鳥人計画：Project Birdman

(English follows Japanese)

東野さんの小説は本当にいい意味で読者を裏切り、「おっ！」「えっ？」の連続だ。

小説も楽しんだが、巻末の黒田研二が面白くて共感した。

個人的すぎるが、1998年ジャンプ団体で日本チームが金メダルを取ったのが父の誕生日2月17日だと知る（西暦はもちろん違うけど）。黒田さんと同様、「鳥人計画」を読んでいる間、なんとなく原田さんを思い浮かべていたので、この本を読んだことの意味というか運命糸のようなものを感じたりして、娘バカもいいところだなと自分で自分を失笑する。

読了後感動したことのひとつは、黒田さんの解説のスキル。プロの作家さんだとはいえ、私なんかの脳みそのシナプスとはシナプスが違うとため息がでる。

読むと自分でも書けそうな解説だなんて思ったりするんだけど、とんでもない、１mmも近くない。

トーストマスターとしてどうなんだろう？　少しはスキルが上がるよう精進していこう。ほら、私のこの締め方もお粗末。

Higashino's novels truly betray the reader in the best sense, delivering a constant stream of "Oh!" and "What?" moments. While I enjoyed the novel, the commentary by Kenji Kuroda at the end was both entertaining and relatable. It might be overly personal, but finding out that the Japanese ski jumping team won gold 26 years ago on my late father's birthday, February 17th,  felt meaningful, almost like a thread of fate. Reading "Project Birdman," I couldn't help but think of Harada, much like Kuroda did, and I had to laugh at myself for being such a doting daughter.

One thing that moved me after finishing the book was Kuroda's skill in commentary. Even though he's a professional writer, his synapses seem to operate on a different level from mine, leaving me in awe. I might think to myself that his explanations seem like something I could write, but that's far from the truth, not even close by a millimeter.

As a Toastmaster, I wonder about my own skills. I should strive to improve, however modestly. See, even my conclusion here is rather poor.