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小説は連作短編として、色々な土地を旅する作家が、旅行先で怪異にあうという物語にしようと考えているのだ。

...作家が, (try to?) think of stories that match the mysteries in those destination. ??

instead of (よう)とする、can you have (よう)と___verb? Although what is 物語にする in that case. ...

Thanks

charu
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  • I'm a bit perplexed about what the author of this sentence is trying to say. Is it a particular novel that he's writing about? If yes, then I can make better sense of this. And if yes, is it a kind of travelogue? I would construe 旅行先で怪異にあうという物語にしようと考えている to mean "they imagine the strange events they'll encounter before heading out on their trip". – A.Ellett Jul 21 '17 at 21:57
  • @Chocolate I thought the OP wasn't so much asking about ようとする but more about 物語にする。 – A.Ellett Jul 21 '17 at 22:47
  • @chocolate how would which usage should "物語にしよう" fall under? – charu Jul 21 '17 at 23:07

3 Answers3

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小説は連作短編として、（『色々な土地を旅する作家が、旅行先で怪異にあう』という→）物語にしようと考えているのだ。
I am (or He/She is) thinking of making the novel a series of short pieces, with a story where a novelist who travels to various places encounters mysterious events on his trip.

  • ～という物語: a story where ～, a story of ～
    • 「色々な土地を旅する作家が、旅行先で怪異にあう」 is the part this という applies (i.e., the content of the 物語). Note that this 作家 should be a main character in the novel, who is different from the the speaker himself.
    • For example, 美女と野獣が恋に落ちるという物語 means "a story where a beautiful woman and a beast fall in love" or "a story of a beautiful woman and a beast falling in love".
  • Here あう is "to encounter", "to come across". (often written as 遭う)
  • ～にする is a very common set phrase which has several meanings. In this case, it means "to decide on ～ (from multiple options)" or "to choose".
  • しよう: the volitional form of する
  • ～しようと考える: to think of doing ～, to plan to do ～

The simplified version of the sentence is この小説は～という物語にしよう, which literally means "As for this novel, I'm going to choose the story where ～".

naruto
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  • ah..., the fact that the speaker/author himself is currently on the trip made me think that "色々な土地を旅する作家" was not part of the story, maybe describing himself in 3rd person or something, but that doesn't make a lot of sense if i think about it.. This is a very interesting sentence thank you! If you don't mind, what would you say the best way to interpret 連作短編として in this case, the typical "as~", or "in the role of ~", etc doesn't exactly fit, – charu Jul 22 '17 at 03:50
  • "AはBとする" or "AをBとする" is a bit stiff way of saying "let/regard/make A (as) B." Hence "I'll make the novel a series (of short ones)" – naruto Jul 22 '17 at 04:13
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I'm a bit perplexed about what the author of this sentence is trying to say. Is it a particular novel that he's writing about? If yes, then I can make better sense of this. And if yes, is it a kind of travelogue?

I would construe 旅行先で怪異にあうという物語にしようと考えている to mean "he imagines telling the stories of the sorts of strange events he'll encounter as he heads out on he trip".

I'll take the perspective that this is about a particular work.

A.Ellett
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    the speaker himself in an author, and is currently on one of these trips. So it's sorta like that i guess, but he's trying to get some inspiration for his next publication. "とある雑誌で、初めての連載を任されることになった僕は、ここは正念場とばかりに、取材旅行に飛び出した。" being the prior sentence. But not sure how to break down 物語にしようと考えている in particular. – charu Jul 21 '17 at 22:07
  • `before heading out on their trip`「旅行先で」は "while they're travelling" って意味です。 eg 行き先 = destination (≂ 目的地) – Chocolate Jul 21 '17 at 22:39
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Interpretation of 物語にしようと考えている

小説は連作短編として、色々な土地を旅する作家が、旅行先で怪異にあうという物語にしようと考えているのだ。

..作家が, (try to?) think of stories that match the mysteries in those destination. ??

It can be close to 'try,' but it doesn't say so. It's saying 作家が怪異に遭う、そういう話にしよう、そういうことを考えている。The speaker wants to write a story of a writer who is going to experience strange things during his journey.

instead of (よう)とする、can you have (よう)と___verb? Although what is 物語にする in that case. ...

Yes, しようとする means to try to do something, or to be about to do something, and we also say
しようと考える, and this becomes to mean to think about doing something.

しよう expresses 'will' ＝ し[連用形（する）]＋よう[意思の助動詞]（ref: デジタル大辞泉 | よう）
We naturally require と to connect this しよう to a verb, in other words, to connect the content of the plan to the verb: しようと思う, しようと企む, しようと計画する, etc.

～という物語にしようと考えている。
そういう物語にしようと思う。
今夜はおそばにしようと思う。

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karlalou
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  • is 旅行先で怪異にあう and 旅行先の怪異にあう　roughly equivalent in this case? Also "the speaker wants to write a story of a writer...", i have the preceding sentence replied under the other comment, but how does this sentence indicate that the the writer will be a character in the story? – charu Jul 22 '17 at 03:18
  • We don't say 旅先の怪異に遭う. We say 旅先で人に会う, or 旅先の出来事を話す. 旅先の人に電話をする might logically fit. We can't really tell who is the writer in his story from the given context. I don't see where you've been answered about these. – karlalou Jul 22 '17 at 04:41
  • I cleared up my misunderstanding :P, 似合うvsに遭う. In the end that was the biggest reason i could get the sentence haha. (thought you maybe typo'd at first :s) – charu Jul 22 '17 at 04:50
  • I find when we say 旅先の instead of 旅先で, it doesn't say "during" a trip anymore. If you say 旅先の怪異に遭う, we can't tell "where" someone meets the strange thing of a travel. – karlalou Jul 22 '17 at 18:56