BOOK: 1 Litre of Tears (１リットルの涙）
GENRE: Non-fiction, autobiographical
JLPT/ABILITY LEVEL: N2/Upper Intermediate
HELPS WITH: Medical vocabulary, body parts vocabulary, casual language

GENERAL REVIEW:

After watching the gripping saga that is the ‘1 Litre of Tears’ drama, I had to give the book a try.

The premise I have written about prior – a girl develops the genetic disorder spinocerebellar ataxia which will eventually leave her with paralysed nerves but a mind intact. What makes this book so harrowing however, is that this is a real girl’s diary. A real girl had this disease; a real girl went through these challenges.

The book however, while being simultaneously uplifting and tragic (Aya does, after all, have a rather positive outlook on life considering her condition), drags on at times. As an autobiography it has been very well done – Aya writes in a personable manner – but as a story you may be disappointed. Not a whole lot happens, after all. Real life does not contain the dramatic side-plots you might find in a dramatised version.

At the end of the book also, is a long letter from a doctor regarding Aya’s condition. If you have seen the drama, you can skip most of this.

Mostly good though! 6/10!

LANGUAGE LEARNER’S REVIEW:

Medical terms are hard. This book has a ton of ’em.

Still, it is useful for that reason. This book labels obscure bones/body parts/medical conditions – some I don’t even know in English. If you’re looking for more medical knowledge, look no further.

It makes this book a hard slog sometimes however – not helped by the casual written style (it is Aya’s diary, after all). I would recommend reading this to get a feel for the more casual side of written Japanese – it is worth it for that alone. I wouldn’t expect it to be totally easy however, for the N3/N2 reader.

Something you might want to be wary of is kanji look-up – due to the medical terms, there are some uncommon-ish kanji in here!