Pathway to Japanese Literature
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The Wife’s Running Away from HomeAuthor: Kunieda Shiro
| Original Title | 奥さんの家出 |
|---|---|
| Author | 国枝 史郎 |
| Genre | Detective & Mystery |
| Author Type | Male Author |
| Summary | A man wanders a desolate amusement park, haunted by his wife’s sudden disappearance. His thoughts drift between poetic musings on middle-aged beauty and bitter self-reproach, confessing quirks like fixating on her discarded garments. The park—a patchwork of neglected swings, taxidermied birds, and caged animals—mirrors his unraveling marriage: once vibrant, now eerily still. A mysterious young woman approaches, her flirtations tinged with menace as delinquent youths lurk nearby. He indulges her theatrics, aware of their predatory intent, yet distracted by memories of his wife’s hypnotic eyes and tender eccentricities. Flashbacks reveal a brazen interloper who disrupted their domestic peace, culminating in her flight. As shadows lengthen, tensions peak—a staged kiss foiled, hidden cameras exposed—but deeper truths linger beneath the farce. When night falls, his wife returns, feverish and remorseful, leaving their reconciliation as fragile as cherry blossoms past their prime. The story weaves melancholy with dark humor, probing love’s fragility against life’s absurdities. |
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