June 2015 - January 2016
Like past year Dolce Bellezza - for literary and translated fiction called the Japanese Literature Challenge 9 already in May, but this time I'm ready to join in from the beginning and contribute some interesting reads from the Land of the Rising Sun.
My TBR list uses to be exceedingly long, and what is more, I can never make up my mind which books to pick in the end for a review. However, here's the list of novels that I managed to review by the deadline of this challenge:
My TBR list uses to be exceedingly long, and what is more, I can never make up my mind which books to pick in the end for a review. However, here's the list of novels that I managed to review by the deadline of this challenge:
- Enchi Fumiko: A Tale of False Fortunes (1965), original title: なまみこ物語
- Hiraide Takashi: The Guest Cat (2001), original title: 猫の客
- Ishimure Michiko: Lake of Heaven (1997), original title: 天湖
- Kawakami Hiromi: The Briefcase (2001), also published as Strange Weather in Tokyo, original title: センセイの鞄
- Murakami Haruki: A Wild Sheep Chase (1982), part 3 of the Trilogy of the Rat, original title: 羊をめぐる冒険
- Ōe Kenzaburō: The Changeling (2000), original title: 取り替え子 (チェンジリング)
- Uno Chiyo: Confessions of Love (1935), original title: 色ざんげ
- Yoshikawa Eiji: The Heike Story (1951), original title: 新平家物語
»»» please read also my (brief) post for the Japanese Literature Challenge 8.
I really enjoyed The Briefcase, so quiet and evocative. I couldn't get into The Changeling, but that was probably more my fault than Kenzaburo's. I tried it right after A Personal Matter which was fantastic. Finally, I have the Heike Story but it seems immense! I can't begin that while I'm teaching, so I admire your list.
ReplyDeleteI agree that The Heike Story is quite a big tome, but having read War and Peace (which I found boring) and Les Misérables (which is a wonderful book although it gave me nightmares) 576 pages seem nothing at all. It's the book by Eiji Yoshikawa that attracted me most because it's based on old stories and it's not only the last book in my alphabetical list.
DeleteI'll see if I like The Briefcase as much as you did. Usually I enjoy quiet and evocative novels very much. The Changeling is the next Japanese read on my list. Right now I'm in the middle of A Tale of False Fortunes which is interesting although I'm sure that it lost considerably in translation as even the translator admits.