"Flower Food": A heartwarming sketch evolved from urban ghost stories

Last time I read "Listening to the Moon Song in the White Room" by Minato Sukawa, and I bought several of his books. Because "Flower Food" won the 2005 Japanese novel award, the Naoki Prize, I read this one first.

After reading six short stories, "Flower Food" is indeed very touching, but I think the other five stories are just works that are not missed. I don't understand why they can win the direct book award. I can only say that my vision is very different from that of the judges. .

"Flower Food" is set in Osaka in the 1930s and 1940s. The novel is full of nostalgia. Unfortunately, it is far from the Hong Kong and Macao regions where we live, and it is difficult to evoke our childhood memories. The six short stories all have children as the protagonists. Viewing things from a child's perspective is always more innocent than an adult's.

The six short stories are "Elf Night", "Fairy Creature", "Maha's Unbelievable", "Flower Food", "Farewell to the Mother-in-law", and "Frozen Butterfly".

"Elf Night" tells the story of a neighbor child who was discriminated against by other children because of his race. In addition, he was weak and had no chance to play well with others. Immediately after the child's death, it was reported that the neighborhood was haunted. Is the ghost child seeking revenge on those who discriminated against him? or……

The little girl in "Fairy Creature" bought a fairy creature and took it home. Something good happened immediately, and she met her favorite big brother. But just when she thought she was happiest, everything changed.

"Maha is incredible" is the most light-hearted and dark humor. The little protagonist's uncle suddenly passed away. The hearse suddenly broke down before reaching the crematorium. It couldn't move even half an inch. He tried to carry the coffin but couldn't even open the door. Does uncle have any unfulfilled wish?

"Flower Food" is an article I love very much, and it also moved me deeply. There are so many stories about the death of family members, but this story is particularly profound and touching. The elder brother has been responsible for taking care of his younger sister since he was a child. One year, his younger sister became ill and seemed to be a different person. She often said that she dreamed about her previous life. The brother finally couldn't bear his sister's plea and took her back to the place where she lived in her previous life, where she met her father in her previous life...

"Send to the Last Mother" tells the story of the young protagonist who was chosen by the Last Mother to become his successor. The so-called death mother is a person who can make people die through incantations. Usually when someone in the village is tortured by a disease but cannot die, the family will ask the death mother to help, so that the patient can reach bliss as soon as possible.

"Frozen Butterfly" tells the story of the protagonist who was discriminated against because of his family relationship, and even his only friend left him. At this time, he met a girl in the cemetery and agreed to meet and chat every Wednesday in the cemetery. A girl left home to treat her brother's illness and came here to make money, but one day she saw a butterfly that only existed in her hometown...

Maybe I was looking forward to reading a horror novel, but it turned out that the urban ghost story in "Flower Food" was not scary at all. Instead, it was full of warmth. There was a gap between my expectations and I was disappointed.

The urban ghost stories told in "Flower Food" are all Japanese children's ghost stories, which are difficult to resonate with me, but it is interesting to recall the ghost stories we heard when we were children. The weird stories I remember include: the fox fairy appears as a fossil, cutting an apple peel in the mirror at midnight reveals the real one, the fairy's upper body... How many do you remember?

Book title: "Flower Food"

Author: Zhu Chuanzuo

Publisher: Savage

Publication date: 2014/04/02

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