Female Figure
A reading route prepared by Hannah (FLAC), Sarah, You, Sam
You’s view of A changes over the course of the novel. She begins by recounting A as physically superior to her, but by the time she’s waiting for her in Japan she believes that A has changed for the worse and You now has better characteristics.
“You wished you had her body, all 5’6″ of it, with the square shoulders of a swimmer and long, lanky limbs. She had breasts too, but they were more like an athlete’s muscled chest. You hated your body, with its narrow waist, full breasts it was impossible to hide, and girlish hands and feet.” (116)
“你多想和A一样的身材，高一米七，游泳选手的平肩，长手长脚，虽然也有胸脯，但更像运动员的结实胸肌；你不满意自己，窄窄的腰，如何都藏不住的圆润的胸女孩子气极了的手脚.” (页137)
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“You couldn’t guess what A would look like now. She had the perfect body type for putting on weight, and quite a few pounds of flesh could hang on that 5’6” frame, with its broad shoulders, compounded by twenty years of American dietary habits.” (pg 139)
“你不知道A变成什么模样，她足是发胖的条件，一米七平肩的骨架加上二十年的美式饮食习惯，可以挂上好多斤肉.” (页152)
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“Your purrlike snores probably had not gotten any louder, but now they were probably more like a machine with a screw loose and in need of repair, a sort of metallic noise. But A’s snores would surely have gotten much louder.” (pg 140)
“以往的猫咪呼噜也许不增大，但比较像是松了某颗螺丝钉零件欠修理的机器，松松地震动，内含金属声。A的鼾声一定变得好大.” (页153)
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A is described as “高一米七”(170 cm), and this is translated to the measurement 5’6″ for American readers. 170cm is 5’58” exactly, but rounded to be simpler.
Image Credit: http://shinjuku.gracery.com/accommodation/
Female Relationship
A reading route prepared by Hannah (FLAC), Sarah, You, Sam
In contrast, although the relationship is now distant and abstract, You believes that A is her closest friend.
Image Credit: www.ntu.edu.tw
“With calm composure, you listened as A chattered away about her boyfriends. You didn’t care; the only taboo topic was Song. You would feel the damp coldness from your clothes travel down your spine the moment she mentioned Song; then your heart would shrivel, like a tiny fist, smaller and smaller and smaller and smaller, until it hung forlornly, beyond all help.” (pg 126)
”你冷静自持地听A说这说那，说她那些男孩子们，毫不在意，只除了宋，不能说宋，一说你就位时感觉到那湿冷的衣衫直透脊梁，然后一颗心，小·拳头似的紧缩成小小小小一颗孤悬在那儿，谁也解救不了.” (页144)
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“Like so many people who vowed never to part and to remain single, you and A never saw each other again after college. The last time had been during the graduation ceremony procession. You were both in the company of family members and boyfriend. A introduced her boyfriend to you, while casting a passing glance at the man next to you. You didn’t know if she had been thinking the same thing—so, someone like that is what you left for.” (pg 136)
“和很多人一样，发誓永不分开永不嫁娶的·你和A，离开大学再没见过，最后一次见到A是在大学毕业·典礼结束后游园，你们身边各有家人和男伴，A向男伴介绍你，边匆匆扫过你男伴一眼，你不知A想的和你一不一样：噢，原来你离开了就是为了这么一个人.” (页150)
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“You were suddenly gripped by a desire to see A, a simple desire, mindlessly believing that she was your dearest friend, someone who had been closer to you than your parents or anyone else when you were fifteen.” (pg 174)
“你忽然很想见A，单单纯纯想见她，忘情地想着真的是亲爱的十五岁时候比父母什么都与你要亲的朋友呀.” (页177)
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In the original text, the author states twice that A cannot talk about Song (只除了宋，不能说宋) to stress how hard it is for her to hear about Song, but in the translated text it is only stated once.
