The Book in 3 Sentences
- This book tells the tragic incident that a 31-year-old daughter who failed the entrance exam for a medical school 9 times murdered her 58-year-old “monster mother” and dismembered her body.
- A writer who used to be a judicial reporter wrote this book based on a huge amount of letters she exchanged with the imprisoned daughter.
- In a society where parents are raising their children under increasingly high pressure to win the entrance exam competition and get them highly educated, the author warns that many families are a step away from resulting in this tragedy.
Impressions
How Did I Discover It?
- At a bookstore I dropped by, I found this book displayed in the store’s recommendation section.
- The title and its short description reminded me of the question I answered on Quora, and I thought I could speak a bit for the daughter in this book.
Who Should Read It?
Every mother, father, daughter, and son can take a lesson or two.
How the Book Changed Me
- I can relate to the daughter to some extent. As I answered on Quora, early in my childhood, I was feeling lost and hopeless that my life was owned not by me but by my parents. It was when I decided to go study abroad in the U.S. that I was able to put a period to feeling this way. It was the first big decision “I” made despite my parent’s disapproval. It was when I was released from “the prison” and started following my own will.
- The daughter in this book reminded me of friends I made in university. Having studied at the University of Tokyo, I’ve met many students who’ve gone through similar parental pressure in their childhood. In career hunting, they chose bigger, more financially stable corporations based on their parent’s wishes. A friend in my class said she never even come to think against her mother. Another friend said he had been studying only out of fear that his mother would spank him for getting bad grades. With these friends around, the story sounded not so unrealistic to me.
- When I become a mother, I would like to remember this story as a good example of what not to do.
My Top 3 Quotes
- 多くの家族が、「良かれ」と思いあまって互いに束縛し、苦しめあっている。それが殺人事件にまで発展するのは極端な例だが、そこに至る芽は、多くの家庭に内包されている。”Many families are tied up and tormented by each other in the misbelief that what they do is for a good cause. It is an extreme example that it develops into a case of murder, but the buds that lead to it are contained in many families.” p.12
- 誰に何を切り出して相談すれば良いのか、まったく思い付かなかった。母とすら信頼関係を築けなかった私は、自分以外誰も信頼出来なかった。（中略）いずれ、私か母のどちらかが死ななければ終わらなかったと現在でも確信している。”I had no idea to whom or how I should talk about it. I couldn’t trust anyone other than myself because I couldn’t build trust even with my mother. […] Even now, I am convinced that it would not have ended unless either I or my mother died.” p.45
- 医学部進学を目指して勉強をしている内に「医師」＝「最難関を突破した勝者」という図式が脳裏に刻まれ、受験を最も輝かしく成功させた存在としても憧れた。”While studying to go to a medical school, the image of ‘doctor’ = ‘winner who overcame the most difficult obstacles’ was engraved in my mind, and I admired it as a person who succeeded in the examination most brilliantly.” p.85