MIURA Shion : The easy life in Kamusari (Forest #1)

Yuki Hirano is just out of high school when his parents enroll him, against his will, in a forestry training program in the remote mountain village of Kamusari. No phone, no internet, no shopping. Just a small, inviting community where the most common expression is “take it easy.”
At first, Yuki is exhausted, fumbles with the tools, asks silly questions, and feels like an outcast. Kamusari is the last place a city boy from Yokohama wants to spend a year of his life. But as resistant as he might be, the scent of the cedars and the staggering beauty of the region have a pull.
Yuki learns to fell trees and plant saplings. He begins to embrace local festivals, he’s mesmerized by legends of the mountain, and he might be falling in love. In learning to respect the forest on Mt. Kamusari for its majestic qualities and its inexplicable secrets, Yuki starts to appreciate Kamusari’s harmony with nature and its ancient traditions.
In this warm and lively coming-of-age story, Miura transports us from the trappings of city life to the trials, mysteries, and delights of a mythical mountain forest. 

I requested this short novel from Netgalley purely on the basis that it was from a Japanese author, I knew nothing about it or its author. 

When I realized this was a coming of age story, a topic that isn't really my cup of tea, I was a little disappointed but there was nothing to lose, so I read it.

 

And honestly, even if it's not a revolutionary book, it was a thoroughly enjoyable read. The style is the one a character this age would use to write his diary, a young man who is used to live in the city with all that it entails, and finds himself practically kidnapped to be sent to a remote village deep in the mountain forest. Aghast at first, completely out of his depth, without a cell phone (can you imagine the horror ?!), he gradually gets used to the dialect, the villagers' habits, the hard work with older men, and the strange native customs that includes... gods. 

 

It's easy to read, the characters are lively, there isn't much of a plot but I didn't care, I got caught up in the love of nature and the interactions of all these people that you gradually grow very fond of. This is a discovery that I'm very happy about, it was a breath of fresh air in a period where we badly need it !

 

It was released recently (november 2nd) so I'm a little late for the review, but if you need a story that's easy going, fun and different, you definitely should read it.