The Hunting Gun

Íme egy tipikus japán klisé, képzeljük el mondjuk falfestményként: sápadt gésa áll selyem kimonóban a virágzó cseresznyefák alatt, háttérben magányos hókupolás hegy magasodik*. Ugyanez, ami az irodalmat illeti: szertartásosság, merev formák, finom mondatok, erősen letompított mesélő kedv, valamint lágyan rajzolt természeti képek. Inoue Jaszusi három elbeszélésére mindez igaz, de van bennük valami, ami túlmutat ezen – a szerző ugyanis rábök a falikép bal alsó sarkában egy rejtekajtóra, kitárja azt, és az olvasó betekinthet a külcsín mögé, családi tragédiát talál ott, eltitkolt szerelmet, privát fájdalmakat, amelyek szétfeszítik a festett kép kereteit. Látjuk a fogaskereket, show more miközben a gép mozog. Emlékezetes kis kötet.

A címadó elbeszélés (Utazás a Fudaraku-paradicsomba) pedig nemcsak az egyik legjobb japán írás, amit valaha olvastam, de egyáltalán: az egyik legjobb szöveg, amit a kételyről valaha írtak.

* Vagy mindez haikuban:
Selyem gésa áll
hókupolás hegy előtt
cseresznyevirág. show less

This novella packs quite a punch. It is set out in a series of letters written to a man from the daughter of his mistress, his wife, and his mistress herself. It explores the deepest emotions we carry as human beings, those of our relationships to the people who we love, or are supposed to love. It is a complicated story of betrayal, of more than a sexual kind. Beautifully written and deeply moving.

Although I was not able to, this can be read in one sitting. Huge thank you to my friend, Lynn, for her marvelous review that brought this to my attention.

This was a beautiful little book that took me by surprise. It is poetry in prose form... touching and sad.

A man is seen walking up a mountain with a pipe in his mouth and a gun strapped across his back. He is seen by the narrator as the personification of loneliness and writes a short poem about him that's published in a hunting magazine. The man recognizes himself in the poem and mails the narrator 3 letters to explain his cloak of emptiness and possibly share his burdens... and the story begins... a story of infidelity, sorrow, and loneliness.

The first letter is from the lonely man's mistress' daughter, the second from his wife, and the third from the mistress.

These three letters are enough to drive anyone up into the mountains on an show more early autumn morning with a gun.

'I and Misugi too will be sinners. And since it is impossible for us not to be sinners, let us be great sinners.' show less

Scrivi Vecchioni, scrivi canzoni... Ma i tuoi versi, poeta, io li ho vissuti e ti racconto le cose come stanno.
Tutto parte da un cacciatore che ispira inconsapevolmente una poesia, casualmente la legge, scientemente decide di scrivere all'autore e allegare tre innocue letterine... ognuna di esse contiene una vita.
Chi cerca sensibilità nipponica qua la trova, bizzarra, profonda, tenue, così lontana da quella occidentale, così vicina a quella di ogni uomo. E il racconto è ben scritto e ben congegnato. Enjoy ;-)

La felicità di alcuni comporta il dolore di altri? Un amore che nasce e vive nel tradimento è davvero amore o solo colpa?"Da bambina, alla festa del tempio Shōten a Nishinomiya, una volta qualcuno mi comprò un fermacarte, un fiore finto, rosso, in una palla di vetro. Cominciai a camminare tenendolo in mano, ma dopo un poco scoppiai a piangere. Probabilmente allora nessuno capì che cosa mi fosse successo. Avevo pensato alla sensazione dei petali di quel fiore, paralizzati, imprigionati all'interno del vetro freddo, petali che nessun vento di primavera o di autunno avrebbe più fatto tremare, petali crocifissi, è il mio cuore si era riempito di una terribile tristezza. E una tristezza uguale a quella di allora rivive adesso dentro show more di me. Ah, l'amore tra te e la mamma era come quei tristi petali!" Poetico.
Da leggere e rileggere. show less

A book that slowly reveals its charms and hidden emotions. It doesn't seem more impressive than Akutagawa's In The Grove to begin with but by the end I was definitely won over.

The Hunting Gun by Yasushi Inoue (translated by Michael Emmerich) is a tragedy in three letters with a seemingly unrelated narrator in the background. The book makes for a great book club discussion. It is also an example of why I love being in a book club. Many questions and symbols remain unanswered and unexplained in this book, making for a lively conversation surrounding this short book featuring really only four characters.

Read my complete review at http://www.memoriesfrombooks.com/2021/10/the-hunting-gun.html