Name: Itzel's review of The Great Passage by Shion Miura
Item: The Great Passage
Rating: 4
Author: Itzel

Shion Miura

A charmingly warm and hopeful story of love, friendship, and the power of human connection. Award-winning Japanese author Shion Miura's novel is a reminder that a life dedicated to passion is a life well lived. Inspired as a boy by the multiple meanings to be found for a single word in the dictionary, Kohei Araki is devoted to the notion that a dictionary is a boat to carry us across the sea of words. But after thirty-seven years creating them at Gembu Books, it's time for him to retire and find his replacement. He discovers a kindred spirit in Mitsuya Majime--a young, disheveled square peg with a penchant for collecting antiquarian books and a background in linguistics--whom he swipes from his company's sales department. Led by his new mentor and joined by an energetic, if reluctant, new recruit and an elder linguistics scholar, Majime is tasked with a career-defining accomplishment: completing The Great Passage, a comprehensive 2,900-page tome of the Japanese language. On his journey, Majime discovers friendship, romance, and an incredible dedication to his work, inspired by the bond that connects us all: words. An Earphones Award Winner, Fiction

The Great Passage

TL Wright

Itzel

So the first time I learned about this book was when its anime adaptation was airing. As of today though, I have never watched it, however, I did watch Kaze ga Tsuyoku Fuiteiru, an adaptation of another book by Ship Miura, and when that was over, I knew I wanted to know more about her stories. 

I just finished The Great Passage and I find myself incredibly moved by it, the way dictionary-making is reflected as a labor of love, encompassing many people who might be very different yet all incredibly passionate about their work. 

It was touching, it was funny, it was reflective, and also, I delighted myself in the little explanations about words and definitions contained within the story. I don't know much about Shion Miura herself, but I love the passion she put into this, so much.

jess

Kudos for the translator who has translated clusters of difficult words and explained it so eloquently that it made the readers felt the sense of acquiring rare knowledge. Cause that is happening to me! At once accessibly humanist and endearingly nerdy, suffused with a deep love of language and a quiet awe at the possibilities of human collaboration, “The Great Passage” tells a gently absorbing story about a team of editors who spend 15 years writing and compiling a new Japanese dictionary. This is such a lightweight read and joyable indeed. I heard there is a movie and anime version of this book, would definitely looking forward to watching it!

charisa

3.5 rounded up. lmao i could not have chosen to read a more different book following “the road”. very cute and wholesome! but also so incredibly cringe at times and somewhat structurally unsound. good thing i’m an unabashed sap!! some of the translations made me burst into laughter — i too do not give a flying frittata. i so wish to read that in the original japanese.

haifa

Well another book I wish I did not slog through and just gave up sooner. May be because of lack of my cultural context on Japanese language, at no point this book invoked an interest! Whenever I end not liking translated books that are acclaimed, I wonder how much is lost in translation?!

a very interesting tale about creating a dictionary, and the people creating it. a story in which, explores life and the bridge that connects us all: words.

TL Wright &
The Great Passage by Shion Miura

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TL Wright &The Great Passage by Shion Miura

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TL Wright &
The Great Passage by Shion Miura