That word 'inspiration' is an important one because unlike
some of the other Studio Ghibli films, Howl's Moving Castle springs to
mind, this is not based directly on an existing story. There is no Heron in How
Do You Live? and the relationship with the Copper and his uncle is a healthier
one than Mahito and his Grand Uncle.
Rather its taking the themes of coming of age, dealing with
the loss of a parent and navigating what type of person you want to be in life.
Will you be empathetic? show compassion? be arrogant or cowardly? These are all
things the main character Copper has to wrestle with.
As he goes through experiences he shares them with his uncle
and afterwards the uncle shares his advice in a notebook. It creates for the
majority of the book a pattern of Copper's story then directly followed by the
Uncle's observations.
Copper is not perfect, makes mistakes and learns from them.
But he is likeable and his experiences drive the story. He is coping with the
loss of his father and navigating starting senior school, with the threats of
bullying and coping with friendships that are evolving with maturity. The
reader is encouraged to look at Copper and ask themselves what they would have
done and what type of life they want to lead.
This book was written for children but there is more going
on here. Understanding the context around the books is important because it was
penned at a time when totalitarianism had gripped Japan and to question
authority out you in prison and under deep censorship.
Yoshino was imprisoned, fell foul of the thought police but
still wanted to counter the aggressive state. That makes this a brave book and
a moving one. When Copper's uncle is urging him to think for himself and
question authority, he is risking more than just losing the reader's interest.
This is a book that has a power to provoke and move and on
that basis alone is worth recommending. But when you add the context and
understand the risks that Yoshino and his publisher were running by producing
this and it is much more heroic.
Ultimately at a time when populism is on the rise we all
need to ask ourselves the question of how we want to live.
