Utopia

Utopia

Kanae Minato

Shueisha Bunko 2018

★★★☆☆

I’ll introduce Utopia. This book was written by Kanae Minato and published by Shueisha Bunko in 2018. This is a mystery novel that was awarded the Yamamoto Shugoro Prize.

There are three main characters who are Nanako, Mitsuki and Sumire. Nanako lives in a Buddhist store and Mitsuki teaches how to make preserved flowers to neighbors. Sumire is a ceramist. They lived in the same town called Hanasaki Cho where many artists lived. For example, a photographer, a fabric dyer, a violin craftsman and a ceramist like a Sumire lived there.

Nanako and Mitsuki each have a child. The children are good friends, but Nanako’s daughter is in wheelchair due to a traffic accident when she was a kindergarten student. Then Sumire made a brand to support people who are in wheelchairs. That brand name is “Clara no Tsubasa” and it has straps with the motif of angel’s wings. Nanako, Mitsuki and Sumire are friends but gradually began to doubt each other after Sumire made that brand. In this way, it might happen similar things in our lives. People have friends but they maybe have dissatisfaction or doubt about something.

In this book, even if someone made trouble, that person can escape this town, but people harbor that person who continues living in Hanasaki Cho from now on.

When I finished reading the book, I thought it was a little difficult, but a real story. Also, I thought it might happen anywhere that one of the stories children couldn’t tell their parents the truth about something and shared the secret only with other children. When I was reading this book, I imagined this story as a movie in my mind many times. I hope it will be made into a film someday.