Lilisin in 2012

I managed to have some good spells of reading in 2011 but I also had some dry spells as I was forced to put reading on the back burner due to an exam and a very important career forum. I spent the latter half of the year doing some serious Japanese study which took the forefront. I will be continuing this year with that but perhaps I'll be able to find some balance. In any case, just as last year, there will be a huge emphasis on Japanese literature this year. I'm looking forward to it.

So far in 2012:
1) Haruki Murakami : 1Q84
2) Shusaku Endo : When I Whistle
3) Nawal El-Saadawi : Zeina
4) Hikaru Okuizumi : The Stones Cry Out
5) Kobo Abe : The Face of Another
6) Alexandre Dumas : La Reine Margot
7) Amelie Nothomb : Tuer le pere (Kill the Father)
8) Ryu Murakami : Almost Transparent Blue
9) 村上　龍 : 限りなく透明に近いブルー
10) Seicho Matsumoto : Tokyo Express (Points and Lines)
11) Yukio Mishima : Le marin rejete par la mer (The Sailor who fell from Grace with the Sea)
12) Marguerite Duras : L'amant (The Lover)
13) Guy de Maupassant : Une vie (Life of a Woman)

Books read in 2011:
1) Anna Starobinets : An Awkward Age
2) Robert Louis Stevenson : Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde
3) Kobo Abe : The Box Man
4) Seishi Yokomizo : Le village aux huit tombes (The village of eight tombs)
5) Michio Takeyama : Harp of Burma
6) Buchi Emecheta : The Joys of Motherhood
7) Shusaku Endo : The Sea and Poison
8) Yasutaka Tsutsui : Hell
9) Keigo Higashino : The Devotion of Suspect X
10) Banana Yoshimoto : The Lake
11) Akira Yoshimura : Shipwrecks
12) Esther Kinsky : Summer Resort
13) Seishi Yokomizo : La hache, le koto et le chrysanthème (The Inugami Clan)
----
Countries represented:
Japan x 9
Hungary
Nigeria
England
Russia

I am excited to present the list for next years authors-in-focus for my group Author Theme Reads. We're making it a Japanese authors only theme read and although we are having our traditional year-long author and mini-authors, we will also be doing a big thread for Japanese works in general (so as to have fun comparing authors) and we're starting the year off with a group read of 1Q84. Feel free to dip in an out throughout the year.

Year-long Author: Shusaku Endo
Mini-author 1 (Jan-Mar): Natsume Soseki
Mini-author 2 (Apr-June): Kobe Abe
Mini-author 3 (July-Sep): Ryu Murakami
Mini-author 4 (Oct-Dec): Yukio Mishima

+ Year long thread on Japanese authors in general.

Group read of 1Q84 starts in January.

Along those same lines, this is the thread where I go more in detail with my Japan reads. It's my attempt at conglomerating every Japan read together and comparing them so as to become wiser about my favorite lit.

Looking forward to your thoughts on Mishima, one of my all time favourite writers.

First book of the year!

1) Haruki Murakami : 1Q84
4/5 stars
Japan

My first encounter with Murakami Haruki was via his short stories. I am not a big reader of short stories and so, unless they truly change my life, they just don't leave an impression on me. So I ended up with a sort of "whatever" attitude with Haruki. Then I read his nonfiction work Underground which was fantastic, but, once again, that was a nonfiction work and not the type of work he's usually known for, ie. Hardboiled, Wind-up Bird, Norwegian Wood, etc. But, I still had never read his fiction due to some strange inherent bias I had against Murakami although is was definitely unwarranted. This is how, despite being a huge fan of Japanese literature, it ended up taking me so long to read my first Haruki fiction work, that being 1Q84.

I have to say I really enjoyed this book. I liked the ease of the writing and I enjoyed the plot; it was the right amount of grip that you need to make you continuously want to turn the page. At the end of all that, it really wasn't too long a book considering how I would read 100 page sections at a time.

Now, does Murakami repeat himself a bit too much? Focus on some unnecessary trains of thoughts? Repeat similar plot points, or rather, plot strategies? Yes, yes and yes. But this story about how the characters Tengo and Aomame connect as they explore this crazy new world full of air chrysalis's and cults and new moons was fascinating and it really kept me going. It helped me get rid of my bias towards Haruki and has made me want to read more of his fiction work and that's what is great about his book. Despite the fact that Haruki fans tend to say that although this is typical Haruki, it's just not up to par with his previous works. But that just makes it all the better for me. I get to raise this great bar that has been set now that I plan on going back to read his more famous books.

So yes, read this as an introduction to Haruki or read this as an already-made Haruki fan. It's Haruki. Murakami. Just as we know him.

2) Shusaku Endo : When I Whistle
4/5 stars
Japan

Those who have followed my threads (particularly the one from 2011) will remember my great praise for Endo's Sea and Poison. His writing style, for one, and his uncomfortable plot about Japanese doctor's performing vivisections on American soldiers. His take on right or wrong morality in the face of potential medical progress was fascinating as was his focus on the concept of rank and talking out in Japanese society.

When I Whistle takes on a similar role and is similarly fascinating.

Dr. Ozu is a doctor ready to do whatever it takes to get ahead in the medical world. He is quick to follow his superviser's orders and will never question a doctor of higher rank if he thinks it'll put him under a weary eye. Despite knowing that a better treatment could be at hand. He is manipulative of his peers and will downplay others to cast a "good" light on himself. His scheming brang out disgust as I read on.

But the book isn't actually about Dr. Ozu, but instead about Dr. Ozu's father, Ozu. (Distinction between Dr. Ozu and Ozu is important hence the "Dr." notation.) The book focuses on Ozu and his relationship with a childhood friend named Flatfish as they grow up during military time. Unlike his son, Ozu was a poor student growing up and didn't care about making it in life, and his friend Flatfish wasn't any better. But the two of them were able to form this friendship that helped better themselves in a better way. Flatfish's affections for this one girl and how he continues to prize his memories of her is amazing and something that is truly lost in this world.

This discrepancy between Ozu's world and Dr. Ozu's world is quite jarring but it's what makes the book so lovely and thus highly recommended. If only I hadn't waited so long to write a review; it might have come out a little better. In any case, this is a wonderful "sequel" to Sea and Poison.

3) Nawal El-Saadawi : Zeina
2/5 stars
Egypt

I'll start off by saying that Zeina doesn't really deserve the two stars that I gave it. Those two stars aren't a reflection of Nawal El-Saadawi's writing style (always marvelous), her tackling of the plot (always difficult) or a question of her characters (well, okay, maybe). the two stars are more of a reflection on my personal reaction to the book which was point blank: I don't want to read this. Or rather, that's what I came to feel every time I tried to pick up the book. Why? Well, the topic and the content of the book is just so hard to read, especially as a woman.

Incest. Rape. Statuitory rape. Incestual statuitory rape.

All by men (not only directed to females as there are cases of rapes of young boys) despite claims of being religious and wanting to be a servant of God. I might not be religious but I'm pretty certain an ideal god would condone the rape of minors and such. You continue to read the book wondering how much is it exagerated. You want it to be exagerated but you fear that it isn't. And thus I couldn't finish the book. I just wasn't in the mood and postponed reading what I did manage to read for months. Months it took to read only 80 pages of what is probably about a 200 page book. It was merely impossible for me.

Now, who would I recommend this book to? Someone interested in women studies, religion in Egypt, the role of God in traditional life, etc... There is great information to be had from this book and much to learn. And Nawal El-Saadawi truly is a fascinating writer. I've enjoyed other of her books which is why I wanted to badly to read this one at first.

I simply realized that enough is enough. The world is terrible and I just am not in the mood to read about that right now.

An understandable reaction to Zeina (which I have not read).

4) Hikaru Okuizumi : The Stones Cry Out
4/5 stars
Japan

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.

Oh, I'm so glad to hear that you thought The Stones Cry Out was good. Do you understand the ending? I'm still perplexed (in a good way) as to what was dream and what was real.

Stretch, I'm replying to you via private message as I don't want someone reading my thread to see our conversation about the end of the book as that'd be a huge spoiler.

5) Kobo Abe : The Face of Another
5/5 stars
Japan

I almost don't feel like writing a review; instead, just read it. If you've read my review for his The Box Man then you know how I feel about this author.

Abe is just so good at sucking you in from the first page. He has even drawn you a map to his hideaway and has put tea in a thermos jug so that you may relax as you read the three notebooks that he has written just for you. But the you is not actually the reader, it's his wife, as he wishes to recount how she has come to this hideaway to read about his story.

It's the story of a scientist who has lost his face in an accident and has decided to build himself a new one; or rather, a mask. But the mask is not to be recognizable as a mask; it should instead be capable of shaping itself to fill out its beaten out contours. Typical of Abe we go through a very lengthy, a notebook-worth, explanation of how one constructs a mask and what one should look for. Now, this could seem like it'd be as a dull as reading a scientific paper on a topic one isn't interested in but, the notebook is filled with interesting ideas about what defines a face. Is it your bone structure? Is it the skin? What creates, or rather, what defines expression and what defines a person's identity? At first the scientist wishes to think that the face has nothing to do with identify for doesn't a blind person for example identify others via scent, the sound of a voice, the feeling of touch? And what about expression? Does our face create expression or do our expressions create our face? For with each smile, each frown, each tear, lines are slowly etched into our skin, tears show off a path of wetness down your cheek and the sun and age will change the shape of your face with time.

The second notebook delves into the role of the mask. Does a mask hide our personality or enhance it, subdue it or change it entirely? His accounts on the differences between masks that are made to look like masks versus masks that are made to deceive is fascinating. At one point he creates a world where masks become a trend where more and more begin to wear a mask. In just a few short pages it goes from a mere fancy to the bringing down of a government as he realizes there is no way one could regulate such a population of masked men. And if violence is inherent to a mask like a wrinkle sits by an eye, what becomes of a world where one can change their face at whim?

But as one is to expect from a Japanese Dr. Jekyll (or was it Mr. Hyde?), the mask begins to quickly overpower the scientist and we are subjected to his mumblings about wanting to seek revenge on his wife and how he intends on letting the mask seduce her. But as he becomes part of this strange menage-a-trois we go back to the word "mumblings" as after the third notebook, we are subjected to a very powerful letter. A letter that actually confirms our suspicions and brings out the pathetic nature of our poor scientist.

Fantastic book. Should be read.
And for those who are too confused by The Box Man, this is a much easier read although just as fascinating.

Great review of The Face of Another It is always good to get advice on which book to read first when you are presented with a new writer.

Excellent review of The Face of Another, lilisin. My problem when faced with your reading is not which book to start with for a new author, but which new author to start with! Thanks for a fantastic introduction to Japanese literature. I have read a few this year and very much hope to expand upon that.

Thanks Linda! I'm happy to know that you've found some good information within my threads. Japanese literature is my favorite so I'm always happy to spread that love around. I only wish I were reading more these days. It'll come.

Feeling guilty for not having read these reviews sooner, but, anyway, I love your reviews of these Japanese authors.

Thank you dchaikin! I really enjoy doing them so it's a pleasure knowing that others are getting something out of it. I had to take a break so I'm about 50 pages away from finishing Dumas' La Reine Margot and then I'll probably go back to some Japanese lit.

I was getting a little tired of reading in English so I knew a Dumas was what I needed to grab. Plus, there's something about the summer that makes me always grab for the French classics. Also, this book was acquired in August 2009 so it's nice to get it off the TBR pile. Now I can buy a new Dumas to replace it!

6) Alexandre Dumas : La Reine Margot
4/5 stars
France

Again, a tome, at 682 pages, but so easy to read as it is filled with adventure. Treachery, vengeance, massacres, poisoned objects; there is nothing missing from this book. This particular volume is set in 1572. Marguerite de Valois's arranged marriage to Henry, Roi de Navarre, is received by the massacre of Saint Bartholomew which pits the Huguenots versus the Catholics. From there is a story full of conspiracy as the Queen mother tries to maneuver her sons onto the throne by getting rid of the Roi de Navarre, potential successor to the throne of France. Within the story we are introduced to La Mole and Coconnas, two amusing characters on the level of The Three Musketeers.

I had a lot of fun with this book although sometimes I had to flip back a few pages to remember which Henry they were talking about. If I remember right, there are about 3 of them. But, that led me to a nice afternoon flipping through wikipedia articles to read about the real personas that inspired this book. My knowledge of French history is quite non-existent.

And right now I'm already trying to figure out which Dumas to get next.

(Apologies for any spotty English. I literally just turned the last page to the book so I'm still a bit in French mode.)

I read La Reine Margot (in English translation as Queen Margot) a few years ago, and agree it is great fun and reads much shorter than it is. A little historical background reading does help, as it was a turbulent era with some fascinating and ruthless personalities.

Sounds like a lot of fun!

7) Amelie Nothomb : Tuer le pere (Kill the father)
3.5/5 stars
Belgium

Amelie Nothomb has now written 20 books (21, if you count her collection of short stories). I only 19 of these, and this is number 15 that I have read. Nothomb to me is like ginger on a sushi plate, considered a palate cleanser. I like to read her when I've just read a tome or a book I really enjoyed, as her work will not steal the thunder of the previous book and allows me to taxi while I decide on my next book. Her books are a relaxing pleasure to read as her writing is very smooth; she knows what she's doing.

This particular book reminded me of flipping the channels and deciding to watch a tv show. This book required only an hour of my time to read and while reading it I was immersed. It's about an aspiring magician named Joe who is thrown out of his house by his mother, who has chosen her boyfriend over her son. He is then introduced to the greatest magician in Nevada, Norman, who takes him in to mentor him. As Norman and his girlfriend Christina house him, Norman begins to feel like a father to Joe. However, Joe seems keen to manipulate Norman's feelings, to more or less "kill the father".

As always, Nothomb is fabulous and bringing us along an interesting story with some interesting observations of what it means to be chosen versus just being accepted. It did not contain the wit and humor that Nothomb usually puts in her books as she decided to focus on the relationships between the characters instead.

So, entertaining, but like the tv show, once it's over, it's just time to find another book.

I finally did it! It ended up being a nearly 2 year long project but I did it! I read my first full-length novel in Japanese. Now, I could have read this book in a few months but this was a project: there was a reason behind my madness.

In college I had two majors: chemistry and Japanese. I was top of my class, ace student in Japanese, got nothing less than a 100% on my all my exams and assignments. Did a semester study abroad and really loved it. But then, I decided to go to grad school -- for chemistry, a subject I never aced. Don't ask why, I still can't answer that question. I finished my Japanese early in college so my last year I took Korean and focused on chemistry. Then I went to grad school for two years and got my masters degree. Then I worked for two years. So suddenly, 5 years had gone and I hadn't used my Japanese at all. Poof! Where had it gone?

Then a good Japanese friend of mine in Colorado who loves to read handed me his Japanese copy of Almost Transparent Blue and said read this. I stuttered a bit telling him that my Japanese was gone and that I hadn't read in years. He said I'm sure you can do it, it's not that difficult. So there I was with this full length real Japanese novel. I had never handled such an object before. I almost didn't know what to do with it? Should I wait and study again first? Should I just sit down and, well, read it? I put it aside for a while trying to go through old textbooks and whatnot but none of it worked. Eventually I moved away from Colorado and said screw it, I'm just going to read this. But, with a paper and pencil in hand.

I wrote every single kanji in the book. If I knew the word, I would scribble down its reading next to it. If I didn't know the word I just waited. At that point it was about trying to get a feel for reading Japanese again and get a feel for the context, the pace. I waited until the word or kanji showed up again. If it kept repeating itself I would look it up. Gradually and gradually I was building up a vocabulary again. (I can't tell you how embarrassed it was to write flashcards for all the sex words during the sex scenes. Never has a sex orgy seem so vivid!) Later though, I was remembering how to read words I had forgotten and was now learning new words. And towards the end I was better than when I was in college.

I used these two years with this novel to mark my progress with the language. As I studies alongside the book, I was able to measure myself becoming more at ease with a real piece of Japanese fiction.

It was a remarkable experience and it was because the book was interesting, that I was able to to keep up with such a daunting and strange task. However, due to this project, I have formed a strange bias to the book. I did enjoy this book, a lot, but there will be some additional love given to the book due to its important task of continuing my education.

8) 村上 龍 : 限りなく透明に近いブルー​
Japan
4.5/5 stars

I decided on giving the book 4.5 stars. I thought five stars might show my bias too much as I'm not sure what it is that I really enjoyed about this book. It's not usually a topic I go for: sex-crazed, drugged-up youth seeking independence but who are just lost. These are not people I relate to at all. I grew up very naive about sex and drugs. I knew they existed of course, but I thought all the other high school kids were going home after school to do their homework and watch Sabrina the Teenage Witch like I was. I never for a moment thought they were already having sex and whatnot. I'm no prude, but in my mind, there was no need for those things at such a young age as high school. So what was it that I enjoyed?

I think it was the feel of the book. It wasn't forced as it felt really natural and the writing was just write for the topic. It wasn't fluttered with excessive prose, and you could actually feel for the characters, even the frustrating ones. I found myself rooting for them even though I knew there was no reason to as there was no escape for these kids.

So yes, I really enjoyed this book. It will always have a place in my heart even if I'm not super sure why.

9) Ryu Murakami : Almost Transparent Blue
Japan
4/5 stars

I used the English version as a means to check myself it I needed to and to have a feel for the translation. The last letter to Lily, the first paragraph of the letter was left out in the English version. Not sure why.

But there you go. That's my story with Almost Transparent Blue.

Great story! Great achievement! Hope you can keep it up.

A great story it is. Congrats. (So, next you will review it in Japanese...)

I am extremely impressed - with your proficiency in Japanese certainly, but especially with your persistence!

Congratulations of finishing the project. And nice review of Almost Transparent Blue

Great persistence and perseverance! Congratulations.

At first I thought Japanese and chemistry was an unusual combination, but then I thought that they are both languages based on symbols, so it then seemed like a far more likely duo. Would that be the case?

Congratulations, lilisin! That's a wonderful story, and I admire your persistence, especially over such a long period. And having read Almost Transparent Blue in English, I can appreciate the specialized vocabulary necessary to read it!

Congratulations, lilisin! That is a great accomplishment.

Thanks everyone for the encouragement! I will be reading more Japanese fiction in Japanese from here on out (at a more normal reading pace) so hopefully those will be popping up here every once in a while. I have a few books lined up that haven't been translated into English as far as I'm aware so that'll be fun.

27 -
When I was getting interviewed by graduate schools I kept getting asked "so.... why... Japanese?" with always the same amount of pause and look of confusion. In their eyes it felt like a waste of time so it is certainly a strange combination. I probably should have asked myself at that point "so.... why.... chemistry?" We're always smarter in retrospective!

Great story lilisin and what about the chemistry, any use for that?

Congrats and a great story. :)

Next book will be easier (said the person that got handed To Kill a Mockingbird in English after the prep class and needed to look-up every second word for the first 100 pages or so. But I read the book. And haven't stopped reading in English since)

Thanks Anniemod. To Kill a Mockingbird would not be my recommendation for easing someone into English reading! Ryu Murakami is also not the easiest author to start with in terms of vocabulary. I'm thinking of reading a Banana Yoshimoto next which is the author usually recommended to Japanese students (although I'm not a huge fan of hers).

I don't remember getting into Spanish literature being so difficult but maybe because I already spoke French. Can't wait to get to that level with Japanese!

No, I would not recommend it either. :)

But there was limited number of books (Peace Corps donations... which made them almost exclusively American while classes and my vocabulary were British) that were considered appropriate for 14 years old kids :) Thankfully the second book I was given for that summer was an Agatha Christie so when I got dishearten, I moved to it for a little while (or switched to the summer list in Bulgarian).

And my first thought was that it should be easier - starting to read Russian was much easier. But then, Russian is closer related to Bulgarian than English is and that apparently was helping. :)

And that whole discussion makes me wonder if I want to try to pick up reading in German again :)

And it makes me wonder whether I should try reading in French again -- but it's 40 years since I read literature in French and my French has drastically deteriorated.

--22

I give the translation a half star lower as I felt it was good but not great. There were moments I would have translated the Japanese a little better, or I felt the translator didn't really get the right nuance that was trying to be conveyed. But I thought she made the main female character sound like an idiot when really she was just speaking through a dialect. Also, the last letter to Lily, the first paragraph of the letter was left out in the English version. Not sure why.

To be able to detect that is simply one of the best payoffs of fluency in the language.

>35 rebeccanyc: I was having the same thought. The book I was considering was L'Etranger which I have in French and in English and which has straightforward French Aujourd'hui maman est morte. Ou peut-etre hier, je ne sais pas. Not to take anything away from Camus, but the French itself is not difficult. The book itself may be a different matter.

What were you thinking of?

Inspirational! I keep buying (shorter and shorter) books in Chinese in hopes that I will be able to read one of them. But my problem is that I read so slowly that by the time I reach the end of a sentence I have forgotten how it started. Figuring out a whole paragraph would be a big achievement ;-) But your example encourages me to persist...

#36 I wasn't thinking of anything in particular, but since I've been reading both a lot of Zola and Citizens, about the French Revolution, I'm kind of on a French kick at the moment. I think Zola would be too hard. I have a lot of books in French that I read in high school (which was the peak of my French ability), and also a couple of books I picked up in France some years ago (aspirationally). I'd have to look to see what I have already to see if any of it interests me.

Every once in a while I resolve to try to revive the German I learned in college 40 years ago by reading a novel, but the hassle of going back and forth to the dictionary always defeats me. Maybe next time I'll try something like your approach by just writing down the words I'm unclear about, looking them up in batches, then re-reading the page, and finally checking myself against the English translation.

36 -
Indeed! And now that I have read my first Ryu Murakami book in Japanese, it'll help read the others I have as I'm now familiar with his style and pacing. I'm looking forward to gaining more fluency with each book!

37, 39 -
I'm happy to inspire you guys to read in French as it is one of my native languages. As i mentioned in rebecca's thread, Zola is not a book I'd recommend unless you have near native fluency. I feel like Marguerite Duras could be a good start, avoid Stendhal at all costs, Raymond Queneau is probably good. Now that I think about it, most older French books are hard due to the way we love to describe things. But, if a sentence is too long, just start taking out all the descriptive clauses and look at what the basic sentence is. You would have to do that for Dumas for example.

38 -
Yes, you should persist! I considered reading short stories at first but then I realized something. With a long novel, an author will start to use the same vocabulary, the same words and the same sentence patterns, so you have a better chance of retaining those things due to the increased chance of repetition in the book. With a short story however, you learn all these new words and a few pages later the story is over. So unless you read another story with a similar theme, it's quite possible that you don't end up retaining all those words in the long run. Plus, if you don't like either short story or novel, just put it down and try something else. At least by trying you've immersed yourself in your language at least a little which has kicked your brain back into gear if only for a short dip.

40 -
I find that the technique works pretty well. I did the same thing at one point when I hadn't used my Spanish in 4 years and had to kick it back in motion again to go live in Argentina. I just picked up books and if a word I didn't know showed up, I would just write a few down on a piece of paper as I read, but wouldn't look them up at that time. Later in the day, or the next day, I'd go through the list and fill the words in with a dictionary. But since I was reading a book during the conquistador era, this was more to fill a curiosity as to what the words "armor" or certain type of swords were called. At that time, I was already at a level of Spanish where I was near native, but had just been a little rusty in terms of getting my mouth to move again. Not like with Japanese where I have to look up lots of words still.

Thanks - very good advice!

10) Seicho Matsumoto: Tokyo Express (French title) (Points and Lines - English, 点と腺 - Japanese)
Japan
4/5 stars

A man and woman are witnessed by Tatsuo Yasuda, and two others, getting on a train in Tokyo and one week later are found dead: result of a double suicide in Kyushu. They are found neatly put together and everything seems to be typical of a suicide. But one Fukuoka detective, Jutaro Torigai, finds a strange receipt and starts to believe something is off. He passes along his investigation to a Tokyo detective, Kiichi Mihara, who finds himself chasing a man from Kyushu to Hokkaido. They know this man is part of this suicide, but how? The answers can be found in a train timetable with the intersection of points and lines.

A classic in Japanese mystery (so my Japanese boyfriend says) and certainly interesting. I was able to come up with the how on my own but the why was a bit more mystical as it wasn't really investigated until the last chapter. Still, seeing the amount of detail that goes into an investigation was interesting and seeing the frustration of the detective as he went against a perfect alibi made you really sympathize with the character.

I enjoyed this one. I'm still not sure how to rank mysteries but this one feels like a 4 star mystery.

I've had Points and Lines on my shelves for a while but just have never gotten to it. Thanks for the nudge.

11) Yukio Mishima: Le marin rejete par la mer (The Sailor who fell from Grace with the Sea)
Japan
?/5 stars

I had read Mishima once before in probably my early years of college: a collection of short stories from the book La Mort en Ete (Death in Midsummer and Other Short Stories). Although I was in the middle of my Japanese major and I had already gained a lot of Japanese knowledge at the time, Mishima hadn't clicked for me then. So I waited until it would become time to read him again.

This book I've owned since at least 2006 as I was attracted to the title of this book: a poetic title, "The Sailor who fell from Grace with the Sea". Funny enough, the Japanese title is 午後の曳航 (Gogo no Eikou) which simply means "Afternoon Towing of a Boat", hardly the poetry that the translation has. Looking up the titles of translations in other languages, I found they primarily all used this new title of grace. Makes me wonder who was the originator of this title. Upon reading the book though, I discovered that there is poetry within the Japanese title as well because Mishima is all about subtle poetry.

The story is separated into two seasons: summer and winter.

In the summer, a widowed woman, Fusako, and her son, Noboru, meet a sailor, Ryuji, on land for a few days as his ship delivers its cargo. Noboru is riveted by Ryuji's stories of maritime adventures and seems to admire this man who is the definition of a man, not marked by everyday pleasantries. Fusako is riveted by Ryuji himself and they begin their love story. Unfortunately at the end of the summer, Ryuji must return to work as his ship is scheduled for Brazil. They part and Noboru is left with stories to tell his band of (intelligent but) misfit friends of this heroic sailor man.

However, winter comes as does the return of the ship. And with the return of the ship comes the return of Ryuji who decides to leave his maritime ways and settle with Fusako. This is much to the dismay of Noboru who sees this as a sacrilege to the rule of man. In the end, he meets with his band as they decide a sacrifice must be made to fix this misdeed.

It's an interesting book but when I put it down and my boyfriend asked me how it was, all I could say was that "it was a strange book". I almost felt disappointed. Once again, Mishima hadn't click for me. And yet, certain passages of the book really stick out. Is this what "Mishima's power" is? His writing is flawless as it really carries you to a destination. He is neither rushed, nor too slow-paced but at the end, what is his motivation? Mishima is a character in himself and like the characters in his book, it is difficult to see what dictates his moral compass.

An interesting book which will require some background search into Mishima. In the meantime, it has been interesting reading other reviews of this book.

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In terms of translation, the last line is particularly interesting in the French version. (Technically there is no spoiler in the last line of the book but feel free to stop here if you don't want to read the last line of the book.)

Comme chacun sait, la gloire est amère.

This translates to "As everyone knows, glory is a bitter taste." (The official English translation writes "Glory, as anyone knows, is bitter stuff.") But in the French translation there is a pun. Amère, which means bitter, sounds like "a mer" which means "to the sea" so it almost reads as "As everyone knows, glory is to the sea." Depending on what the original Japanese is, this almost feels like a more perfect ending to this book.

Wonderful review of Mishima's The Sailor Who Fell From Grace With the Sea, lilisin. I am becoming increasingly interested in the issues related to translating literature (although I myself have no talent for languages) and your insights on the title and ending were fascinating.

That's fascinating about the title and the French translation of the final sentence. In both cases the translators displayed a talent and an understanding of the work we don't always see in translations.

My sense of the novel when I read it several years ago was that Noboru and his gang represented the hard core post-war generation that was trying to purge themselves of all sentiment and human weakness to atone for and redress Japan's defeat. Ryuji, symbolizing the generation that fought the war, was initially admired, but his giving up the manly life at sea represents the surrender to the Allies. Is this how you read it?

Mishima was certainly a strange and fascinating character--right-wing fanatic, narcissist, and obviously deeply conflicted between homosexuality and machismo, between militarism and poetic sensibilities. I can still remember sometime in my teens seeing a Life Magazine article on Mishima with photos of him, scantily dressed, posing as a Japanese warrior one moment, a martyred Christian saint the next.

Very interesting review, especially as I think about my reaction to my recent Mishima read. And as both Linda and Steven said, also fascinating about the translation questions.

Fascinating information on the translations. I read this many years ago and now you have me thinking I should read it again, but in French. I get a translation from the French title as The Sailor Who Was Washed Up from the Sea", or even "rejected by the sea".

I love the last sentence as you gave it in French, with the double entendre, which could also be read as "glory is painful", which fits too.

Fascinating review of The Sailor Who Fell from Grace with the Sea.

That last sentence of the French translation is intriguing; it is not too much of a stretch to find amour as a pun on the word amere. Is this a case of something being gained in translation rather than being lost in translation?

Thanks everyone for the kind words and I'm glad you found the notes on the translation interesting. I wish I could make more notes on original Japanese but unfortunately Mishima is too hard for me to read at my current level.

steven -
I think you give me too much credit. Unfortunately I only understood that underlying meaning of the book after I read up on the book and looked up others thoughts on the novel. Otherwise, I had a much more superficial reading of the Mishima and focused more on his style and the character of the sailor rather than the story of Noboru, the son.

I have Mishima's Sun and Steel to read which, if I remember correctly, is a semi-autobiographical novel. It has its criticism but I feel like it'll be a good read nevertheless.

sassylassy -
The French title would be translated as "The Sailor Rejected by the Sea". Personally I wouldn't translate the last line as "glory is painful" as I don't feel like that's what the book says at all. Bitter, yes, but not painful.

basswood -
I definitely think that is the case. It's a reason I love reading in translations into French. They have a great industry with so much experience that it's rare for me to even notice the translation.

Terrific review. Sometimes those "strange" books are the ones that hang around, keeping us puzzled and wondering.

12) Marguerite Duras : L'amant (The Lover)
France (Indochina)
4/5 stars

This is probably Duras' most famous work. It is about a young French, 15 year old white girl in Indochina's Vietnam who encounters a much older Chinese man who becomes her lover. Throughout the book we go through engagements with the Chinese man as she tries to find an identity for herself. She struggles as she feels ensnared by the rules of society and the roles of a daughter, sister, student and lover. Her world cannot be defined by tradition and thus neither can she. But if there is no definition she can use, how can she define herself?

I have a lot of history with this work, The Lover. My first encounter with it was in its movie form which came out around 1991. Depending on when it came out on VHS, I would have been 6 or 7 years old (2nd grade, American system). I watched it alongside my mom -- probably after having lugged nearly my entire bed to the living room: comforter, pillows, stuffed animals. Coming from a French family there would be no reason to shelter me from the sex scenes and in any case, it's not like I understood them. But I would remember the feel from the movie and subconsciously I would remember the descriptions of Indochina, the feeling of its heat and humidity, and I would remember the young white girl and her Chinaman.

I re-watched the movie for the first time 3 or 4 years ago and it was just as I remembered. Even the sex scenes seemed familiar. The scenery was just as beautiful, the Chinaman just as handsome and the white girl was just as capricious. But every time I watched the movie after that, I saw there was more. And finally I read the book.

Duras was displeased with the movie because she felt it focused too much on the superficiality behind the white girl and her lover and family problems and not enough on the white girl trying to understand her identity. I find the movie was almost perfect, nevertheless, and is only enhanced by reading the book after. Duras short passage-like writing is lyrical and mystical. I found her words haunting and would often reread a passage immediately after to go back to that feeling. If I were to write, I would have it follow her style. Some parts could be seen as a bit disjointed but having been so familiar with the movie, I was not affected by it. Just a beautiful book.

I will have to read L'amant de la Chine du Nord (The North China Lover) which is the same book rewritten after the movie came out. Although the same story it is in a more linear format, apparently written in third person using dialogue, instead of the monologue style that the original L'amant uses. The original was so haunting I am curious to see how the third person version will read. I own it but will wait a bit till I read it.

(I'm not sure if what I wrote is an actual review or just a reaction piece. I think I'll be amused at what I wrote when I reread it after some time has passed.)

I've read The Lover twice (and seen the film twice), and reading it the second time I was struck by how much of the novel is actually not about the girl and her love affair in Saigon but about her subsequent life in Paris and her family (if my memory is correct--it's been five or six years since the second reading). The narrative is surprisingly terse, severe and fragmented for what is essentially a love story. Another side of the story--and the movie brings this out very well--is that it is the wealthy Chinese man who is breaking the stricter cultural taboos, not the poor French girl.

I've read several other works by Duras but not yet The North China Lover. If we do a French year in the Author Theme Reads group, it's one I will definitely include.

Exactly. I believe that is why Duras was upset about the movie as it focused more on her love affair and just the effects the love affair has on her family and her regular life, not on her life after, which she describes quite a bit in the book. But, the family beings as seemingly despicable as it is I must admit I'm relieved the film focused less on them. The older brother was the worst! But the film did include many scenes from the book about the family; really the only thing not shown were the actual scenes in Paris. In truth, I find both mediums equally successful. I believe The North China Lover is Duras re-translation of the movie into a book. Should be interesting.

I'm hoping for a bit more discussion on ideas for the theme read before I start making decisions.

I've never read Duras, but this book sounds interesting.

Funny you should review this right now, as I had just added it to my list thinking I had not read many twentieth century French authors. Enjoyed your review and your story of the film and I'm now sure I will get the book and look for the film.

I did not know there was a relation between the two books L'Amant (The Lover) and L'Amant de la Chine du Nord (The North China Lover).

I read L'Amant de la Chine du Nord a few years ago. It is like a little Lolita-story.

It was my first book by Marguerite Duras and made her one of my favourite French authors.

Enjoyed reading your comments about L'amant, Duras

loved your review/reaction to L'amant.

13) Guy de Maupassant : Une vie (A Woman's Life)
France
4/5 stars

What does a woman's life in the 19th century consist of? According to Maupassant, nothing. For him, the happiest times of a woman's life happens during her youth when she can look forward to her future and enjoy the trivial whimsies that comes with having no responsibility. But when the stroke of marriage comes, her life serves no purpose but to wait and linger, having no control.

In this story Jeanne is the woman who does not know that this misery is her only fate. The three stages of her life -- childhood, married life with child, child has left the home -- are all wrought with despair.

When still young, she is placed in a convent by her father as a means for her to get an education. But her education is narrow and she loses the chance to experience the world. When she finally returns to her home, she has just a brief moment to fantasize, and as most young women do, her first thought is of love. What a wonderful time in a woman's life: thoughts of her first love.

---

I started writing that two weeks ago post-reading of the book. Don't really like it so let's see, where did I leave off?

Right, first love. Turns out the first love comes two months later then marriage comes right after that. Turns out the first love was just the first dunce that walked in and that he's everything but a first love. Just a dunce. So main character realizes she's probably ruined her life because now she is just a wife to a dunce with nothing to do. Especially since he hoards all their money because money not spent is way more fun that spending money. Her life turns into a series of failures that have their own failures which all comes back to her when someone of lower class comes back into her life and says "look how nice my life was".

Interesting realistic writing which reveals a lot about Maupassant's way of thinking, ie. religion is a load of capooey and marriage isn't all it's supposed to be. And more but it's been two weeks so forgive me.

This was actually an interesting, quick read and I'll read more by Maupassant. Or de Maupassant if I want to be correct. Considering my last name has a similar construction you'd think I'd be picky but Maupassant sounds lovely by itself.

Recommended!

Your admission mid-review made me laugh. Enjoyed reading.

I enjoyed your thoughts on Une Vie. I wonder how much of this has really changed? Of course women now have careers, but in most cases it amounts to taking the first job that comes along just like marrying the first dunce that comes along, and you're stuck for the rest of your life more or less. (Actually what I've just said applies to men just as much to women. Both convention and financial circumstances compel most of us to live our entire adult lives with the choices we made hastily during that brief period of freedom in our youth.)

Fun review of Une Vie. Read more Maupassant is not a bad slogan.

Most people on my thread already know of my group Author Theme Reads but in case you don't, or if you haven't gone there in a while, we are currently voting on the authors we'd like to read next year. We are doing a year-long French theme reading only French authors. So if you're interested, feel free to come over and vote in this thread.

Author Theme Reads has decided on it's authors for 2013. We are doing a French year with a focus on the below authors. Feel free to join us if any of this looks interesting.

Main Author:
Emile Zola

Mini-Authors:
Honore de Balzac
Guy de Maupassant
Marguerite Duras
Simone de Beauvoir

+ One work by Victor Hugo at the beginning of the year.

Progress report:

I'm currently reading Musashi by Eiji Yoshikawa which is a long book and I don't know if I'll finish it by the end of the year. So, unless I read a smaller book in the meantime, my thread will most likely stay quiet for the rest of 2012. I originally read Taiko in 2010 and fell in love with the book. I'm just as wrapped up in this book so far and the story is much easier to follow as the characters are less and the names aren't changing as frequently. (I'm on Book 2.)

However, the translator is different than Taiko and I'm getting distracted by some of the words he uses. We're describing 17th century Japan and yet, in one scene when Yoshikawa describes a woman bending over as her breasts spill out of her clothing, the author uses the word "tits" instead of "breasts". It struck me as very strange. Would anyone else find this strange as well? The translator also uses the word "slut" a lot. Sometimes I feel like I'm reading an Internet comment board while reading. The translator is Charles S. Terry (1926–1982) who first started learning Japanese while in the navy during WWII.

Modern usage of words can be very jarring if the subject matter is anything earlier than the 20th century, especially if the usage of modern words is inconsistent.

I can't see that terminology working in any historical fiction. Maybe slang terms from that period would be fit better but even then I can't imagine that's how Yoshikawa intended it, judging purely from how Taiko is written. Then again we are so dependent on translators judgement when it comes to these sorts of things. Still curious how the publisher wouldn't pick up on modern slang being used for a historic work.

It would seem natural and acceptable to me if words like "tits" and "slut" were used in dialogue or first-person narrative, where it was readily understood that the speaker was using an equally vulgar Japanese term. Every culture has had such terms, so it isn't necessarily anachronistic. But if the translator is using words like this in translating the author's third-person voice then that is another matter altogether, and I gather from your description that this is what Terry did. I can't imagine an author of serious historical fiction writing with such crude and casual language.

The "tits" sentence was in the narrative which I couldn't overlook. The "slut" has occurred primarily in dialogue which makes more sense but I still feel like another word could have been substituted. At least use "whore" of all things. "Harlot" and "tramp" would be other good synonyms, I feel. "Slut" is just too modern. Overall, Terry's got nothing on the translator of Taiko, that's for sure.

Translating slang and colloquiallisms from one language to another seems like an almost impossible task, especially when there are huge cultural differences as well, but I would agree that modern slang in an older book would not work. In one of the books I just read for the China read in Reading Globally, the translator kept using "sneakers" for footwear during the Cultural Revolution. It rang incredibly false.

except you're all forgetting that tit and slut are very old words. Slut dates from 1450 and comes from Middle English; tit dates from 1599 and comes from Low German, so in this case, these words would seem quite appropriate for a historical novel set in Medieval Japan.

Where did you find those facts? I looked up the etymology of "tit" as well (didn't do it for slut) and it showed a much later date. Even so, I felt there could have been replacements especially within the context. I wish now I had saved those quotes. I am now on book 3 (page 240) and I have to say I didn't notice anything as glaring as that in book 2. The translator seems to have tamed his language a bit.

On the other note, I'm reading at a rapid rate. Exciting!

Shorter OED. :)
Where did you look for yours?

The very credible Internet. :P

lol

I agree with Sassy about the difficulty of translating slang, especially in historical works. In fact, the translator of the edition of Germinal that I read earlier this year commented on this difficulty. He chose to translate the French slang by using comparable British slang of the same period, which I think is appropriate although, as a US reader, it was still a little jarring.

There is also the marvellous Dictionary of Historical Slang, a fabulous reference book for English language words.

Oooh, I have to get that one!

Just got a great score at Half-Priced Books.

The Bells of Nagasaki by Takashi Nagai
I have been looking for this book for years but it is impossible to find as it had a small print number and wasn't reprinted. Amazon sells the used copy at a minimum of 170 dollars, Abebooks around 50 dollars. I just found it for 3 dollars. That's reason to celebrate! I was about to buy it in Japanese (much easier to find as it is still in print) but fortune found me today.

Also came home with a Japanese version of Banana Yoshimoto's NP.

And then bought one more book that I had seen before but finally bought today: Into a Black Sun by Takeshi Kaiko. Kaiko was a Japanese journalist and in this book he discusses his experience in the Vietnam War. This will be my first time to see the Vietnam War via a Japanese perspective which I feel will be very interesting.

Congratulations! Half Price Books can be a treasure hunt, and I've come across some remarkable finds on their clearance shelves.

The joy of treasure hunting in cheap and second hand bookstores.

This should be it for me and 2012. Thanks everyone for visiting.

My new thread for 2013 is here. Hope to see everyone there!