Train Man

I’ve had “Train Man” on my shelf for a while now, and finally cracked open the plastic this weekend. Mainly out of desperation: I was in sore need of grown-up conversation after spending an entire day with a seven-year old (I like kids well enough, but how do moms do it?!?) and got some blessed reading time while the kiddo was still happily occupied by the paint markers I had laid out on the table.

So, anywayyyy… Purported to be based on a true story on the Japanese message board 2channel, “Train Man” by Nakano Hitori features a painfully shy otaku (Train Man) whose life takes on a different turn when a young woman sends him a thank you gift for saving her from a drunken pervert on the train.

Train Man posts a message on 2ch to ask for advice regarding the incident, and so the story unfolds. In this “novel,” there is no straight narration; the structure mimics actual threads on a message board, with timestamps, netspeak,  ASCII graphics and all (apparently most of it is translated from the actual forum).

I enjoyed this book because I recognized Train Man, who could be easily be several people I know — well-meaning but socially inept, much more at home on the internet (or elsewhere, for that matter) than in real life, and really intense (as only a geek can be). I was hovering between amusement and sympathy throughout the length of this geeky love story.

Like a beacon of inspiration, Train Man muddles through in an admirable (awkward, but admirable) fashion, gradually working up the courage to go after what he wants. Cecille, one of my book club friends who had read this book earlier, pointed out that one can’t help but root for Train Man, and she’s right — there’s that sense of jubilation that each small step he makes is a triumph for geekdom.

While I’m pretty sure the turn of events is either fictional or embellished, it does make a cute and entertaining story, and accurately portrays the nuances of otaku subculture.

***

Train Man, trade paperback, 4/5 stars
P615 at National Book Store

P.S. Also read the manga, Densha Otoko: even funnier than the novel, though less detailed. I skimmed through the live-action episodes of the TV adaptation on YouTube: more dramatic, not as funny. Haven’t seen the movie, though I did like the trailer.