Reviews

• バスの中から見る現実

  知的障害をもつ妹の唯一の楽しみは、毎日、バスに乗ること。夜が明ける前の暗いうちに家を出て、一番バスに乗りこむ。彼女はバス路線はもちろん、ドライバーの仕事のシフトまで調べ上げている。そんな彼女を毛嫌いするドライバーもあるが、暖かい手を差しのべる人もある。作家である姉は、この妹の行動に一年間、つきあってみて、それまで知らなかったさまざまなことを体験する。 アメリカ映画にときどきある小品の、人間のぬくもりを感じさせるオハナシかと思って読みはじめたが、日常にひそむ暴力や、家族のエゴとエゴのぶつかりあいなど、作家の目はなかなか鋭い。父親の不倫や、現実の重みにたえられず、ロクでもない男にひっかかってしまう母親、妹に恋人が出来てセックスをするようになったとき、不妊手術をさせるかどうかの決断、作家らしい描写は、登場する人物を映画の印象的な脇役のように描きあげる。 翻訳も出ていて、妹のたどたどしい手紙など、苦心して訳しているが、当然とはいえ、英語で読んだときの印象とはかなりちがう。文章は平易で、小説を読むように読むことができる。アメリカの社会の一面を知るための貴重な一冊。

• Unflinchingly honest

  This is, quite simply, a splendid earthbound book. With admirable honesty Rachel Simon details her year spent riding the buses of an unnamed Pennsylvania city with her "mentally challenged" younger sister Beth. Unsentimental, clear-eyed, and painfully truthful, Simon interweaves scenes from the family's past into the tales of her travels with the self-named Cool Beth. We meet a series of quite remarkable drivers, some of whom display levels of wisdom and kindness that are exceptional; as well, the majority of the drivers possess philosophical attitudes and good-heartedness. It's a view from that front bench seat by the door that will undoubtedly alter every reader's perception and/or preconceived notions about the people who carry us from one point to another--in any city or town. Everyone in this book is revealed, warts and all, with perception and, by the end, with a hard-won perspective that leads not only to the author's self-acceptance but also to a new level of respect for the wonderfully well-depicted Beth (in all her rotund, stubborn glory); for the parents and siblings who spent decades of their lives striving not only to be supportive of their sister but also their efforts to come to terms with the effects of Beth on their own lives. This is a brave and enlightening book that leaves one filled with admiration for both Rachel and Beth, along with a heightened sense of how, so often, while we might think we're coping well with whatever life throws at us, below the surface linger effects of which we may well be unaware. Most highly recommended.

• Heart-warming read!

  Really great book! It's a realistic portrayal of life with someone who has special needs-loving, funny, heart-wrenching, and at times, annoying. I am a behaviour therapist for the ASD community and this is one of the most realistic portrayals of a family with a child with diverse needs that I've ever read. I'm sure Rachel has helped many families who yearn to feel that they are not alone. I also enjoyed the emphasis on Beth's "self-determination" because this is important to all the "Beth's" of the world. I can't wait to read Rachel Simon's other novels!!

• Amazing story!

  Yes I enjoyed it. Amazing story. Will read it again. A friend in Australia recommend it.

• Good Read

  Good Read

• A pleasant surprise

  This is not a book I would have chosen, but I read it for my book club and was pleasantly surprised. When I saw an endorsement from Rosie O'Donnell on the front cover of this book, I was expecting something more sentimental, along the lines of a Lifetime Channel movie, to lie within the pages. Instead, I found a powerful tribute to people on society's fringe and a meaningfully insightful story. The story centers around a workaholic writer/teacher, Rachel Simon, who runs out of ideas for her newspaper work and decides to spend a year shadowing her mildly mentally retarded sister, Beth. Beth has chucked working and living in a group home for a hedonistic life in her own apartment, filling her days happily riding the city's busses. Simon takes what could be a boring or sappy story and makes something marvelous out of Beth's mundane, repetitive life by her keen observation and analysis of the details of this routine. She does an excellent job of looking at life through Beth's eyes and of showing how the mentally challenged are at times similar to the rest of us and yet at other times vastly different and difficult to comprehend. Naturally Beth's efforts to live independently in the manner she desires create enormous frustration for her family and even the professionals involved in her "case." How to help someone in Beth's situation is complicated. How much help can family and professionals give versus how much help should they give? How many decisions can she safely, competently make on her own? Simon shows us that there are no easy answers, as she attempts to establish her own place in her sister's life. The book is beautifully written, hard to put down, and filled with insights and wisdom that would make Irma Bombeck proud. The author was surprised at how much she learned from Beth's limitations and her world, and you will be too.

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