そして、バトンは渡された
(Soshite, Baton wa Watasareta)
by 瀬尾まいこ (Maiko Seo)
Author: 瀬尾まいこ (Maiko Seo)
Japanese Level: JLPT N2
Genre: Human drama, slice of life
Pages: 420
Amazon Japan Kindle: そして、バトンは渡された
Bookwalker Japan: そして、バトンは渡された
Japanese Summary
幼い頃に母親を亡くし、父とも海外赴任を機に別れ、継母を選んだ優子。
その後も大人の都合に振り回され、高校生の今は二十歳しか離れていない“父”と暮らす。
血の繋がらない親の間をリレーされながらも、
出逢う家族皆に愛情をいっぱい注がれてきた彼女自身が伴侶を持つとき――。
English Summary (translation by Japanese Talk Online)
Yuko’s mother died when she was young, and when her father is sent overseas for work she chooses to stay with her stepmother. She’s swept up by the whims of the adults around her until now, when she’s 12 and living with her new “dad”. She’s passed through a relay race of adults who she’s not related to, meeting new people as her family all pouring love into her until she finally has a spouse of her own…
Why You Shouldn’t Read そして、バトンは渡された (Soshite, Baton wa Watasareta)
Soshite, Baton wa Watasareta was an incredibly popular book in Japan after it won the Japan Booksellers Award in 2019. But unlike other winners, I don’t think this book deserved the prize.
The story follows a high school girl, Yuko, as she explains how she was passed from one foster parent to another. Only, she wasn’t in foster care. Her mom passed away and her dad re-married, but she ended up living with her stepmom when her dad moved to Brazil. Then the stepmom re-married multiple men, eventually leaving Yuko with her current “dad”.
Despite being the main character Yuko doesn’t seem to have an opinion about anything. Her dad leaves and she gets over it quickly. She’s passed from person to person and doesn’t care. A misunderstanding at school causes her to be ostracized and she doesn’t care. Any issue she has ends up resolving itself pretty quicky with no involvement from her. The final section of the book has a time jump and a “big reveal” and the main character still feels nothing.
The entire book tells you she’s been loved by all these people, but doesn’t show it. And her stepmom, who was supposed to take care of, surprises her with new husband after new husband with no explanation. (The Japanese trope of parents leaving or doing things without talking to anyone drives me up the wall!!) In the end, it turns out the stepmom did something completely unforgivable but the main character doesn’t care that much and instantly forgives her because she “loves” her.
I kept expecting the book to be about unrecognized trauma and coming to terms with it, but it wasn’t at all. It was very much, a nothing sandwich—a surface level story where the main character has no personality and nothing important or interesting happens.
Needless to say, I don’t recommend it.
Why Japanese Learners Might Read そして、バトンは渡された
If you are still interested in reading it, despite my scathing review, then I would say the Japanese is about N2 level.
The sentences are easy to read and the scenes are very clear. As the story is based in reality, the language used is pretty simple.
I think this is an N2 book, instead of an N3, is because this is a thick book with a lot of vocabulary and kanji. It gives you a wide variety of vocabulary practice at least.
Summary
In the end, this book does a great job telling you how to feel and pulling on readers heart strings with a (not very) dramatic ending, which is probably why it won an award.
If you enjoy low-steaks tear jerkers like コーヒーが冷めないうちに (Before the Coffee Gets Cold), then you’ll probably like this.
But you like realistic, right characters with personality. And would expect a character who’s been passed from foster parent to foster parent to have some kind of trauma, then you’ll probably be as disappointed in this novel as I was.
You can try a sample here on Bookwalker.
Other Books You Might Like Instead
A Whole Lot of Hurts (52-Hertz Whales)
The Witch of the West is Dead – 西の魔女が死んだ (Nishi no Majo ga Shinda)