like this. I am sure they did not speak that way in Japanese. In some places I found the translation odd – for example one of the characters said ‘Sonny‘ and many of the characters said ‘Yer‘. There were no bad characters in the story and there were no black-and-white situations, and this made the story very realistic, which I loved very much.
My favourite character was Naru – she was really cool and awesome, always smiling and always upto something. I also loved the charming island characters. I loved ‘Barakamon‘ for the way it contrasted city life and island life through the eyes of Handa.
The experiences and adventures that Handa and Naru have, form the rest of the book. Naru, a young girl who is in elementary school, becomes his best friend, always hangs out at his place and is his guide to the ways of life is the island. But gradually he warms up to the islanders, because they have big hearts and help him when he is in need. This annoys him no end and disturbs his peace. They are curious and intrusive, they walk into his home whenever they feel like it and he discovers that some children have established a base at his home for hanging out and playing games. Unfortunately, he hasn’t reckoned with the islanders. He thinks that the island will be calm and he can practice calligraphy in peace till things become better at home.
To recover from this, he takes a break and moves to an island. Overnight, he becomes a person to be avoided by the calligraphy community. But he loses it when an elderly man criticizes his work and Handa knocks this critic down. He is successful though he is young, having won many awards for his work. I read the first part of this multiple volume Manga comic series which has been translated by Krista Shipley and Karie Shipley.īarakamon tells the story of a young twenty-something calligrapher, Seishuu Handa. I got it as a birthday present from one of my favourite friends. My first book for Women in Translation Month in August is ‘Barakamon‘ by Satsuki Yoshino.
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