But even when the night came and wrapped us up in darkness, we could look up, and stars would be twinkling in the sky above us.
Their pure light would lodge in our hearts and give us the courage to keep moving toward the places we sought.
* * *
Will Konoha write a story about Nanase Kotobuki next?
Or a story about Tohko Amano instead?
But Konoha…
Tohko Amano has a secret.
The person named Tohko Amano shouldn’t exist in our world.
Hello, this is Mizuki Nomura.
Just as announced, the fifth story in the Book Girl series is Miu’s story. The book at the root of the story is Kenji Miyazawa’s Night of the Milky Way Railroad, which I had picked out ever since the series started. It’s a classic among classics! I felt new emotion in the course of rereading it. Giovanni’s perspective is melancholic, but just as Tohko said, if you follow the story from Campanella’s perspective, your heart will squeeze tighter than you can believe. It’s a book that can really be enjoyed in a lot of different ways, so even those of you who’ve already read it should take this opportunity to read it again.
Miyazawa is good at poetry, too, huh? Someone set music to “Song of the Defeated Youth,” which is referenced in the story, and I heard it on the Internet. I broke down weeping at her clear voice in the song. It let me feel hope. And when I was writing the final scene, the song was playing in my head the whole time. And that is why Miu is reciting it at the end.
Ahhhh, Tohko’s food at the beginning was pretty exaggerated, but I hope you understand.
The truth is, I’m no good with scary stories, either, and I summoned all my courage to read it in order to make Tohko’s meal this time around. But it was fine! Even people who don’t like being scared can do it! It’s fun! (Oh, but…anyone who scares easier than me should maybe not try it…Please be responsible.)
Argh, there’s no more room for my afterword (tear). This time I felt even worse for Akutagawa than I did for Kotobuki. This series will end with the graduation books, starting with the next one, but before that, we’re planning to insert a side story. So I’m hoping I can follow up with the people I didn’t write much about in this book. Thank you so much to everyone who’s read this far. And also Ms. Miho Takeoka! Your illustrations were amazing again! Okay, see you guys.
Mizuki Nomura
August 3, 2007
Contents
Title Page
Epigraph
Prologue—Memories for an Introduction—What I Wanted to Be
Chapter 1—Step by Step It Comes
Chapter 2—Why Miu Inoue Died
Chapter 3—That Is a Pristine Trap
Chapter 4—A Map Through the Stars
Chapter 5—The Defeated Youth
Chapter 6—Who Killed the Little Bird?
Chapter 7—Journey in Dark of Night
Chapter 8—Lamentation
Chapter 9—Back When You Looked at the Sky
Epilogue—The Beginning of the End
Author’s Note
Artist’s Afterword
Copyright
Book Girl and the Wayfarer’s Lamentation
Story: MIZUKI NOMURA
Illustration: MIHO TAKEOKA
Translation by Karen McGillicuddy
This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, or persons, living or dead, is coincidental.
Bungakushoujo to doukoku no palmiere ©2007 Mizuki Nomura. All rights reserved.
First published in Japan in 2007 by ENTERBRAIN, INC., Tokyo.
English translation rights arranged with ENTERBRAIN, INC. through Tuttle-Mori Agency, Inc., Tokyo.
English translation © 2012 by Hachette Book Group, Inc.
All rights reserved. In accordance with the U.S. Copyright Act of 1976, the scanning, uploading, and electronic sharing of any part of this book without the permission of the publisher is unlawful piracy and theft of the author’s intellectual property. If you would like to use material from the book (other than for review purposes), prior written permission must be obtained by contacting the publisher at [email protected]. Thank you for your support of the author’s rights.
Yen Press
Hachette Book Group
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Yen Press is an imprint of Hachette Book Group, Inc.
The Yen Press name and logo are trademarks of Hachette Book Group, Inc.
First e-book Edition: July 2012
ISBN 978-0-316-20223-7
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