kono shousetsu wa totemo omoshiroi desu.

topic particle

Breakdown of kono shousetsu wa totemo omoshiroi desu.

• です: to be
• とても: very
• この: this

Questions & Answers about kono shousetsu wa totemo omoshiroi desu.

What does この mean exactly, and how is it different from その and あの?

この means this and is used when the speaker is physically close to the thing being talked about, or feels it is psychologically close.

• この 小説: this novel (near me, the speaker)
• その 小説: that novel (near you, the listener, or something just mentioned)
• あの 小説: that novel over there (far from both speaker and listener, or a third thing)

All three must be followed by a noun:

• この 小説 – this novel
• その 本 – that book
• あの 映画 – that movie (over there / that one we both know about)

You cannot use この / その / あの without a noun (unlike English this/that sometimes). For that, you use これ / それ / あれ instead.

Why is 小説 used instead of 本? Can I say この 本 は とても 面白い です?

小説 (しょうせつ) means novel specifically: a work of fiction in prose.

本 (ほん) means book in general: could be a novel, textbook, manga, picture book, etc.

So:

• この 小説 は とても 面白い です。
  This novel is very interesting. (You are clearly talking about a novel.)

• この 本 は とても 面白い です。
  This book is very interesting. (More general. It might be a novel, but the word itself does not specify.)

Both sentences are grammatically correct; the choice depends on how specific you want to be.

What is the role of は in this sentence?