I started crying at the end for no visible reason.Kiama’s little-big thoughts, Kawabe’s personality and Jamashita’s clumsy heart-warming gestures...look, this novel is beautiful in full of its “weirdness”.

I am taking away one star because of the portrayal of women in this book... Nonetheless, I think the main messages of frienship, coming of age, death and a healthy outgrowing of relationships were portrayed fantastically. This book is a quick read which makes you feel at peace.

People come to this book, read the story and simply like that, they are engrossed with the book. They could not do anything else than turn pages after pages, and when they close the book, they do so with a sense of longing and a sadness that is long to disperse.When I first opened the book, I had thought, "Oh, this is about an old man teaching the kids all the good things this world can offer. It wouldn't be a long read then"; and I was right, the reading, it didn't take long, but as soon as I f...

This book reminded me deeply of my grandfather and my childhood. Will give this better review when the time come!

This is one of the most beautiful stories I ever read about friendship.Kiyama, Kawabe and Yamashita are three young friends who spend their time between school, cram school and sports. Neither has the best of situations at home or is the most popular at school, but they rely on each other. When Yamashita's grandmother passes away, the boys voice their concerns, beliefs and questions about death. It turns out that they are all fascinated by it, not in a morbid way, but they are just afraid of the...

An amazing book. Three 12-year-old Japanese boys are prepping the summer before the exams that will determine their future careers. Each is a bit of a misfit in his own way, but together they can talk about anything and everything--soccer, girls, their futures. Then after the funeral of a grandparent, their preoccupations take a more serious philosophical turn to death, the meaning of life, the afterlife, and dying itself. Since none of them has any grandparents living nearby, they become fascin...

xxx contain spoilers xxxThis hit very close to home. It's the kind of "Japanese book" I fell in love with back when I was 14. I loved the delicate way in which Yumoto describe the inner turmoil of the three boys. There's something utterly real; the kind of fears they have are very human and fit perfectly with their age. The relationship they build with the old man, it's moving. Each of them - in his own particular way - it's lonely. Their parents are there, physically speaking, but they do not o...

What a beautiful book. I have the e-copy but I will get the hard copy to lend it to young and old readers, since this has to be read by everyone, in every age.It is a simple story about 3 young boys who have a morbid curiosity about death. So they decide to spy on a very old and lonely man, since they are sure the old man would die soon. So the boys spy him behind the fence, and then once the old man notices, they spy him without hiding, and then, slowly, they get closer and closer until the old...

The friends by Kazumi Yumoto is a book in which the characters have a very wild imagination. This book is about three boys living in the suburbs of Tokyo in modern Japan who are all friends. The three boys find an old house that an old man lives in it alone. They think that he may die soon so they continuously spy him. They learn a great deal about themselves, their families and their own fears about death and the future. At the end of their sixth-grade year, one of the three attends the funeral...

I had always thought I'd read this, but turns out I hadn't. What a terrific story.

I'm so glad that I read this novel in Japanese! Elementary boys in Japan really do talk like the characters in this story. I used to play soccer with the kids during lunch break when I was an ALT too so that element in the last 1/3 of the book was nostalgic for me. Kazumi Yumoto told a coming of age story about adolescent boys first wondering what death is all about. It's that curiosity that leads them to meeting a special Ojii-san. Kiyama, Yamashita, and Kawabe are boys with quite common last n...

This book was given to me by a Japanese friend during my exchange in Tokyo. It has taken me a few years to finally finish. While perhaps a little more interesting than your average slice of life Japanese novel, it still is, at its core, a slice of life novel. There are some genuinely touching and vivid scenes, and the evolving relationship between the boys and the old man is lovingly portrayed. I just cannot help but feel a lack of any sort of profound meaning or message. It's just some kids goi...

No juicy plot, just good ol' coming-of-age story chronicled by a sixth grader, Kiyama about his daily life with his close buddies Yamashita and Kawabe on their last year in elementary school. After hearing about the death of Yamashita's grandmother, the boys became fascinated with the idea of death and began spying an old man whom they suspected would die soon. What began as an innocent adventure developed into a beautiful friendship that would leave lasting memories and perhaps, significant im...

The grandmother under the mountain passed away! The death suddenly became the topic of discussion among the three boys, Mushan, Riverside and Yamashita. They did not know the meaning of death. The unknown night and the fear of death, like a lingering nightmare, lingering like a shadow. In the end, they decided to observe an elderly person living alone in the vicinity, hoping to see the moment before his death, but they did not expect that they had undoubtedly embarked on an unforgettable journey...

I enjoyed the way the three main characters were created by the author. They are very different from each other; one is a risk taker (and liar), one is tall, another skinny, another heavy. The boys are similar to American boys (we are all not so different) so they are easy to relate to. Quality read that deals with real issues.

3 sixth graders in Japan befriend an old man, in hopes of being present when he dies. Very focused on mortality, slow moving. I admit, I found it deeply boring -- literary fiction for kids, probably of more interest to adults. Also, the treatment of the girlfriend at the fireworks is revolting. I suppose that is a reflection of the 1990s publication date, but it just didn't do much for me.

When I heard the name, I thought it was a love-story. When I opened the first page, I knew it is a children's book. When I closed the book, I believed that even adults are fascinated and left with emotions by reading it.

A sort of Japanese "Stand By Me" (/"The Body" by Stephen King), this story follows three boys as they befriend an old man due to their fascination with death. Needless to say, it doesn't go quite as planned!

This story captured childlike wonder/curiosity beautifully, as well as a way to talk about death with children. The scenes were so vivid, and the friendship between the children and the old man was built up in which a real way.

It’s was so heart warming. I was expecting a simple summer read about friendship, but it was so much more. It discussed life, death, war, beauty in life and separation in an approachable way. I can’t read it with dry eyes. Just moving.