【Literature】Bungaku Shoujo — A Life Shattered by Plagiarism and Her Final Words

Hello, this is Frank.

This is my impression after reading “Bungaku Shoujo” (“The Literary Girl”) by Takataro Kigi, included in My Best Mystery IV, edited by the Mystery Writers of Japan (published by Bungeishunju). Spoiler Alert.

First, let me say that tracing the life of the protagonist, the literary girl Miya—from her days at a girls’ school to her final breath—left me with a deep ache in my chest.

Each chapter title—“Death of Father,” “Stepmother,” “Marriage,” “Love,” “Ideology,” “Plagiarism,” “Prison,” and “Literature”—if taken in chronological order, paints a picture of a life interwoven with both moving moments and profound sorrow. I resonated with author Shizuko Natsuki’s words in her own afterthoughts: each rereading inevitably overwhelms her with tears, stopping her in her tracks.

Particularly heartbreaking is the fact that Miya, a true literary soul, had her work plagiarized—an event that left her feeling that “a lifetime’s hopes, aspirations, and painstaking efforts had been utterly reduced to nothing.” The despair she must have felt is beyond words.

In the epilogue, as Miya speaks to her teacher on her deathbed, she says, “Those who have anguished over literature will offer lifelong gratitude to the one who discovered them.” As an amateur writer myself, those words struck me to the core.

If you are intrigued by the small universe that Miya carried within her heart, I highly recommend reading this story. And if you enjoy it, I would be delighted if you also explored my own full-length social mystery novel, The Mysterious Rouge.

＊My Best Mystery IV (Bungeishunju, ed. Japan Mystery Writers Association)