History: Fiction or Science? (Chronology, No. 1)

Book Description

Recorded history is a finely-woven magic fabric of intricate lies about events predating the sixteenth century. There is not a single piece of evidence that can be reliably and independently traced back earlier than the eleventh century. This book details events that are substantiated by hard facts and logic, and validated by new astronomical research and statistical analysis of ancient sources.

Customer Reviews:

Calculations are only as good as your numbers.......2007-08-03

Yes, we can all agree that mainstream history is nearly 100% BS due to politics, economics, ego, problems with dating techniques, and various conspiracies. Agreed. But, I've been researching the distinct possibility that human history (in terms of civilizations) are much more ancient than we've been told, so coming across this book was very interesting to me. I wondered how Fomenko could be wrong (if at all) because he is very persuasive in his presentations. Then it dawned on me. If at previous times in prehistory, due to the various catastrophies that are well documented (comets, asteroids, planetary disruptions, plasma discharge, pole reversals, etc) the Earth was in a different position in relation to the sun, different tilt on its axis, different orbit, different rotation (in terms of velocity and DIRECTION), and the continents were in different positions, then would this not cause the ancients to see the sky (constellations) differently? In other words, is Fomenko making erronious assumptions about the physics of the Earth in pre-history, which then corrupt his data with regards to dating the relevant astrology? The last event to seriously disrupt our planet occured roughly 3500 years ago, according to other good researchers, so is it possible Fomenko has been confused by this? The vastly different physics of our planet in the not so distant past may explain this confusion, which is not to say the "mainstream" version of history is correct; on the contrary. I am not an expert in these fields, but wanted to see if this idea could spark discussion.

Pants on fire?.......2007-07-19

Will people ever read before spamming? Yes, Jesuits could not rewrite world history alone, they had help. Anyway, Dr Prof Acad A.Fomenko does not point to jesuits as the driving force of world wide history manipulation in published volumes 1,2,3;, actually he barely mentions the poor devils. Check it with 'Search inside' feature, please. China is rarely mentioned either, in fact, Dr Fomenko is completely eurocentric. Right, his theory contradicts all mainstream schools of history, because in their actual state they are all built on blatantly erroneus chronology. You don't need a mysterious cabal (conspiracy) to falsify history, the falsification is its modus operandi. It is inherent to history(ians) to falsify (distort) events, as it is inherent to humans to boast as it is inherent to power (authority) to legimize itself by referrring to glorious past made to its own order. Dr Prof Fomenko and team have identified scores of instances of such manipulation in Russian, European, etc.. history, and delivered valid statistical proof thereof. His own 'reconstruction' is completely another story. Forget c14 as a valid method of dating. W.Libby has initially discovered a brilliant method of INDEPENDENT dating. Too bad, c14 method has become a joke after a forced marrige with dendrochronology with consensual chronological scale inbuilt. Radiocarbon method can't stand blind tests, but is so very productive as a rubberstamp.

Accepted History & Chronology Must Be Changed. .......2007-04-09

There is no doubt that history as most know it is a sham, & institution's version of History both University & Church is fradulent & inaccurate. Everything was established with an agenda, The real "Dark Ages" are now when we have access to incredible amounts of information past authorities & more important 'common folk' didn't have but our institutions & educators are slow to evolve because of what has ignorantly & arrogantly been taught for too long. This is on many subjects not just Chronology.

For anyone to question "Why would a Mathematician have anything credible to say of History?" The answer is from Dr. Fomenko's preface in the book: "It would be worthwhile to remind the reader that in the XVI-XVII century Chronology was considered to be a subdivision of Mathematics." These volumes could possibly be some of the most important works to date & should be read by everyone with an interest in History, especially professors & educators who have a duty to the public. I have read both books & must say that 'Chronology 1' has some very eye opening & revolutionary information. Even if these volumes are part true the implications are profound & opens the doors to further investigations & questions which must be done. I speak several different lanquages & must say the logic Dr. Fomenko uses with "inflection" of words & words being read from left to right in one region & right to left in another then written backwards, the removal of vowels & get down to basics of words, or different cities & locations having the same name etc. is correct. Vowel usage has always been optional & varied, actually complicating linquistics & study. The first thing one has to understand is that words never had a fixed spelling in history like we do now, the spelling of words was mutable & regional, as well as names & titles of people were vast, varied & changed, NOTHING WAS FIXED or understood linear. Matters of Life & Death as well as financial profiteering yesterday & today were & are made with ignorant, illogical & conspiratorial views of history & reality, it's time people get closer to the Truth & society collectively grow up.

Very Interesting.......2007-03-07

It is a good proposal and I believe it will mature into something even better in the future. I think it deserves to be read.

History as Science Fiction.......2007-01-10

Anatoly Fomenko has written a very intriguing book, full of pictures, charts, and computer 'proof' of his thesis: backwards of AD900 we don't really know what happened or when. Between AD900 and AD1600 there is more certainty, but there is still a lot of fuzzy ground, and things don't get reliable until we get past the 1600's where the printing press made it very difficult for the perpetrators of this timeline manipulation to change anything that had been committed to print. The Dark Ages did not happen. Books were burned for a reason. One organization has doubled the actual length of its existence by expanding the real chronology. Read why.

I had always wondered why Christ died about AD33 and yet men waited until the 11th century to form the Knights Templar, the Cathars, etc and go after the Holy Land by force. Why the 1000 year gap? Turns out there wasn't more than a 10-12 year gap and he proves it using astronomy. This also implies that the planet is not as old as we have been told, and current Christian and other creationist scientists are already championing that idea without being aware of Fomenko's book. The two groups, creationist scientists and the Russian mathematical analysts corroborate each other. Fascinating.

Of course, all this flies in the face of what we have been told traditionally is the 'proper' chronology of western civilization, and most readers will experience 'cognitive dissonance' in reading this book. It means that our history going backwards from AD1600 becomes progressively more incorrect and unreliable until it cannot be trusted at all... in the space of 700-800 years.

Naturally, the curious, open-minded reader will want to know WHO did this, WHY, and did any of the events we think of as really ancient ever happen?
Dr. Fomenko is a respected scientist/mathematician at Moscow State University who has already answered these questions to the satisfaction of his initially skeptical colleagues. Most of them are now believers, a few still refuse to believe (the usual diehards), and of course the western press has ignored Fomenko's work -- for obvious reasons when you read the book. The ones who perpetrated this chronology ruse have a lot to answer for. They are still with us. That's why this book is a well-kept secret.

I gave the book a 4-star rating because I was unable to check out some of his claims; those I checked were as he said. But if even 1/3 of his claims are true, this punches a big hole in what we think is our history, the meaning of western civilization, our educational process (for repeating the ruse as gospel), and the trustworthiness of the organization that perpetrated this ruse, well-intentioned or not.

This book relates to current research into a Young Earth paradigm, to John Keel's discoveries about our planet, and Fr Malachi Martin's insights (in his now out-of-print books). We are indeed sheep who are manipulated and kept ignorant -- for a reason. While knowing what these men have to say may be the "booby prize" (as in: 'what can you do with this knowledge?'), it will provide interesting reading. Didn't someone say: "...and the Truth will set you free."?? For you to judge if this book contains the truth.

Breaking into Japanese Literature: Seven Modern Classics in Parallel Text

Average customer rating:

Obviously done by a serious language student...
Great refresher or supplement. Portable and self-contained.
Real Japanese, Real good read.
a decent book, but....
wonderful storytelling and a fun study aide

Breaking into Japanese Literature: Seven Modern Classics in Parallel Text
Giles Murray
Manufacturer: Kodansha International
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Anthologies | Short Stories | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books

Reading Skills | Words & Language | Reference | Subjects | Books

General | Reference | Subjects | Books

Poetry & Short Stories | Large Print | Formats | Books
Similar Items:

Read Real Japanese: All You Need to Enjoy Eight Contemporary Writers
Basic Connections: Making Your Japanese Flow (Power Japanese Series) (Kodansha's Children's Classics)
Making Sense of Japanese: What the Textbooks Don't Tell You (Power Japanese Series) (Kodansha's Children's Classics)
All About Particles: A Handbook of Japanese Function Words (Power Japanese Series) (Kodansha's Children's Classics)
How to Sound Intelligent in Japanese: A Vocabulary Builder (Kodansha's Children's Classics)

ASIN: 4770028997

Book Description

Reading great books in the original should be the culmination of language study, but reading Japanese literature unassisted is a daunting task that can defeat even the most able of students. Breaking into Japanese Literature is specially designed to help you bypass all the frustration and
actually enjoy classics of Japanese literature.

Breaking into Japanese Literature features seven graded stories covering a variety of genres: whether it's the spellbinding surrealism of Natsume Soseki's Ten Nights of Dreams, the humor of Akutagawa Ryunosuke's fable of temple life ("The Nose"), or the excitement of his historic thrillers ("In a
Grove" and "Rashomon"), you are sure to find a story that appeals to you in this collection.

The unique layout-with the original Japanese story in large print, an easy-to-follow English translation and a custom dictionary-was created for maximum clarity and ease of use. There's no need to spend time consulting reference books when everything you need to know is right there in front of your
nose.

To make Japanese literature fun, Breaking into Japanese Literature also has some unique extra features: mini-biographies to tell you about the authors' lives and works, individual story prefaces to alert you to related works of literature or film, and original illustrations to fire your imagination.
Best of all, MP3 sound files of all the stories have been made available for FREE on the Internet.

Breaking into Japanese Literature provides all the backup you need to break through to a new and undiscovered world-the world of great Japanese fiction. All the hard work has been taken care of so you can enjoy the pleasures of the mind. Why not take advantage?

Learn
o 50% of all common-use kanji covered
o Kanji entry numbers given for follow-up study
o Japanese + English translation + custom dictionary on the same page
o Every single kanji word explained

Listen
o Free download of sound files from the Net

Look
o 7 original atmospheric illustrations

Link
o Original stories for Kurosawa's Rashomon and Dreams

All the stories in this book are available on the Internet as MP3 sound files read by professional Japanese actors.

For students who want to consolidate their understanding of kanji, the entry numbers for any of the 2,230 characters in The Kodansha Kanji Learner's Dictionary have been provided when those characters feature in Breaking into Japanese Literature. This makes cross-referencing a matter of
seconds.

Customer Reviews:

Obviously done by a serious language student..........2007-08-06

An excellent resource for intermediate students of Japanese working their way to a more advanced level. The author puts all the necessary learning tools in one convenient location. And the free MP3 files help students fine tune their reading, kanji, and pronunciation skills. I would like to see more products like this. I would buy more products like this.

Great refresher or supplement. Portable and self-contained........2007-07-17

I studied Japanese for three semesters ten years ago and have had no opportunity to practice it since. I'm not exactly a blank slate, but I certainly don't remember very much -- maybe 35 kanji (numbers, sun, moon, etc.) and roughly 85% of the kana.

With what basic knowledge of Japanese sentence structure, common particles, and a few verb-ending constructions (v~te, v~tari, v~nakareba, v~tai are common) I've retained, I can read these stories at about one page per 10 minutes with no other reference material needed.

It's that "no other reference materials needed" that makes this an outstanding book.

The first stories have the same slightly repetitive nature that textbooks use to help one learn kanji or sentence structures, but these are classic stories with a repetitive stylistic element, rather than the mindnumbing textbook equivalent. All the benefits of "I am Smith. Who are you? I am Jones. Are you American? Yes, I am American. Are you American? No, I am Canadian. Is your friend Canadian?..." without the boredom!

Granted, some of the kanji I've learned to recognize are not really the highest priority, in terms of usefulness -- "eyebrows" and a phrase for someone who's blind (now considered too rude to use) are in there -- but I've also learned kanji for several useful nouns and adjectives in painless increments, just while reading.

Best, it's fun and gives me a sense of accomplishment I just don't get from reading, say, a Japanese newspaper at the rate of one sentence per half-hour, surrounded by dictionaries.

Real Japanese, Real good read........2007-07-01

This book is an excellent aid for inforcing knowledge of Japanese grammar. On every page, there is a section that lists almost all the words in the order they first appear, their readings, and their translations. I personally find myself in the habit of always looking at this mini-dictionary whether I know the words or not. The English version of the story is translated to the more fluid side than literal side. I like to see if how they translated each sentence is how I would have, and with every word's meaning right there all that is left is to understand the grammar.

The book states that these versions of the stories were chosen for their moden Kanji use. I have come across several words using different kanji than I am used, and even some words using Kanji that I never knew had Kanji. Luckily I have a friend and teacher to ask questions. Often he tells me that those Kanji could be used that way but that they rarely are. Sometimes he is suprised by the use of Kanji altogether.

If nothing else, these are classic Japanese stories, in actual Japanese writings, with downloadable readings by a native speaker. And they are interesting, good reads. I only give the book 4 stars instead of 5 due to: uncommon Kanji use, artistic licence with the English, convenient current meanings in the dictionary, and the occasional forgotten word from the mini-dictionary.

a decent book, but...........2007-06-30

I bought this book thinking it would help my reading. I am at a pre-intermediate level, after learning around 400 kanji. I found this book too hard for my level, and as for the translation, I found it to have much literary license. I would prefer to have had the translation more exactly what was written.

wonderful storytelling and a fun study aide.......2007-02-24

Ive studied Nihongo for 2 months and only know 175 kanji but bought this anyway to motivate myself. As expected, it's beyond my reading level, but I was able to recognize some kanji and get a feel for how "real" Japanese differs from the exercises in my Genki text. I'll read the easiest story again in 6 months and again in 1 year to check my progress.

The MP3 file for Soseki's "First Night" is a treat for the ears and while I only understand the 1st sentence ("I had a dream") I have a better grasp of proper Japanese pronunciation and pace --- unlike Pimsleur CDS which are artificially slow by necessity. In short, even if you're a rank beginner like me, I highly recommend buying this.

The Crazy Iris: And Other Stories of the Atomic Aftermath (Oe, Kenzaburo)

Average customer rating:

A personal touch to war
The Point
Don't Listen to A.B.C.D. Reader!
A.B.C.D. Encirclement
A moving collection depicting the effects of the atomic bomb

The Crazy Iris: And Other Stories of the Atomic Aftermath (Oe, Kenzaburo)

Manufacturer: Grove Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Contemporary | General | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books

Anthologies | Genre Fiction | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books

Anthologies | Short Stories | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books

British | Short Stories | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books

Japanese | World Literature | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books

Hiroshima Notes
A Balcony over the Fakihani (Interlink World Fiction)
Black Rain: A Novel (Japan's Modern Writers)
Jrock, Ink.: A Concise Report On 40 Of The Biggest Rock Acts In Japan
Writing Ground Zero: Japanese Literature and the Atomic Bomb

ASIN: 0802151841

Book Description

Edited by one of Japan’s leading and internationally acclaimed writers, this collection of short stories was compiled to mark the fortieth anniversary of the August 1945 atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Here some of Japan’s best and most representative writers chronicle and re-create the impact of this tragedy on the daily lives of peasants, city professionals, artists, children, and families. From the “crazy” iris that grows out of season to the artist who no longer paints in color, the simple details described in these superbly crafted stories testify to the enormity of change in Japanese life, as well as in the future of our civilization. Included are “The Crazy Iris” by Masuji Ibuse, “Summer Flower” by Tamiki Hara, “The Land of Heart’s Desire” by Tamiki Hara, “Human Ashes” by Katsuzo Oda, “Fireflies” by Yoka Ota, “The Colorless Paintings” by Ineko Sata, “The Empty Can” by Kyoko Hayashi, “The House of Hands” by Mitsuharu Inoue, and “The Rite” by Hiroko Takenishi.

Customer Reviews:

A personal touch to war.......2007-05-14

"The Crazy Iris" edited by Kenzaburo Oe is a collection of stories about the dropping the atomic bombs. These stories are not from a historical context or from a military standpoint, but of normal, relatable people. The stories cover the carnage seen through the eyes of a twelve year old to the memories of women going back thirty years to the high school they once attended. It also covers how the outlying villages were indirectly affected by the bombing through word of mouth and deaths of friends and families.

The Point.......2007-05-14

I read The Crazy Iris and Other Stories of the Atomic Aftermath by Kenzaburo Oe for an assignment in my History of Japan class. It's a collection of short stories complied to mark the fortieth anniversary of the atomic bombings at Hiroshima and Nagasaki, as the book jacket says. I am not a fan of overly flowery language (though I suspect the collection wouldn't have sounded as such in its native tongue), but the stories get the point across. The point? Everyone was affected by those weapons, no matter how old you are, what you believe, what your country thinks you should believe, and so on and so forth. I myself do believe that dropping the bombs were warranted and ultimately served their purpose, but to read the tales of survivors in compact form puts things into perspective. I wouldn't wish these sort of memories on anyone. I wouldn't wish anyone to have this pain. I hope to God that moments like Hiroshima and Nagasaki are never forgotten, and that we learn from them.

Don't Listen to A.B.C.D. Reader!.......2006-04-06

I'm writing this just to offer the opinion that A.B.C.D.'s review is biased (at best) and ultra-nationalist and revisionist (at worst).

Read this book and judge it for yourself. The various stories recount life in militarist Japan, horrifying scenes of atomic aftermath, and the desperate psychological and spiritual struggle to cope with the trauma of survival. This collection is a moving testament to its authors' experiences, but to say that it explicitly is anti-war or blames anyone for the atomic blast would not reflect the entirety of the book. The viewpoints and opinions of the authors are as varied as those of the Japanese themselves.

A.B.C.D. Encirclement.......2002-10-07

Oe lachrymosely indulges every anti-Japanese propagandist in the american media conglomerate (Ingram) with ample opportunity to smack their lips over the "moral failings" of Japan. The fact that this ineffectual moralist won the Noble prize while it was denied to Mishima speaks volumes on what supine expectations the american propaganda industry expects from Japan. Both left and right. Writer like Oe and Murakami (who deserted his own country for no nobler reason then to make more money after making a sickening porno film popular in the us) are parasites getting fat by preening all the morbid phobias of a degenerate american elite, allowing them to wallow in self-adulation. What would Mr. Oe have done during the war? Sheepishly meet the demands of an expansionist american navy? Allowed China to invade the country so as not to offend their sensitivities? ... Japan chose WAR rightfully, even with the foreknowledge that it was a lost cause. And Japan would not even exist today if Mr. Oe were around then.

Instead of Oe or Murakami or Bannana Yoshimoto's insipid writing for privileged sectors in the american market (The Nanny Diaries) feeding that markets endless appetite for peeling scabs and self-abasement try and find a video of the Shunya Ito film Pride, which angered ALL the right people in the world and was one of the most popular films in recent Japanese cinema. Or any of the great Yukio Mishima's books, who was indeed what he described himself to be "the conscience of post war Japan".

A moving collection depicting the effects of the atomic bomb.......1998-09-29

Compiled by Nobel Prize winner Kenzaburo Oe, this is a collection of stories depicting the effects on various people of the atomic bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. The emotional, physical, and social scars are delicately and movingly presented. Some readers might find a bit too much sentimentality for their taste, but most of the stories are very strong--especially the title story, by Masuji Ibuse, who also wrote the massive novelization of the bombing of Hiroshima, "Black Rain." Since it consists of short stories and is somewhat less harrowing than "Black Rain," it serves as a good alternative.

Acts of Worship: Seven Stories (Japan's Modern Writers)

Average customer rating:

A Mixed Collection of Writing
Bespeak the author's rigid mentality
Colorful.

Acts of Worship: Seven Stories (Japan's Modern Writers)
Yukio Mishima
Manufacturer: Kodansha America
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Contemporary | General | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books

Anthologies | Short Stories | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books

General | Short Stories | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books

Japanese | World Literature | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books

Death in Midsummer: And Other Stories
Spring Snow
Thirst for Love
The Temple of Dawn
Sun and Steel

ASIN: 0870118242

Book Description

When Mishima committed ritual suicide in November 1970, he was only forty-five. He had written over thirty novels, eighteen plays, and twenty volumes of short stories. During his lifetime, he was nominated for the Nobel Prize three times and had seen almost all of his major novels appear in
English. While the flamboyance of his life and the apparent fanaticism of his death have dominated the public's perception of his achievement, Japanese and Western critics alike are in agreement that his literary gifts were prodigious.

Mishima is arguably at his best in the shorter forms, and it is the flower of these that appears here for the first time in English. Each story has its own distinctive atmosphere and each is brilliantly organized, yielding deeper layers of meaning with repeated readings. The psychological
observation, particularly in what it reveals of the turmoil of adolescence, is meticulous.

The style, with its skillful blending of colors and surfaces, shows Mishima in top form, and no further proof is needed to remind us that he was a consummate writer whose work is an irreplaceable part of world literature.

Customer Reviews:

A Mixed Collection of Writing.......2004-08-03

Contrary to what the translator claims in the introduction, based on this collection of short stories, Mishima Yukio's work as a novelist far exceeds in quality that of the short story writer. While some stories are quite good - "Acts of Worship," "Cigarette," and "Sword" come to mind - and demonstrate not only the thought but also the large amounts of research Mishima put into his writing, others only evince lukewarm sentiments or insights into the author's aesthetic tastes. While this in itself is certainly not enough to merit a "low rating," these same sentiments are more effectively conveyed in his novels.
Another complaint is that these stories are presented largely in an ahistorical way. That is, there is little reference to when Mishima wrote them, what he was experiencing at the time, and what the situation of Japan was like, socioeconomically. Understanding these concepts is crucial to understanding Mishima's motives and writing.

Bespeak the author's rigid mentality.......2002-11-15

Acts Of Worship: Seven Stories is an anthology of short stories by the internationally famous Japanese author Yukio Mishima, who is perhaps most notorious for his dramatic ritual suicide in 1970. Flawlessly translated into English by John Bester, the short stories include: Fountains in the Rain; Raisin Bread; Sword; Sea and Sunset; Cigarette; Martyrdom; and the title piece, Act of Worship, and bespeak the rigid mentality of one born and rigorously raised in the traditions of the samurai caste, long after the era of the samurai. Written with biting insight, sharp ruthlessness and a keen eye for just how much (or how little) human life is worth, Acts Of Worship documents Yukio Mishima as having been an undeniably strong and articulate voice in Japan's modern literary tradition.

Colorful........1998-06-11

This a great collection to get a sense of Mishima's imaginative spectrum of characters and themes. Death and the adolescent psyche are common themes.

The Showa Anthology: Modern Japanese Short Stories 1929-1984 (Japan's Modern Writers)

Average customer rating:

An Excellent Anthology Spanning the Showa Years
a book to begin with
Highly recommended
Highly recommended

The Showa Anthology: Modern Japanese Short Stories 1929-1984 (Japan's Modern Writers)

Manufacturer: Kodansha International (JPN)
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Contemporary | General | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books

Anthologies | Short Stories | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books

British | Short Stories | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books

Japanese | World Literature | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books

The Oxford Book of Japanese Short Stories (Oxford Books of Prose)
Modern Japanese Stories: An Anthology (Classics of Japanese Literature)
The Reed Cutter and Captain Shigemoto's Mother: Two Novellas
Snow Country
Modern Japanese Literature: From 1868 to the Present Day

ASIN: 4770017081

Book Description

The Showa Anthology is the first comprehensive collection of Japanese short stories to appear in English translation in over eight years. These twenty-five stories, most of them newly translated, were composed during the six decades of the Showa period (from 1926 to 1989) by some of the finest Japanese writers of this century. The variety and scope of these works attest both to the tenacity of Japanese literary tradition and to the ability of the Japanese writer to absorb and adapt contemporary literary techniques. Most of all, they are vivid artistic responses to what may well be the most turbulent, challenging era in modern Japanese history.

The anthology includes stories by authors whose reputations are already well established in the West--Nobel laureate Kawabata Yasunari, Endo Shusaku, Oe Kenzaburo, Dazai Osamu, Inoue Yasushi, and Abe Kobo. In addition, many authors considered of the first rank in Japan are represented, often for the first time in English--Kajii Motojiro, Shono Junzo, Ishikawa Jun, and Shimao Toshio. Six stories by women writers provide a sampling of fiction by a group of authors who have become a major creative force in postwar literature.

These authors, much like the classical Japanese painter, are seldom at home producing vast, panoramic landscapes of life; rather they are masters at creating rich genre-style vignettes and brief flashes of inspiration. When these small, reverberating scenes are placed one beside another, the scroll that unfolds before the reader's eyes is a subtle and complex portrait of human experience.

In formal literary terms, the works range from the discursive autobiographical sketch to imaginative surrealism; from the gentle lyrical mode to the ultramodern intellectual discourse; from pastoral wistfulness to studies of war and its destructive force. Rendered into English by the leading translators and scholars from the younger generation of Japanologists, these stories will appeal to every literary taste. They clearly demonstrate that literature in Japan over the past half century has been a living, changing entity, responding to and commenting upon the vicissitudes of the society. The Japanese short story, as The Showa Anthology demonstrates, has survived wars and defeats and the advent of high-technology in the present age to evolve into a durable and universal form of literary expression.

Customer Reviews:

An Excellent Anthology Spanning the Showa Years.......2006-06-27

This is a really fine collection of short stories. The focus holding the collection together is of course the Showa Period (1926-1988), but this is such a tumultuous time in history that there is quite a bit of difference in feel between the first story (1929) and the last (1984). The writers are a real mixed bunch, too, so that one gets a pretty good sense of the wide range of literature during this time span. Some of them are little known in English and well deserve the attention they get here, while others are more renowned in translation, and for many of the latter the editors have chosen works uncharacteristic of them (a humorous story by Mishima of all people, for instance). This all being the case, "The Showa Anthology" is great both as an introduction to modern Japanese fiction for the newcomer and as essential reading for the old hand.

The short stories included are: "Kuchisuke's Valley" by Ibuse Masuji, "Mating" by Kajii Motojiro, "Les Joues en Feu" by Hori Tatsuo, "Magic Lantern" by Dazai Osamu, "Moon Gems" by Ishikawa Jun, "The Magic Chalk" by Abe Kobo, "Bad Company" by Yasuoka Shotaro, "Eggs" by Mishima Yukio, "Stars" by Kojima Nobuo, "Are the Trees Green?" by Yoshiyuki Junnosuke, "Still Life" by Shono Junzo, "With Maya" by Shimao Toshio, "The Monastery" by Kurahashi Yumiko, "Under the Shadow of Mount Bandai" by Inoue Yasushi, "Mulberry Child" by Minakami Tsutomu, "One Arm" by Kawabata Yasunari, "The Day Before" by Endo Shusaku, "Friends" by Abe Akira, "Ripples" by Shibaki Yoshiko, "The Pale Fox" by Oba Minako, "Iron Fish" by Kono Taeko, "Platonic Love" by Kanai Mieko, "The Crushed Pellet" by Kaiko Takeshi, "The Clever Rain Tree" by Oe Kenzaburo, "The Silent Traders" by Tsushima Yuko, and "The Immortal" by Nakagami Kenji.

a book to begin with.......2006-02-18

if you have any interest in Japnaese literature check this one out with greats like Kobo Abe and Mishiman there are other treasures in this great collection.

Highly recommended.......2001-07-04

I bought this book a few years ago and I loved it. I gave it to a friend and I miss it enough to buy another copy today.

One of the nice thing about this book is that it is an anthology of short stories. Some anthologies present the reader with cut-down version of the original texts which is always frustrating and this is not the case here. All short stories are of great quality written by prominent Japanese authors.

I also enjoyed the fact that there was an interesting introduction to the volume, as well as a short introduction to each author/contribution.

Last but not least, I enjoyed the fact that there is a large coverage of past-war Japanese authors who I generally prefer.

Highly recommended.......2001-07-04

I bought this book a few years ago and I loved it. I gave it to a friend and I miss it enough to buy another copy today.

I also enjoyed the fact that there was an interesting introduction to the volume, as well as a short introduction to each author/contribution.

Last but not least, I enjoyed the fact that there is a large coverage of past-war Japanese authors who I generally prefer.

I found that book to be most enjoyable reading as well as a great introduction to Japanese literature. Reading it truly helped me to expand my knowledge of Japanese literature. I read many more novels from authors whose contribution to the volume I liked.

Modern Japanese Stories: An Anthology (Classics of Japanese Literature)
Average customer rating:

A Fine Mix of Short Stories

Modern Japanese Stories: An Anthology (Classics of Japanese Literature)

Manufacturer: Tuttle Publishing
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Classics | General | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books
Contemporary | General | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books
Anthologies | Short Stories | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books
Asian | World Literature | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books
Similar Items:

Modern Japanese Literature: From 1868 to the Present Day

The Oxford Book of Japanese Short Stories (Oxford Books of Prose)

Anthology of Japanese Literature: From the Earliest Era to the Mid-Nineteenth Century (UNESCO Collection of Representative Works: European)

Kokoro Kokoro

The Showa Anthology: Modern Japanese Short Stories 1929-1984 (Japan's Modern Writers)

ASIN: 0804833362

Book Description

This collection shows the qualities that make Japanese literature among the world's finest.
Including "Under Reconstruction," considered to be the first modern Japanese short story, this book presents the short stories of Japan as among the world's most satisfying.
Edited by Ivan Morris, a recognized authority on Japanese literature, Modern Japanese Stories: An Anthology is a volume of the highest quality and fidelity.

Customer Reviews:

A Fine Mix of Short Stories.......2006-04-07

This is one of the first if not THE first anthology of modern Japanese literature published in English, back in 1962. Don't let this fact make you think this fine book is outdated, though; these are top-notch translations, accurate and literary in quality, of short stories by some of the most important 20th-century Japanese authors. While I like the vintage feel of the original hardcover edition, I am very glad to see that Tuttle has reprinted this excellent anthology in paperback recently.

One thing especially good about this work as an anthology is the wide variety of writers included; Romanticists, Naturalists, Modernists, Marxists, Decadents, Nihilists, Conservatives, and Category-defying Misfits all find a place in this collection, giving the reader a vivid sense of modern Japanese literature's great variety and multivocality. Some of the featured authors are perennial favorites of English translation like Tanizaki Jun'ichiro, while some are important but under-represented in translation like Kikuchi Kan. All have some great stories to tell.

The stories include "Under Reconstruction" by Mori Ogai, "Order of the White Paulownia" by Tokuda Shusei, "Hydrangea" by Nagai Kafu, "Seibei's Gourds" by Shiga Naoya, "Tattoo" by Tanizaki Jun'ichiro, "On the Conduct of Lord Tadanao" by Kikuchi Kan, "The Camellia" by Satomi Ton, "Brother and Sister" by Muro Saisei, "The House of a Spanish Dog" by Sato Haruo, "Autumn Mountain" by Akutagawa Ryunosuke, "The Handstand" by Ogawa Mimei, "Letter Found in a Cement-Barrel" by Hayama Yoshiki, "The Charcoal Bus" by Ibuse Masuji, "Machine" by Yokomitsu Riichi, "The Moon on The Water" by Kawabata Yasunari, "Nightingale" by Ito Einosuke, "Morning Mist" by Nagai Tatsuo, "The Hateful Age" by Niwa Fumio, "Downtown" by Hayashi Fumiko, "A Man's Life" by Hirabayashi Taiko, "The Idiot" by Sakaguchi Ango, "Shotgun" by Inoue Yasushi, "Tiger-Poet" by Nakajima Ton, "The Courtesy Call" by Dazai Osamu, "The Priest and His Love" by Mishima Yukio.

The Cape and Other Stories from the Japanese Ghetto

Average customer rating:

The harder one tries to escape, the tighter the bonds become
A haunting, masterful translation by Zimmerman

The Cape and Other Stories from the Japanese Ghetto
Kenji Nakagami
Manufacturer: Stone Bridge Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Contemporary | General | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books

Literary | General | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books

Anthologies | Genre Fiction | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books

Historical | Genre Fiction | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books

Anthologies | Short Stories | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books

British | Short Stories | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books

General | Short Stories | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books

Japanese | World Literature | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books
Similar Items:

Our Land Was a Forest: An Ainu Memoir (Transitions--Asia and the Pacific)
The Scarlet Gang of Asakusa
The Shade of Blossoms (Michigan Monograph Series in Japanese Studies, No. 22)
Fires on the Plain (Tuttle Classics)
Naomi: A Novel

ASIN: 1880656396

Amazon.com

Forget everything you thought you knew about Japanese literature; in The Cape and Other Stories from the Japanese Ghetto, Kenji Nakagami shows a face of Japan that's unlike any the West has seen before. A member of the burakumin minority--often called Japan's untouchables--the author used disjointed, rough-hewn prose to describe a gritty, down-and-out world. Both "The Cape" and "House on Fire" explore the tangled family ties of Akiyuki, a construction worker who lives among the crowded roji or alleyways of the Kishu province. Marked by madness, incest, and violence, the place makes Faulkner's Yoknapatawpha County look like Mr. Rogers's neighborhood. In the course of "The Cape," for instance, Akiyuki's sister loses her mind, an in-law dies after being stabbed in his "good leg," and Akiyuki himself sleeps with a whore he strongly suspects is his half-sister. In spite of this troubled legacy, this man is the very opposite of introspective. With his longing for purity and his tireless appetite for physical labor, he's a kind of blank canvas against which his complicated family romance plays out:

The tree reminded him of himself. Akiyuki didn't know what kind of tree it was, and he didn't care. The tree had no flowers or fruit. It spread its branches to the sun, it trembled in the wind. That's enough, he thought. The tree doesn't need flowers or fruit. It doesn't need a name.

Unfortunately, the third story here ("Red Hair") is a disappointment--the kind of cheerless, one-note erotica that makes sex look like a torture devised by Existentialist philosophers. No matter; grand, tragic, and structurally complex, "The Cape" and "House on Fire" contain enough Freudian drama between them to keep a pair of Faulkner scholars obsessed for weeks. Skillfully translated by Eve Zimmerman (who also provides a preface, afterword, and helpful family tree), this is fiction of explosive power and formal daring. --Mary Park

Book Description

The fiction of Kenji Nakagami has no peer in contemporary Japan. Born into the burakumin--an outcast class shunned in feudal Japan and still suffering discrimination today--Nakagami depicts the lives of his people in powerful, sensual prose and stark, sometimes horrifying detail. "The Cape" is his breakthough novella about a burakumin community in a small coastal city and their struggles with complicated family histories and troubled memories. Poverty, violence, suicide, and the harsh natural conditions of the home constantly disrupt their lives. Two more early stories, "House on Fire" and "Red Hair," continue these themes, relieved by small moments of profound tenderness.

Customer Reviews:

The harder one tries to escape, the tighter the bonds become.......2006-06-05

In "The Cape" (5 stars), Nakagami excels at drawing the reader into what quickly becomes a nightmarish reality and oppressive existence for the protagonist Akiyuki, a young man who only wants to live a simple life, and yet is unable to escape the chains and fetters of his bloodline. He is defined, and defines himself, by his relation to others--his mother, his siblings, but most of all, his father. In the climax of the story, in his desperation to fight against his father's influence in his life, Akiyuki becomes most like his father--drunk, wild, and in bed with a prostitute (who very likely is his father's daughter, Akiyuki's own half-sister!). The more Akiyuki fights his destiny, the closer he comes to fulfilling it.

Unfortunately, "House on Fire" (4 stars) explores similar themes but without quite the same impact as "The Cape". Where "The Cape" was incredibly focused, with the plot and characters masterfully detailed, "House on Fire" tries (perhaps a little over-ambitiously) to tell the dual stories of Akiyuki's father, Yasu, and Akiyuki's later life family problems. Like "The Cape", this story is told in the third person, but the events surrounding his father are viewed from the perspective of Akiyuki's older brother (a boy of 11 or 12 at the time) whereas Akiyuki is the subject and object of the later events. The shifts in time and perspective make this very short story disjointed and difficult for the reader to become fully engaged in, unlike "The Cape". Although the "like father, like son" themes are the same, Akiyuki's personality has dramatically shifted from a well-meaning youth to a chillingly violent man, his transformation into his hated father complete. The reader is left with little sympathy for the "arsonist" father and son who destroy fragile houses made not only of wood, but of family ties.

"Red Hair" (3.5 stars) is an unrelated story that tells of the sexual liaison between the blue-collar Kozo and a red-haired hitch-hiker. The story lacks the fire of a young Oe or Murakami Ryu, the twisted passion of Tanizaki or Mishima, or even the cool detachment of a Murakami Haruki and is instead essentially just a well-written, but ultimately forgettable piece of erotica. This collection of stories might have been better served had another of Nakagami's pieces been chosen, as this one is a step below the first two stories.

Although "Red Hair" is a disappointment and "House on Fire" pales in comparison to "The Cape", the title story alone makes picking up this book worthwhile. Very well-written with an eye to detail, "The Cape" is clearly a direct product of Nakagami's guts and soul. Akiyuki's futile yet valiant struggle against his genes makes for a memorable work, one that personifies a gifted writer who maintains a unique place in Japanese post-war literature.

A haunting, masterful translation by Zimmerman.......1999-07-08

This translation of Nakagami's "The Cape" (among other stories) is a joy to read. Eve Zimmerman includes a family tree to help you understand where to place Nakagami's numerous complex characters. This story is as engaging and detailed as you'll ever see. A true joy to read.

The Mother of Dreams and Other Short Stories: Portrayals of Women in Modern Japanese Fiction (Japan's Modern Writers)

Average customer rating:

Authors put you in the scenes while allowing you to imagine

The Mother of Dreams and Other Short Stories: Portrayals of Women in Modern Japanese Fiction (Japan's Modern Writers)

Manufacturer: Kodansha America
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Contemporary | General | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books

Anthologies | Short Stories | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books

British | Short Stories | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books

General | Short Stories | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books
Similar Items:

The Oxford Book of Japanese Short Stories (Oxford Books of Prose)
Modern Japanese Stories: An Anthology (Classics of Japanese Literature)
The Elephant Vanishes: Stories

ASIN: 0870119265

Book Description

To Lafcadio Hearn at the turn of the century, Japan's most priceless objets d'art were not the delicate masterpieces of its fine arts but its women. Today, the women of Japan are viewed with a mixture of old stereotypes and new misconceptions. The Mother of Dreams is an anthology of modern Japanese fiction portraying Japanese women, arranged according to five categories: the maiden, the mistress, the wife, the mother, and the working woman.

These short stories span a period that has seen great changes in the status of Japanese women. There has also been a transformation in women s expectations of themselves and of the people around them. Such changes are manifest in the treatment of the protagonists in this anthology, some of whom adhere to traditional roles while others seek to find new functions and attitudes.

The young maidens in the three short pieces by Nobel laureate Kawabata Yasunari contrast sharply with the contemporary women, such as the ordinary housewife and budding actress portrayed by Mori Yoko. But just as significant as change is continuity. The mistress-turned-stripper-turned-prostitute of Nagai Kafu's immediate postwar world has much in common with Kaiko Takeshi's virgin-whore from the period of the Korean War. Such images are in turn challenged by the middle-aged geisha portrayed by Enchi Fumiko and the young mother who abandons her child in Setouchi Harumi's piece, women whose depth of emotion defies the stereotypes assigned to them by their class and their occupation.

Professor Ueda's anthology presents some of the finest work of Japan's major writers, both male and male, on a subject of truly universal significance. At a time when change and continuity pose problems as well as solutions in the search for identity and meaning in our lives, The Mother of Dreams provides thought-provoking and meaningful material for us all.

Customer Reviews:

Authors put you in the scenes while allowing you to imagine.......1998-06-29

Stories are beautifully written and give you a sense of Asian culture minus the stereotypes. The stories are often poetic. You are right there in the scenes, but authors are not so conscientious that they tell you everything. They sometimes write with a distant eye and allow you to use your imagination. Stories range from thirty-something married women being jelous of twenty-something married women to slick geisha girls. I am not Asian and enjoyed learning about the culture through the talented writers, who gave the stories a soul without having an agenda.

Average customer rating:

Friendship overcomes initial differences

The Izu Dancer & Other Stories
Yasumari Kawabata , and Yasushi Inoue
Manufacturer: Tuttle Publishing
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Contemporary | General | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books

Anthologies | Genre Fiction | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books

Anthologies | Short Stories | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books

British | Short Stories | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books

General | Short Stories | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books

Japanese | World Literature | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books

General | World Literature | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books

General | Arts & Photography | Subjects | Books

General | Performing Arts | Arts & Photography | Subjects | Books
Similar Items:

Genders (The New Critical Idiom)
Kokoro
The People's Republic of Desire: A Novel (P.S.)
Into the Widening World: International Coming-Of-Age Stories
The House on Mango Street

ASIN: 0804811415

Book Description

Originally published in The Atlantic Monthly, in 1958, The Izu Dancer, a story about a young man's travels through the Izu Peninsula, introduced Kawabata's prodigious talent to the West. Since its first printing, Kawabata, winner of the 1968 Nobel Prize, has been recognized as one of Japan's most distinguished writers. Also included in this collection are three stories by the prolific author Yasushi Inoue, the recipient of every major prize in Japanese literature: "The Counterfeiter," "Obasute," and "The Full Moon." Inoue's stories, each of which are at least partially autobiographical, all reveal his great compassion for his fellow human being.

Customer Reviews:

Friendship overcomes initial differences.......2001-12-14

Yasushi Inoue's The Izu Dancer And Other Stories presents a novella about six Izu Peninsula travelers who bond during a journey. Friendship overcomes initial differences in this gentle story of change: the other, shorter stories are equally compelling.

Inside and Other Short Fiction--Japanese Women by Japanese Women

Average customer rating:

white, milky eggs
Expertly engaging short stories
Hopelessness in Japan
a great collection
Can't appreciate it...

Inside and Other Short Fiction--Japanese Women by Japanese Women
Amy Yamada , Tamaki Daido , Chiya Fujino , Shungiku Uchida , Yuzuki Muroi , Junko Hasegawa , Rio Shimamoto , and Nobuko Takagi
Manufacturer: Kodansha International
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

Contemporary | General | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books

Anthologies | Genre Fiction | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books

Anthologies | Short Stories | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books

British | Short Stories | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books
Similar Items:

Bedtime Eyes
The Cage
Tokyo Fragments
Grotesque
All She Was Worth

ASIN: 4770030061

Book Description

Inside and Other Short Fiction showcases the most original, thoughtful and cutting-edge fiction from Japanese women writers today. The short stories in this collection explore the issue of female identity in a rapidly changing society, where women have unprecedented sexual and economic freedom. From teens to fifty-somethings; married, single, divorced; the high school girl, the career woman, the sex worker, the housewife, the mother - the anthology deals frankly and explicitly with a broad range of women's experiences. The very best of recent writing has been selected, including prize-winning novelists and authors never before published in English. Why women? Recently, English translations of literature by Japanese women about Japanese women have been causing quite a stir overseas. Miyuki Miyabe's novels are in demand, and Natsuo Kirino's Out won acclaim not only as a gripping mystery thriller, but also for its hard-hitting portrayal of contemporary women's lives. Akutagawa prizewinner Hitomi Kanehara's Snakes and Earrings, a violent and sexually explicit tale of a young girl's involvement in a youth subculture of tattooing and body piercing has also recently been published in English. Inside capitalizes on the obvious interest in fictional portrayals of modern Japanese women's lives, and particularly in gritty stories of women who subvert the "good wife and wise mother"/geisha stereotypes often prevalent in the West. Japanese women now find themselves living in an era where women have more sexual and economic freedom than ever before. The traditional family unit supported by the stay-at-home wife and mother is breaking down, the birthrate is falling, divorce is on the increase, and growing numbers of women are delaying marriage or not getting married at all. Opportunities for women in the workplace are increasing. Contemporary literature reflects these dizzying changes, and also provides a forum for Japanese women to explore and reflect upon their role in society.

Customer Reviews:

white, milky eggs.......2007-06-09

Of recent a handful of Japanese writers have come to the attention of the English reading world. Primarily among these is Haruki Murakami whose stories of magical realism and fantasy have grabbed the imaginations of thousands who would not have been able to read his books in his native tongue. However, there are those who lament the popularity of Murakami's works because they lack "Japaneseness" or an "exoticness" that would distinguish his works from the Western writers whom he was influenced by. This cosmopolitan flavor of Murakami's works is shared by Banana Yoshimoto, probably Japan's most famous writer in the West, whose works have been called "Murakami-light" because of the same magical realistic qualities and the non-Japaneseness that can be found within her body of work. However, it is unfair to lump these writers together because of the Western-ness of their works, because if one reads a number of recent Japanese stories one can see that a number of these stories are not "Japanese" or "Western," but more of a cosmopolitan nature and suffused with issues pertinent to all modern--post modern?--societies of the world.

This volume of short stories opens with an introduction written by Ruth L. Ozeki, the author of My Year of Meats, who challenges both the postwar stereotype of Japanese women held primarily by Westerners, as submissive "geesha" (sic) and the present day representation as presented in anime and horror films. For her, literature is the way to truly understand a people and she begins with mentioning classics such as Murasaki Shikibu's The Tale of Genji and The Pillow Book of Sei Shonagon. However, for a modern representation of Japanese women, the number of works for an English reader are, unfortunately quite limited, and she hopes that this book can fill some of that gap. However, is this book a true representation of Japanese women writers as a whole? Probably not considering that this book only contains eight stories.

Another issue that some reviewers have with this book is supposedly over sexualized nature. However, this is not really the case, because only five of the stories deal directly with sex. "Milk" written by Tamaki Daido concerns the life of a young girl in high school on the verge of her first sexual experience with her boyfriend. The title story "Inside" penned by the then twenty-year-old writer Rio Shimamoto deals with another young girl and her sexual awakening during high school. Yuzuki Muroi's story "Piss" deals with a nineteen-year-old prostitute who is dumped by her boyfriend after he steals 2 million yen from her, and Junko Hasegawa's "The Unfertilized Egg" concerns a former party girl turned business woman who is desperate to become pregnant during her thirty-sixth year of life. None of the sex scenes within these stories are graphic. They are not meant as much to titillate as they are to allow one to feel trepidation, "Milk," warmth, "Inside," despair, "Piss," and desperation, "The Unfertilized Egg. Amy Yamada's story "Fiesta" is the only one that takes sexual desire and puts a darkly comic aspect to it when she gives voice to a woman's unbridled desire for her boss.

Besides sexuality, the stories also tackle such issues as sexism, urban malaise, and the like. While the book might not entirely be a completely pleasant read, it is one that does provoke thoughts. A good book for those who want to read Japanese writers outside of those readily available in English, Inside and Other short fiction makes for a good quick read.

Expertly engaging short stories.......2007-04-24

Eudora Welty said that the task of a fiction writer was "to enter into the heart and skin of a human being who is not oneself".

All eight of the stories that make up "Inside and Other Short Fiction" are triumphs in terms of the writers' abilities to chart the inner topographies of characters. One story ("Fiesta") even goes so far as to inhabit the emotions of one woman, written out as separate characters in her inner drama.

I found three of these stories to have a brilliance that outshines the others. "Milk", by Tamaiko Daido may remind readers of the wonderful Japanese girl character in the movie "Babel", because it captures the interplay of adolescents in contemporary Japan so unerringly.

"Shadow of the Orchid" by Nobuko Takagi is a wonderful examination of the uncertainties of a middle-aged relationship, at the same time as it flirts with the haunting traditions of the Japanese ghost story.

Finally, there is "Inside", by Rio Shimamoto, a staggeringly poised writer who is only 23 years old. This is one of the most flawlessly written stories concerning familial conflicts that I have had the pleasure of reading. Expect to hear from this writer in a big way, in the future.

All in all, "Inside and Other Short Fiction" is a marvelous volume, and is worthy of comparison to the earlier "This Kind of Woman", another volume of writing by Japanese women which is definitely worth sinking your literary teeth into...(if you can find it.)

Hopelessness in Japan.......2006-11-11

Inside is surely an inside look at the young Japanese female state of mind. The culture of young women, as represented by Amy Yamada, is structured to the whims and expectations of men, and not very uplifting. Victims of benign neglect by the objects of their affection, disinterested and fearful men, the women move along in education and living without any apparent goals or realization of self-actualizaton. They want the most society will allow them, without the expectation of plenty. Some plenty bright, each featured personality seemed walking under a plexiglass ceiling that would not allow them even to stand upright, much less climb a few steps toward the height of potential and self satisfaction, facing a tide of hopelessness through which hooking up with the right man (not a loved man) seemed the only outlet. Sex appeared to have little to do with affection, but was rather an experience to have. Romance appeared out of the question.

Without more exposure to the Japanese culture, this writer cannot tell if this sample of Japanese female life is a cross section, or the creature of an editor's choices. If the former, Japanese women have a long way to go, baby.

Good writing for the most part, the book is probably best understood by women. Thick paper means fewer pages in the softbound binding. Probably more to the story than met this eye.

a great collection.......2006-08-17

First of all, I should start by saying that I am one of the translators of this anthology, but I'd like to let people know what a great collection of stories this is: certainly fascinating for anyone interested in Japan, but also very accessible to anyone with an interest in world fiction and women's issues in particular. My favorite story, which I didn't translate but wish I had, is Yuzuki Muroi's Piss - shocking, perhaps, but also very sad and moving. If you want to discover the reality of Japanese women's lives today, in all their complexity, I would really recommend this book.

Can't appreciate it..........2006-06-13

I love the country, I admire the people - that was the reason I thought of giving this book a try. Also, New York magazine made a glorified mention of the book. I was disappointed. Maybe because I am not Japanese - it leaves one with a feeling like after reading a Haiku. A feeling of total incomprehension. The stories are meant to be little personal tragedies, but the writing falls short of delivering it that way. The only touching story was the one about the prostitute (I think the story was called "Piss").

Books:

Books Index

Books Home

Recommended Books