Japanese authors general thread

This thread is devoted to the Japanese works read of authors who were not specially assigned for the year. Feel free to post reviews, thoughts, and to initiate any discussion that seems necessary.

Haruki Murakami wrote an introduction to Rashomon and 17 Other Stories by Ryunosuke Akutagawa that begins with the following remarks:

In Japan, Akutagawa Ryunosuke is a writer of genuinely national stature. If a poll were taken to choose the ten most important "Japanese national writers" since the advent of the modern period in 1868, Akutagawa would undoubtedly be one of them. He might even squeeze in among the top five.

This paragraph is footnoted as follows:

On the list with Akutagawa would be such figures as Natsume Soseki (1867-1916), Mori Ogai (1862-1922), Shimazaki Toson (1872-1943), Shiga Naoya (1883-1971), Tanizaki Jun'ichiro (1886-1965), and the 1968 Nobel Prizewinner Kawabata Yasunari (1899-1972). Less certain of a place might be Dazai Osamu (1909-48) and Mishima Yukio (1925-70). Soseki would unquestionably come out at the top. This totals only nine; I can't think of a good candidate for tenth place

Back in the main text Murakami defines "writer of national stature":

Such a writer would necessarily have left us works of the first rank that vividly reflect the mentality of the Japanese people of his or her age. This is the most essential point.

Interesting thoughts. I wonder if Murakami would consider himself a "national writer"? Perhaps not. Anyway, his list is interesting. I'd never heard of Shimazaki or Shiga before.

I just completed In Praise of Shadows by Tanizaki-- which is a short essay, not a novel. Here's my review:
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I found this essay tremendously interesting. it is basically a renowned novelist's musings on the Japanese aesthetic. It touches on everything from architecture, to women, to toilets, and generally makes a stark contrast between Easy and West. It made many things fall into place for me regarding Japanese art/architecture, literature, film, and food. Although the style was rambling and not entirely cohesive, it was fine that way-- a nice combination of serious analysis and humor, and very accessible. I would highly recommend this book to anyone interested in anything Japanese. It will change your perspective and understanding. 4.5 stars
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This is a short book and a quick read. Anyone who is going to be reading Japanese novelists throughout 2012 should read this book early on. Read the afterword too, as there is some useful commentary on Japanese writing styles.

Tanizaki wrote this in 1933. I am enjoying wondering what he would write now. He was concerned about the modernization and westernization Japan had seen by 1933. So much was still to come-- even bigger changes. He would have hated them. He was concerned about where to hide a light fixture; try hiding a TV and game console. He obvious has a deep love for the (traditional) Japanese aesthetic and some of that rubs off on the reader. I am dying for some miso by candlelight out of lacquer bowls. I am not dying to have my teeth blackened.

Also fun to join him in imagining what modern conveniences would be like if they had been invented in the East. For a short book, there is a lot of content, and much to ponder after reading.

Some recommendations from my cousin. She is an American Shin Buddhist monk/priest (not sure which).
Letters of the Nun Eshinni
In Praise of Shadows
Black Rain
Chronicle of my Mother
and poets Bassho and Saigyo

and some films:
Patriotism, with Yukio Mishima (I just put this in my Netflix queue and hope to watch this next week)
Departures
Picture Bride
Narayama

I apologize if these have already been recommended on one of the many Japan threads. I haven't check them all....

I completed A Personal Matter by Kenzaburo Oe. It's a challenging novel to review, but here's my shot at it. *mild spoilers*
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I knew from early on this was a great book, but I also hated it, right up to the end. Then it redeemed itself. It a great story about a horrendous, damaged people, in a cold and severe culture, dealing with deep pain and helplessness. The only bits of lightheartedness were Oe's over-the-top poetic treatments of the most disgusting and awful things-- like vomiting, certain sex acts, and deformed babies-- so dark humor to be sure.

Oe's writing really does draw the reader into the distastefulness of the situation and the characters though. You feel dirty and immoral in Himiko's cave. You want to smack the doctors across the face. And you feel nothing for the mother or baby, who ought to be sympathetic characters. The book made me want to take a shower. Although I can't say I enjoyed reading this book I have to admire writing that powerful. All the more so since Oe himself is the father of a disabled son. I agree with the other reviewers who comment that the ending seems contrived and unbelievable, but I'm okay with that. I'm glad that corner was turned.

I don't know who to recommend this book to. It's a great novel, but painful to read. I imagine those who can handle it know who they are. 4 stars.
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I'd love to discuss this with anyone who's read it. I really can't decide how I feel about the book, or even if I will keep it on my shelves. I do know it made a lasting impression!

I read A Personal Matter several years ago and had a similar reaction. I've read some pretty rough stuff, but I don't recall ever having such a feeling of shock and despair while reading a novel. It is honesty at its most brutal.

I haven't read anything else by Oe, but I plan to do so this year.

I plan to read The Changeling later this year as well.

Finally! One of the Endo books I ordered has arrived! I will start Deep River tonight.

I just watched Patriotism (yes, the film. I have not read the short story yet). But the film is based on Mishima's story and he produced, directed, and starred in the film. It's about a military leader who commits hara-kiri/seppuku. It's silent, 27 minutes long, and done in the style of Noh theater. The fact that Mishima commits seppuku only 4 years later makes it extra eerie, but this film is awesome and awful even without that.

I recommend it for this group's readers--- it's nice to see one his stories visually, done exactly as Mishima wanted it to look. Warning, the sex is somewhat graphic and the violence is very difficult to watch-- even in B&W. I'm generally interested in Mishima, not just in his writing, and this was a nice addition to my studies.

Available from Netflix.

I read parts of The Letters of the Nun Eshinni: Images of Pure Land Buddhism. Review follows:
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This book has 3 sections: 1.) Author's notes on the letters' history and background that is useful for understanding the context and content of the letters 2.) The letters themselves and 3.) scholarly writings on Pure Land Buddhism interpretations arising from the letters.

The first section was pretty interesting-- the fact that these letters were written in that time and place and that I am able to read them today is fascinating in its own right. The letters themselves were a bit of a letdown. They had been built up to be much more, to reveal so much more, than they actually did (for me anyway). I had high hopes for letters 8-10 to provide much more details of daily life in Medieval Japan. They were very short, repetitive, and just not that interesting.

I am not a scholar of Buddhism so I did not read Section 3.

This book may have much more significance to a scholar of Shinsu Buddhism. For the lay person interested in both Japan and Medieval history-- it didn't have much to offer.
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I completed Snow Country by Yasunari Kawabata. Review below. I rarely give such a negative review to a Nobel Prize winner.
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I just could not make myself like this book. I thought if I kept reading I would get drawn in and start to care, but no, I didn't. I liked the writing style so I will try some other novels by Kawabata, but this book just left me cold. The two characters are pathetic, unsympathetic, and not well developed. Komako is particularly annoying; I wanted to slap her. The fact that Shimamura didn't slap her just shows what a lazy dud he is. This is billed as a tragic love story but I didn't feel or see any signs of love. Co-dependence maybe. I was reading as fast as I could so I could be done and move on. 1.5 stars

I finished Some Prefer Nettles by Jun'ichiro Tanizaki. I had previously read and loved The Makioka Sisters, and while this was--as I had been forwarned--a very different type of book--I enjoyed it equally.

What I found especially revealing was the way the cultural invasion of Western ideas and practices resulted in houses divided into "Japanese rooms" and "Western rooms." The novel's protagonist likewise found his life split into Eastern and Western ways of thinking and acting, and his dilemma is that he finds them equally appealing even when they are pulling him in opposite directions.

Houses built in Japan these days are still divided between Western rooms and Japanese rooms. I live in Japan in a Western style house that lacks the tatami room a grander residence would certainly have. My Japanese wife is not happy about this.

Black Rain by Masuji Ibuse is my first completed book for this Author Theme Read.

In his beautifully written novel, Black Rain, Masuji Ibuse takes us into the experience of ordinary citizens coping with the after-math of the August 6, 1945 bombing of Hiroshima. Set several years following the bombing, Shigematsu Shizuma, his wife Shigeko and niece Yasuko, temporarily residing in Hiroshima at the time of the blast, have survived and returned to their rural community of Kobatake. Acting as their niece’s guardians, Shigematsu and his wife are responsible to find her a husband, a duty that is rendered difficult by potential suitors’ fears that Yasuko has been exposed to the “black rain”. Shigematsu struggles himself with a mild case of radiation sickness, yet continues his factory employment, while joining friends in establishing a carp nursery. Throughout the story, recollections of the bombing and its aftermath are intermingled with the family’s concerns for every day life.

Ibuse advances his narrative in multiple voices, through an inventive use of four characters’ journal entries that move the story back and forth between the present day and the time of the bombing. Shigematsu dominates through transcription of his journal entries, from the day of the bombing to the day of the Imperial Majesty’s surrender, the copying of which he has undertaken both for donation to the school library and to disprove his niece’s illness. The first person perspectives of Shigeko, Yasuko and a physician, Dr. Iwatake, are brought in through their own personal journal entries. In writing this novel, Ibuse drew heavily from actual materials and interviews, and we are told in the preface that Shigematsu, his journal, and Dr. Iwatake actually existed.

Ibuse details the horror of the utter devastation and death that occurred in the aftermath of the bombing, with his writing made even more powerful by the absence of political commentary or overt emotionalism. The characters display remarkable emotional reserve and resilience, and struggle to continue on with their lives and traditional ceremonies, despite heart-wrenching encounters with death and suffering. Their lack of self-pity or hysteria, and initial incomprehension of the true nature and ramifications of the bomb, lends an almost eerie quality to the narrative.

Black Rain is one of few novels that I have read by a Japanese author and I found John Bester’s Translator’s Preface very helpful in understanding the ways in which it is uniquely Japanese. Bester’s insights into this brilliant work summarize its power far more elegantly than I ever could.

“…Ibuse, with infinite nostalgia, sets against the violent destruction of the city the beauty of the Japanese countryside and the ancient customs of its people. Against the mighty, brutal purposes of State, he lays the small human preoccupations and foibles. Against the threat of universal destruction, he sets a love for, and sense of wonder at life in all its forms…

Black Rain is a portrait of a group of human beings; of the death of a great city; of a nation crumbling into defeat. It is a picture of the Japanese mind that tells more than many sociological studies. Yet more than this, it is statement of a philosophy. Although that philosophy, in its essence, is neither pessimistic nor optimistic, it seems to me to be life-affirming. Dealing with the grimmest of subjects, the work is not, in the end, depressing, for the author is ultimately concerned with life rather than with death, and with an overall beauty that transcends ugliness of detail. In that sense, I would suggest, Black Rain is not a “book about the bomb” at all.”

Highly recommended. *****

14 -
You've picked an excellent book as one of your first Japanese books of the year and I'm happy to see that you got so much enjoyment from reading it. Black Rain is one of those books that is always on the top of my recommendation list for Japanese literature and for books in general. I've always enjoyed it because it's a different way of looking at a war genre book which I find to be either incredibly romanticized or incredibly grotesque. The way this book immerses you into the aftermaths of a bomb as horrible as that of Hiroshima and Nagasaki but yet you manage to remain calm and appreciate the little efforts and the upkeeping of morale of the people around you. Really a fantastic book.

11 -
I actually find Kawabata's books hard to read. I haven't tried Snow Country myself but I've read two of his other works and although always beautiful, I never find myself recommending his works. But that work is probably considered his most work so it's almost surprising you had such a distaste towards it.

12 -
The split between East and West is a huge Tanizaki theme and I find the way he discusses it to be very thought-provoking. I've been wanting to read another of his books. Oh, so many books I want to read now (and could if I didn't feel guilty about job-searching)!

I just read in one sitting Two Novels: J and Seventeen by Kenzaburō Ōe. My review is on the work page.

Though it was only a few pages long, the introduction by Masao Miyoshi in the Book-of-the-Month-Club edition was wonderfully informative, not just about Ōe and his work but about the political situation in Japan in the early 1960s. "The sixties began early in Japan," is Mihoshi's opening observation. He talks not only about how the political situation influenced Ōe's writing, but how the backlash to his novel Seventeen was, in part, responsible for redirecting Ōe to more autobiographical themes.

- 16

Steven, That pair of novels was the only Ōe I've read so far. Its political content was quite controversial indeed.

I'm abandoning reading Light and Darkness by Natsume Soseki for the time being. It's fascinating but a bit slow-paced. I skimmed the book's afterword by its translator. It mentioned that there are two trilogies in his works. His 'first trilogy' consisted of Sanshiro, And Then, and Mon/The Gate. The 'second trilogy': To the Spring Equinox and Beyond, The Wayfarer, and Kokoro.

I am interested that Kokoro is the third in a trilogy, since it is so far the only Soseki novel I've read. In reading about other works of his to decide which to buy, I discovered that the "first trilogy" is considered a thematic trilogy, not one in which characters continue from book to book. I wonder if this is true of the second, too.

I think the second is also a thematic set. They are only arranged chronologically. I've also only read Kokoro in that trilogy.

I have finished Kanzaburo Oe's Rouse Up O Young Men of the New Age! and have posted the review on the book's page. This is the first of Oe's novels that I have read and from the comments above, it seems to have a very different tone - still unusual and challenging, but mostly uplifting.

I was also somewhat surprised by the extent to which Oe lets us see the emotions of his narrator - very different from the emotional reserve I found in Masuji Ibuse's writing.

I just recently read When I Whistle by Shusaku Endo. Very good with similar themes to Sea and Poison. I haven't written any official thoughts yet however. I seem to be having trouble doing that this year.

I posted my review of Tsushima Yūko's novel Laughing Wolf on the book page. Tsushima has two other novels and a short story collection available in translation.

Last night I completed Some Prefer Nettles by Junichiro Tanizaki. My review:
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Some Prefer Nettles is the story of the struggle to decide between tradition (East) and new ideas (West), stability and excitement, a spouse and a lover. The main storyline chronicles the degradation of a traditional Japanese marriage as it gives way to new ideas of what love should be. The parallel story tells the tale of Japanese puppet theatre-- reduced attendance and lost art.

Tanizaki's insight into marriage is alarmingly perceptive, and his slow revelation of O-hisa's and Misako's father's relationship has the same effect on the reader as it does on Kaname-- a subtly growing appreciation and admiration despite first impressions. I loved the ending-- a bit of hopeless resignation, but overall the right thing seemed to be on its way for Kaname and Misako. I felt that at the end Tanizaki was illustrating that the urge to embrace new ideas had little to do with the ideas themselves and more to with the newness of them. And thus, should be avoided, or at least thought over carefully. Nonetheless the angst, desperation, and indecisiveness is palpable throughout the novel-- supported by Tanizaki's descriptive but surgically clean writing. 4 stars
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From my sampling so far, Tanizaki is my favorite 20th century Japanese writer.

Just finished reading The Stones Cry Out by Hikaru Okuizumi.

I had this book on my Amazon wishlist for about a year but I kept not buying it in thinking I needed to reduce my TBR pile first. But serendipity had the book sitting on the shelf right in front of me on my first visit ever to Half Priced Books. At that point I couldn't resist and I'm glad I didn't.

Manase is an amateur geologist who found his passion while fighting the war in Leyte. A dying lance corporal, a geologist himself, tells Manase how the smallest stone carries the history of the universe. He comes back from the war and starts a wonderful life as the owner of a book shop with his wife and two kids, spending his spare time sharpening and polishing his geology skills. To his great happiness, his oldest son begins to experiment with geology and they are able to form the most precious of bonds. But when his son goes out one night and doesn't come back, Manase's life quickly falls apart.

While the great love for his oldest son is endearing, you feel pity for his suffering youngest boy. And while you can feel his passion for geology you can only feel sorry for his wife and she loses her mind after the loss of her little boy. Okuzumi is masterful at exploring Manase's deterioration as the memories of his time in the war intertwine more and more with his memories of today. It's a world of extremes in Manase's world but in the end, it all turns into dust like every rock must do before it can become a rock again in another life.

A great metaphor on life, I'd say The Stones Cry Out is a must read in Japanese literature.

I posted reviews of Nowaki, Natsume Sōseki's latest book to be translated, and The Wild Goose, Mori Ōgai's charming novel, in the books' pages.

#24 technodiabla: I love Tanizaki too. He wrote this weird little book called The Key that you should really read if you haven't already.

#27-- Thanks for the recommendation. I'll see if I can find it anywhere.

My review of Mandarins by Akutagawa Ryūnosuke is posted in the book's page. The last two stories are the only ones it shared with Rashōmon and Seventeen Other Stories, translated by Jay Rubin.

"An Enlightened Husband", one of the 15 stories here, appeared in slightly different form here.

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/arts/books/japans-literature-of-the-apocalyp...

An essay by Ted Goossen, editor of The Oxford Book of Japanese Short Stories, written in the aftermath of the 2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami. The essay describes three waves of Japanese apocalyptic writings, including a short reading list.

Coincidentally, my copy of The Oxford Book of Japanese Short Stories just arrived. I'm looking forward to dipping into it.

Thank you for posting the link #30. I have moved Black Rain to the top of my tbr pile.

Strangers by Taichi Yamada

http://www.librarything.com/work/63636/reviews/25495865

4.5/5 stars

This book is very atmospheric. I found myself thinking about it long after reading the novel, and the story somewhat reminded me of an M. Night Shyamalan movie. Harada lives in a building on a very busy street in Tokyo. However, most of the units in the building have been converted to office space and, consequently, there are only two tenants there after hours. He’s a little spooked by the quietness in the building at night but chalks it up to being recently divorced and unused to being alone.

One night he decides to go to his hometown where he meets a couple who are the spitting image of his long-dead parents. He keeps going back to see them to try to determine who they really are. There are other strange happenings in his life that I won’t spoil for you here.

It’s a short book that can be read in a few hours, and I encourage anyone interested in Japanese literature to read it. The ‘quiet suspense’ of the novel impressed me and made me want to read more by this author

The Housekeeper and the Professor by Yoko Ogawa

5/5 stars

http://www.librarything.com/work/5263983/reviews/40216774

‘Math has proven the existence of God, because it is absolute and without contradiction; but the devil must exist as well, because we cannot prove it.’

Absolutely wonderful — I loved this book!!

A mathematics professor has only 80 minutes of short term memory due to a car accident, but he remembers everything clear as a bell that happened before his head injury. He continues to solve mathematical proofs and has an uncanny ability to know exactly where the North Star is in the sky, even when there’s no visibility. He is kind and has a great love for children. But, he remembers only 80 minutes at a time in the here and now. His sister-in-law lets him live in a cottage next to her main house, and she has hired a ninth housekeeper to cook and clean for the professor.

The housekeeper does her best to please the professor and works around his disability. She tells him about her 10 year old son, and he insists on letting the son come to his cottage after school, even though it’s against the cleaning agency’s rules. The professor writes notes to himself to help remind him of the housekeeper and her son. The boy and the professor both have a love of baseball, and the professor uses this to teach the boy mathematics. Soon a strong bond is formed among the three of them.

There is quite a bit of math in this book, and of course I enjoyed those references tremendously. I have an engineering degree, and mathematics has always been a love of mine. I don’t think you have to know math like I do to enjoy this book, but you will certainly appreciate the beauty of it a bit more if you do.

‘Eternal truths are ultimately invisible, and you won’t find them in material things or natural phenomena, or even in human emotions. Mathematics, however, can illuminate them, can give them expression — in fact, nothing can prevent it from doing so.’

Very highly recommended!!

2003, 2009 for the English translation by Stephen Snyder, 180 pp.

Hotel Iris by Yoko Ogawa (same author as The Housekeeper and the Professor)

2/5 stars

http://www.librarything.com/work/1117733/reviews/86145085

This book has a very different ‘love story’ — one that didn’t appeal to me at all.

Mari is a seventeen year old girl working at the front desk of her mother’s hotel when she meets a middle aged man whose voice and manner intrigue her. As they get to know each other, it leads to a sexual relationship involving S&M. It wasn’t extremely graphic, but still just not my cup of tea nonetheless.

I still enjoy Ogawa’s writing style and the translation was great, but I just didn’t like the subject matter so unfortunately I was extremely disappointed. However, I’d still read another Ogawa novel — I just would learn more about the storyline first.

1996, 2010 for the English translation; 164 pp.

After Dark by Haruki Murakami

4/5 stars

The book covers the encounters of several “night people” on one particular evening from 11:56 pm to 6:52 am. All of the characters in the book have some interconnection. I most enjoyed the story of the two sisters, Eri and Mari. One of them can’t sleep and the other one won’t wake up. I also enjoyed the philosophical discussions between Mari and Takahashi. I didn’t really get what was going on with the TV/white noise thing, but it was interesting.

It seems to me that After Dark is Murakami's most underrated book. It's an exquisite miniature, an Edward Hopper painting come to life, or at least come to literature.

My review of The Changeling by Kenzaburo Oe:

I really enjoyed this book, and I believe Oe's masterful writing is the reason. There is very little plot and it unfolds slowly, yet somehow I couldn't put it down (it's long, but a quick easy read). More than halfway through I started to question my intense interest, in the absence of any discernible storyline. It's the dread. A very subtle yet terrifying sense of an unknown horror, hidden, lurking in the pages kept me reading. The characters themselves do not seem to be aware of what is coming. (They are aware, but they have forgotten, or chose to forget...) That could only be pulled off by a true genius.

So the book is about experiences that are turning points-- the events that define an individual, and the memories of those events. It is also about people finding their own means of self expression and their own story to tell. It doesn't really matter who the characters were or what happened to them. The story is transcendent, universal.

I do wish the last chapter and the epilogue had pulled the thread just a little bit more. I am going to the library this weekend to get Outside, Over There, by Maurice Sendak. Perhaps it will fill in the small missing gaps in the experience of reading The Changeling.

Interesting review. What's the relation between the Sendak and the Oe however?

The epilogue (entitled "Outside, Over There") references Sendak's book extensively. It's sort of about Chikashi (the main characters' wife and sister) finding her story and her means of expression.

Nice review of The Changeling; I'm planning to read it later this year. I guess I'll look for Outside Over There too!

June is the last month for reading Kobo Abe. After that we'll be switching over to Ryu Murakami.

Thanks for the reminder; I'm gearing up for The Box Man! What Ryu Murakami books would you recommend?

I look forward to hearing your thoughts on that one!

Ryu Murakami's works are all a bit different that I know but personally I would start with Almost Transparent Blue. It's the book that piloted Japan into a new modern area where Japan was no longer this "innocent" traditionalist culture and instead was learning about this new underground world where the youth was getting entangled with drugs and a whole new look on sexuality. Ask different generations of Japanese what they think about this book and you'll get many answers. The older traditionalists find the book disgusting and worthy of throwing in the trashcan. Others think it's a just a book. And others think it's what Japan needed.

His other book of shock (but of a different kind) would be Coin Locker Babies. It always come recommended when I talk about this Murakami.

I plan to read Popular Hits of the Showa Era and Audition after June sometime. I can't say I know anything about them other than that's what they had in stock at B&N by Murakami when I went shopping.

If I like these, I'll seek out whatever books others in this group recommend.

Thanks for the reminder that I need to get busy and read the two remaining Kobo Abe books I have.

When Ryu Murakami rolls around, I've already read Almost Transparent Blue. I have Coin Locker Babies, Piercing, and In the Miso Soup which I suppose I'll read in that order since that's the order in which they were written.

Wow, those Ryu Murakami books sound unappealing! But I'll read at least one.

His books are definitely not for the masses. Almost Transparent Blue is full of these massive sex orgies and high on drug experiences. I'm curious how many here will actually enjoy a Ryu Murakami book. But remember that all of his books are pretty different. If you don't like one, maybe trying something different would help.

Almost Transparent Blue is on the 1001 list so I thought I might read it, but now I see it's probably a little too wild for my tastes.

In the past week I've read Kangaroo Notebook by Kobo Abe, which seemed rather flat to me in comparison to The Box Man and Secret Rendezvous. Then yesterday I read Nip the Buds, Shoot the Kids by Kenzaburo Oe which was outstanding. My reviews are posted on the respective book pages.

Hi Steven, great review of Nip the Buds, Shoot the Kids. I note that you and others have commented on the poor translation - I can't seem to find the translator's name on the book page. Who was the translator? And do you know if this is the only english translation available?

The translators of the copy I read were Paul St. John Mackintosh and Maki Sugiyama. I haven't seen any other translations of this title, but I noticed this was they only one of Oe's novels that this pair has translated.

I thought Ryu Murakami's Audition was a terrific book. It's so dark and I loved how he builds the tension. My next Ryu Murakami read will be Popular Hits of the Showa Era.

I just finished In the Miso Soup by Ryu Murakami. I posted my review on the book page but also started a separate thread here for further discussion.

I have finished and posted a review of Yasunari Kawabata's Beauty and Sadness on the book's work page. Although I found this novel absorbing and Kawabata's writing exquisite, its message seemed to fall a bit short of what I would expect of a great work by a Nobel Laureate. This was Kawabata's last full novel before he died under somewhat controversial circumstances - suicide or accident? I am looking forward to reading some of his earlier works.

This week I read a classic Japanese mystery, Tokyo Express, (Points and Lines in English) by Seicho Matsumoto. Since I've been doing a lot of Japanese language study (hours every day), I haven't been reading so a mystery was a perfect way to get a short book into the mix.

I also read a book my Banana Yoshimoto but have yet to write comments about it.

Has anyone started any Mishima for the 4th quarter theme read?

Maybe this weekend or next week. I've got The Temple of the Golden Pavilion to start with.

I'm halfway through Confessions of a Mask.

I am a hundred pages into Forbidden Colors.

I have Forbidden Colours ready to go.

I'm reading Le marin rejeté par la mer, or in English, The Sailor who Fell from Grace with the Sea.

What I talk about when I talk about running
Finished reading: 29 September 2012



The title of Haruki Murakami's memoir, What I talk about when I talk about running, seems unnecessarily long and clumsy. It was modeled after the title of a collection of short stories, What we talk about when we talk about love by Raymond Carver. It's somewhat cyclical, repetitive structure is indicative of the structure of the memoir.

Referring to the composition of the memoir, the author suggests that he wrote it intermittently over a number of months in 2005. This may be true and untrue. The first five chapters and chapter 7, were written between 5 August and 31 October 2005. Chapter's six, eight and nine were written in June, August and October 2006. The foreword and afterword were written in July 2007. Written intermittently, indeed. The quality of all chapters is somewhat varied. Some may have been written or rewritten for publication, possibly with this title in mind, while others may have been occasional pieces or even diary entries. This is not explained. However, as a result the books has a very weak structure, and is repetitive.

The book is not very focused. Besides running, it talks about a lot of other things. Biographical data about the author's life before he started writing, were interesting to read, describing how he ran a bar and gradually developed his career as a writer. He writes about his own writing as well as translating the work of Raymond Carver into Japanese. Many descriptions of his running are set in the United States, particularly referring to the NYC Marathon. There are some interesting observations on how he developed the skill and endurance to run a marathon.

A light, entertaining, somewhat unbalanced read.



Other books I have read by Haruki Murakami:
1Q84