Japanese Fiction
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Yukio Mishima
|
Tuttle
Publishing
Sound of Waves, The
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Goodreads rating: 3.78
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The Sound of Waves is a beautiful love story that takes place on a small fishing island in Japan. The book is unique in the way it describes the simplicity of the island life and its contrast with the complex societal norms of Japan. The book is highly recommended for anyone who enjoys reading about idyllic romance amidst beautiful natural surroundings.
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Miyamoto Musashi, David K. Groff |
Chartwell
Books
The Five Rings : Miyamoto Musashi's Art of Strategy
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Goodreads rating: 3.98
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This book is for individuals who are seeking to find insights on personal growth, self-mastery, and strategy, mainly through the lens of Zen swordsmanship. The book emphasizes the importance of harmony, self-awareness, and adaptability in achieving personal success. The translation by David K. Groff offers an authentic rendition of Miyamoto Musashi's message, making it an engaging and enjoyable read for martial arts enthusiasts, military strategists, and anyone interested in personal development.
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Kazuo Ishiguro
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Faber
Modern
Classics
The Remains of the Day
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Goodreads rating: 4.14
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The Remains of the Day would be a good read for those who enjoy reflective narratives that revolve around nostalgia, reminiscence, and analyzing past actions and their consequences. The book's most distinctive feature is the character of Stevens, the butler, and his unwavering loyalty towards his master, which offers a unique perspective on the intricacies of power dynamics. The book's elegiac tone and Ishiguro's impeccable writing would leave a long-lasting impression on the reader, making it a worthwhile read for fans of literary fiction.
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Edward G. Seidensticker, Murasaki Shikibu |
Vintage
The Tale Of Genji
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Goodreads rating: 3.72
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The Tale Of Genji is a must-read for those who love historical fiction. The book offers a glimpse into the life of the Japanese aristocracy in the eleventh century and explores the intricacies of courtly relationships. The protagonist, Genji, is a complex character, whose passionate nature drives the story. Despite being set centuries ago, the book's portrayal of human emotions and relationships remains relevant.
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Yasunari Kawabata, Edward G. Seidensticker |
Vintage
Snow Country
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Goodreads rating: 3.6
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Snow Country could be a good read for users who enjoy literary fiction and are interested in Japanese culture. The book offers a vivid portrayal of Japan's snowy landscape and explores the complex themes of love, regret, and societal expectations. Kawabata's writing style is lean and evocative, making it accessible to readers who may not be familiar with Japanese literature. Overall, Snow Country is a poignant and memorable story that will leave a lasting impression on its readers.
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Kingo Ochiai, Ōgai Mori, Sanford Goldstein |
Tuttle
Pub
The Wild Geese
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Goodreads rating: 3.57
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The Wild Geese is perfect for those seeking an emotional journey through changing times. The book's unique feature is its exploration of societal shifts and their impact on personal relationships.
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Edogawa Rampo, James B. Harris, Patricia Welch |
Tuttle
Publishing
Japanese Tales of Mystery and Imagination
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Goodreads rating: 4.05
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Japanese Tales of Mystery & Imagination can be a good read for someone who is looking for suspenseful and horror stories that offer a unique take on the genre. The book has a quick tempo that will keep readers on the edge of their seat, and each story has a distinct twist that makes it different from Western horror stories. Fans of Edgar Allan Poe will appreciate the similarities between his stories and those in this collection.
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Helen Dunmore, Katherine Mansfield, John Cheever |
Vintage
Classics
Stories to Get You Through the Night
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Goodreads rating: 3.49
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Stories To Get You Through The Night is a perfect read for anyone seeking an escape from the stresses and strains of everyday life. Featuring a collection of classic and contemporary stories, each tale is a whole journey that transports readers away from reality. With some of the most celebrated authors such as Haruki Murakami, Virginia Woolf, and Julian Barnes, this anthology soon becomes a classic.
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Edwin McClellan, Natsume Sōseki |
Regnery
Gateway
Kokoro a Novel
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Goodreads rating: 4.05
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Kokoro is a gripping tale of a man's search for meaning in modern Japan. The novel captures the essence of modernity and its impact on traditional Japanese culture. It offers a unique perspective on personal growth and the need for emotional connection amidst the isolation of modern society. Highly recommended for readers interested in exploring the complexities of human emotions and societal change.
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Haruki Murakami, Jay Rubin |
Vintage
U.k.
Random
House
The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle
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Goodreads rating: 4.15
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The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle by Haruki Murakami draws you into a surreal, mystical journey that combines folktales, war memories, and a young man's coming of age story. The book's unique and distinctive feature is the way it takes the reader through several levels of experiences, dreams, and memories in a way that is both mysterious and fascinating. With its complex characters and subplots, this book is a must-read for anyone looking for something outside the ordinary.
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Yukio Mishima
|
Random
House
The Sailor who Fell from Grace with the Sea
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Goodreads rating: 3.86
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Recommended for those interested in challenging coming-of-age stories. The book explores themes of disillusionment, brutality, and betrayal through the eyes of adolescent boys who reject societal norms and ideologies. The unique feature of this book is how it delves into the mindsets of these young characters and portrays their dark, twisted perspective on life. If you enjoy psychological thrillers and unconventional coming-of-age tales, this book is for you.
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Ryū Murakami, Nancy Andrew |
Kodansha
Usa
Almost Transparent Blue
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Goodreads rating: 3.29
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Almost Transparent Blue is a powerful coming-of-age story that depicts the bleak reality of youth trapped in passivity. The novel is unique in its portrayal of sex, drugs, and rock and roll culture in Japan, and presents a vivid insight into the psyche of a generation. The raw and often violent prose may be difficult to digest, but it adds an authenticity to the story that will stay with the reader. Highly recommended for those who enjoy gritty, unflinching accounts of youth in crisis.
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John Bester, Fumiko Enchi |
Kodansha
Usa
Waiting Years, The: A Novel
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Goodreads rating: 3.95
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The Waiting Years is a beautifully written and nuanced exploration of the lives of women in Japan during the early 20th century. Enchi's characters are vivid and complex, and her portrayal of the shifting power dynamics within the Shirakawa family is both subtle and poignant. This book is recommended for readers who enjoy character-driven novels and stories that delve deeply into the psychology of the human experience.
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This book is a must-read for those who enjoy novels with a poignant portrayal of friendship and a unique twist on the coming-of-age story. The author's writing style beautifully captures the haunting atmosphere of the exclusive boarding school, and the characters' experiences will leave readers contemplating the ethical questions raised in the story long after they finish it. Readers will appreciate the author's ability to create a world that is both familiar and unsettling, as well as the novel's exploration of the human condition.
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Natsume Sōseki, Edwin McClellan |
Tuttle
Publishing
Heart (English version) - Kokoro (Tuttle Classics)
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Goodreads rating: 4.05
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Нацумэ Сосэки заслуженно считают одним из наиболее ярких авторов Японии, ключевой фигурой литературы нового времени. Его ранние работы обрели популярность благодаря яркому стилю и тематике, а две трилогии, написанные уже зрелым мастером, являются точным портретом японской интеллигенции на стыке эпох Мэйдзи и Тайсё. Центральные темы поздних романов автора — внутренний надлом, изоляция личности, кризис окружающего мира и катастрофа внутреннего. Нацумэ Сосэки известен не только художественной прозой, но также эссеистикой и поэзией. Его работы переведены на многие языки мира. Роман «Кокоро» Нацумэ Сосэки впервые увидел свет в 1914 году на страницах газеты «Асахи Симбун». Произведение состоит из трёх частей и включает в себя сто десять глав. Центральная тема романа, обозначенная в самом заглавии, — внутренний мир человека, его «кокоро» в эпоху драматичных событий, которые переживала Япония на рубеже веков и формаций. На родине автора роман является настоящим бестселлером и не раз был экранизирован. «Кокоро» — одно из первых, знаковых произведений современной японской литературы, переведённых на русский язык. В 1935 году вышел перевод академика Н. И. Конрада, а в 1943 году — перевод С. Шахматова и Х. Хираи. И в том и в другом случае название романа было переведено как «Сердце». Данное издание представляет собой третий перевод романа на русский язык.
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Kakuzo Okakura, who was known in America as a scholar, art critic, and Curator of Chinese and Japanese Art at the Boston Museum of Fine Arts, directed almost his entire adult life toward the preservation and reawakening of the Japanese national heritage — in art, ethics, social customs, and other areas of life — in the face of the Westernizing influences that were revolutionizing Japan around the turn of the century.This modern classic is essentially an apology for Eastern traditions and feelings to the Western world — not in passionate, oversentimental terms, but with a charm and underlying toughness which clearly indicate some of the enduring differences between the Eastern and Western mind. Okakura exhibits the distinctive "personality" of the East through the philosophy of Teaism and the ancient Japanese tea ceremony. This ceremony is particularly revelatory of a conservative strain in Japanese culture; its ideals of aesthetic tranquility and submission to the ways of the past find no parallel in the major cultural motifs of the West.Not only does he discuss the tea ceremony and its rigid formalities, and the cult and patterns of belief surrounding tea and tea-drinking, but Okakura also considers religious influences, origins, and history, and goes into the importance of flowers and floral arrangements in Japanese life — their proper appreciation and cultivation, great tea-masters of the past, the tea-room with its air of serenity and purity, and the aesthetic and quasi-religious values pervading all these activities and attitudes.Okakura's English style was graceful, yet exceptionally clear and precise, and this book is one of the most delightful essay-volumes to the English language. It has introduced hundreds of thousands of American readers to Japanese thinking and traditions. This new, corrected edition, complete with an illuminating preliminary essay on Okakura's life and work, will provide an engrossing account for anyone interested in the current and central themes of Oriental life.
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"The Remains of the Day" is like a quiet conversation that stays with you long after it's over. Through Stevens' meticulously detailed life as a butler and his quest for self-assurance, Ishiguro weaves a narrative that not only delves into the complexities of duty and service but also exposes the deep undercurrents of personal sacrifice and regret. The subtlety in its exploration of a life lived in the shadows of greatness makes it a profoundly moving read for anyone who appreciates nuanced character studies and the bittersweet beauty of introspection.
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Edwin McClellan, Natsume Sōseki |
Digireads.com
Kokoro
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Goodreads rating: 4.04
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"Kokoro" isn't just a novel; it's an experience that delves into the profound shifts within Japanese culture and the introspective journey of its characters. As you navigate through the narrative's richly layered exploration of guilt, societal changes, and existential loneliness, you'll find the pages resonating with the struggles of modernity versus tradition. Soseki's storytelling might just change the way you perceive the 'heart' of human experience.
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In Osaka in the years immediately before World War II, four aristocratic women try to preserve a way of life that is vanishing. As told by Junichiro Tanizaki, the story of the Makioka sisters forms what is arguably the greatest Japanese novel of the twentieth century, a poignant yet unsparing portrait of a family–and an entire society–sliding into the abyss of modernity.Tsuruko, the eldest sister, clings obstinately to the prestige of her family name even as her husband prepares to move their household to Tokyo, where that name means nothing. Sachiko compromises valiantly to secure the future of her younger sisters. The unmarried Yukiko is a hostage to her family’s exacting standards, while the spirited Taeko rebels by flinging herself into scandalous romantic alliances. Filled with vignettes of upper-class Japanese life and capturing both the decorum and the heartache of its protagonist, The Makioka Sisters is a classic of international literature.From the Hardcover edition.
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Edward G. Seidensticker, Yasunari Kawabata |
Tuttle
Publishing
Thousand Cranes
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Goodreads rating: 3.72
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Thousand Cranes is a story of love given and love withheld. Set against the backdrop of Japan's traditional tea ceremony, it is a taut, highly dramatic novel gleaming with sudden passages of poetic beauty. In one of the book's strongest scenes, the two characters are symbolized by the two fine old China bowls, one female and one male, that sit before them.The novel opens with Kikuji on his way to a tea ceremony given by Chikako, one of his father's former mistresses. He is also on his way to act out the unfinished drama of his father's life. Kikuji's father had been a cultivated man, an art lover and a pleasure seeker. He had cast off one mistress, Chikako, but had loved another, Mrs Ota, until his death. Kikuji, like his father, tries to escape from Chikako, now masculine and meddlesome. Like his father, too, he is drawn to Mrs Ota, who has remained young, alluring and pliant even though her daughter, Fumiko, is only twenty years old. Kikuji's guilty passion for Mrs Ota and Fumiko's efforts to alter the family fate lead to the novel's stunning climax.
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Miyamoto Musashi, D.E. Tarver |
Iuniverse
The Book of Five Rings : Miyamoto Musashi
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Goodreads rating: 3.98
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Setting down his thoughts on swordplay, on winning, and on spirituality, legendary swordsman Miyamoto Musashi intended this modest work as a guide for his immediate disciples and future generations of samurai. He had little idea he was penning a masterpiece that would be eagerly devoured by people in all walks of life centuries after his death. Along with The Art of War by Sun Tzu, The Book of Five Rings has long been regarded as an invaluable treatise on the strategy of winning. Musashi's timeless advice on defeating an adversary, throwing an opponent off-guard, creating confusion, and other techniques for overpowering an assailant was addressed to the readers of earlier times on the battlefield, and now serves the modern reader in the battle of life. In this new rendering by the translator of Hagakure and The Unfettered Mind, William Scott Wilson adheres rigorously to the seventeenth-century Japanese text and clarifies points of ambiguity in earlier translations. In addition, he offers an extensive introduction and a translation of Musashi's rarely published The Way of Walking Alone. This gift-book edition also features original art by Musashi himself as well as new calligraphy by Japanese artist Shiro Tsujimura.About the AuthorMiyamoto Musashi (1584-1645) was a renowned swordsman and painter. A masterless samurai, he developed the two-sword style of fighting and emerged victorious in more than 60 sword fights in his travels throughout Japan. The author of The Book of Five Rings, he is also the subject of the novel Musashi by Eiji Yoshikawa. William Scott Wilson, the translator, was born in 1944 in Nashville, Tennessee, and grew up in Florida. He received B.A. degrees from Dartmouth College and the Monterey Institute of Foreign Studies, and an M.A. in Japanese literary studies from the University of Washington. His long-selling translations of Hagakure, The Unfettered Mind, The Roots of Wisdom: Saikontan, and Taiko have become standards. Hagakure was featured prominently in the film Ghost Dog.
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Seishi Yokomizo, Louise Heal Kawai |
Pushkin
Vertigo
The Honjin Murders
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Goodreads rating: 3.67
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Reasons to Read:
- Are you a fan of gripping murder mysteries with a haunting atmosphere? Dive into the snowy world of "The Honjin Murders" where a sinister masked man, a shocking murder, and an impossible crime await.
- Join amateur detective Kosuke Kindaichi on a quest to unravel the secrets of the Ichiyanagi family and the village of Okamura. With its captivating blend of suspense, eerie music, and a bloody samurai sword, this book will keep you on the edge of your seat until the very end.
- Step into the intriguing world of 1930s Japan and delve into a meticulously plotted murder mystery that will challenge your deductive skills. "The Honjin Murders" is a must-read for fans of classic detective stories.
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William Theodore de Bary, Saikaku Ihara |
Tuttle
Publishing
Five Women Who Loved Love
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Goodreads rating: 3.53
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"Five charming novellas...which have astonishing freshness, color, and warmth." The New YorkerFirst published in 1686, this collection of five novellas was an immediate bestseller in the bawdy world that was Genroku Japan, and the book's popularity has increased with age, making it today a literary classic like Boccaccio's Decameron, or the works of Rabelais.The book follows five determined women in their always amorous, erotic and usually illicit adventures. The five heroines are Onatsu, already wise in the ways of love the tender age of sixteen; Osen, a faithful wife until unjustly accused of adultery; Osan, a Kyoto beauty who falls asleep in the wrong bed; Oshichi, willing to burn down a city to meet her samurai lover; and Oman, who has to compete with handsome boys to win her lover's affections.But the book is more than a collection of skillfully told erotic tales, for "Saikaku…could not delve into the inmost secrets of human life only to expose them to ridicule or snickering prurience. Obviously fascinated by the variety and complexity of human love, but retaining always a sense of its intrinsic dignityhe is both a discriminating and compassionate judge of his fellow man."Saikaku's style, as allusive as it is witty, as abbreviated as it is penetrating, is a challenge that few translators have dared to face, and certainly never before with the success here achieved in a translation that recaptures the heady flavor of the original.
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Yamamoto Tsunetomo
|
Shelter
Harbor
Press
The Art of the Samurai
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Goodreads rating: 4.02
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The way of the samurai is found in death. These words, written 300 years ago by the samurai Yamamoto Tsunetomo, offer a seemingly grim introduction to a practice and philosophy that was in fact anything but morbid. Offering a fascinating glimpse into the secretive inner world of the samurai, the Hagakure remained closely guarded and was shown only to a chosen few for more than a century. This was a culture in which death was embraced, not as a morbid fascination, but as a method for eliminating fear. Yamamoto tells his readers how to foster courage, how to serve selflessly, how to become a skilled master of your own destiny, and how to infuse life with beauty while acknowledging its transience. Yamamoto's penetrating insights and profound aphorisms reflect important moral principles that still apply to us today. This masterpiece, preserved for generations in northern Kyushu by warrior chiefs as moral and practical instruction for themselves and their samurai retainers, is now presented in this beautifully illustrated edition that will enlighten anyone with an interest in Japanese culture and world literature.
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Recommendation: This book is a heart-wrenching exploration of the fragility of life and the bonds that hold us together. Through Kathy's gripping narration, Ishiguro crafts a story that will leave you contemplating the nature of identity, sacrifice, and the inevitability of fate. Prepare to be moved and haunted by this beautifully written tale that lingers long after you turn the last page. Perfect for those who appreciate introspective and thought-provoking literature.
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Royall Tyler, Minora Sugai, Murasaki Shikibu |
Penguin
The Tale of Genji
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Goodreads rating: 3.72
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Written in the eleventh century, this exquisite portrait of courtly life in medieval Japan is widely celebrated as the world’s first novel. Genji, the Shining Prince, is the son of an emperor. He is a passionate character whose tempestuous nature, family circumstances, love affairs, alliances, and shifting political fortunes form the core of this magnificent epic. Royall Tyler’s superior translation is detailed, poetic, and superbly true to the Japanese original while allowing the modern reader to appreciate it as a contemporary treasure. Supplemented with detailed notes, glossaries, character lists, and chronologies to help the reader navigate the multigenerational narrative, this comprehensive edition presents this ancient tale in the grand style that it deserves.
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Kazuo Ishiguro has been acclaimed in the Sunday Times for 'extending the possibilities of fiction. In Never Let Me Go he has fashioned another remarkable story - a story of love, loss and hidden truths - that takes its place among his finest work.Kathy, Ruth and Tommy were pupils at Hailsham - an idyllic establishment situated deep in the English countryside. The children there were tenderly sheltered from the outside world, brought up to believe they were special, and that their personal welfare was crucial. But for what reason were they really there?It is only years later that Kathy, now aged thirty-one, finally allows herself to yield to the pull of memory. What unfolds is the haunting story of how Kathy, Ruth and Tommy slowly come to face the truth about their seemingly happy childhoods - and about their futures.Never Let Me Go is a uniquely moving novel, charged throughout with a sense of the fragility of our lives.
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"Norwegian Wood" might just linger in your thoughts long after you've turned the last page. It's Murakami at his finest, weaving a tapestry of emotions that resonate with the heartache and beauty of youth. The narrative takes you through a delicate dance of memories, drawing you into a world where love and pain are deeply intertwined. If you enjoy stories that explore the profundity of human connections and the passage of time, this book is a compelling pick.
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Jay Rubin, Haruki Murakami |
The
Harvill
Press
The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle
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Goodreads rating: 4.15
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Toru Okada is an apparently happy man, drifting through life in a vague, blameless and somewhat apathetic manner. Then one morning his wife leaves for work and never returns.
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Kikuji has been invited to a tea ceremony by a mistress of his dead father. He is shocked to find there the mistress's rival and successor, Mrs. Ota, and that the ceremony has been awkwardly arranged for him to meet his potential future bride. But he is most shocked to be drawn into a relationship with Mrs. Ota - a relationship that will bring only suffering and destruction to all of them. Thousand Cranes reflects the tea ceremony's poetic precision with understated, lyrical style and beautiful prose.
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The exquisite last novel from Nobel Prize-winning author Yasunari Kawabata.Ineko has lost the ability to see things. At first it was a ping-pong ball, then it was her fiancé. The doctors call it 'body blindness', and she is placed in a psychiatric clinic to recover. As Ineko's mother and fiancé walk along the riverbank after visiting time, they wonder: is her condition a form of madness - or an expression of love? Exploring the distance between us, and what we say without words, Kawabata's transcendent final novel is the last word from a master of Japanese literature.
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Yasunari Kawabata, Edward G. Seidensticker |
Penguin
Books
Snow Country
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Goodreads rating: 3.6
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Shimamura is tired of the bustling city. He takes the train through the snow to the mountains of the west coast of Japan to meet with a geisha he believes he loves. Beautiful and innocent, Komako is tightly bound by the rules of a rural geisha and lives a life of servitude and seclusion that is alien to Shimamura – their love offers no freedom to either of them.Snow Country is both delicate and subtle, reflecting in Kawabata's exact, lyrical writing the unspoken love and the understated passion of the young Japanese couple.
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The successful writer Oki has reached middle age and is filled with regrets. He returns to Kyoto to find Otoko, a young woman with whom he had a terrible affair many years before, and discovers that she is now a painter, living with a younger woman as her lover. Otoko has continued to love Oki and has never forgotten him, but his return unsettles not only her but also her young lover. This is a work of strange beauty, with a tender touch of nostalgia and a heartbreaking sensitivity to those things lost forever.
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Set in a remote fishing village in Japan, The Sound of Waves is a timeless story of first love. It tells of Shinji, a young fisherman and Hatsue, the beautiful daughter of the wealthiest man in the village. Shinji is entranced at the sight of Hatsue in the twilight on the beach and they fall in love. When the villagers' gossip threatens to divide them, Shinji must risk his life to prove his worth.
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'Life for sale. Use me as you wish. I am a twenty-seven-year-old male. Discretion guaranteed. Will cause no bother at all.'When Hanio Yamada realizes the future holds nothing of worth to him, he puts his life for sale in a Tokyo newspaper, thus unleashing a series of unimaginable exploits.A world of revenge, murderous mobsters, hidden cameras, a vampire woman, poisonous carrots, espionage and code-breaking, a junkie heiress, home-made explosives and decoys reveals itself to the unwitting Hanio. Is there anything he can do to stop it?
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It is 1956, Stevens, the ageing butler of Darlington Hall, has just embarked on a motoring trip through the west of England that will become a journey deep into his past...
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From the Booker Prize-winning author of The Remains of the Day comes a devastating new novel of innocence, knowledge, and loss. As children Kathy, Ruth, and Tommy were students at Hailsham, an exclusive boarding school secluded in the English countryside. It was a place of mercurial cliques and mysterious rules where teachers were constantly reminding their charges of how special they were. Now, years later, Kathy is a young woman. Ruth and Tommy have reentered her life. And for the first time she is beginning to look back at their shared past and understand just what it is that makes them special–and how that gift will shape the rest of their time together. Suspenseful, moving, beautifully atmospheric, Never Let Me Go is another classic by the author of The Remains of the Day.
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"Never Let Me Go" offers a haunting journey that echoes with readers long after the last page. It combines an elegant narrative of growing up with the piercing realization of one's purpose in a world that is at once familiar and disquietingly off-kilter. Ishiguro's refined storytelling invites introspection and a deep emotional connection, making it perfect for those who appreciate literature that stays with you and prompts reflection on life's delicate balances.
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E. Dale Saunders, Kōbō Abe |
Tuttle
Publishing
The Woman in the Dunes
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Goodreads rating: 3.89
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This beautiful novel by one of Japan's most important writers is also one of the most strangely terrifying and memorable books you'll ever read. The Woman in the Dunes is the story of an amateur entomologist who wanders alone into a remote seaside village in pursuit of a rare beetle he wants to add to his collection. But the townspeople take him prisoner. They lower him into the sand-pit home of a young widow, a pariah in the poor community, who the villagers have condemned to a life of shoveling back the ever-encroaching dunes that threaten to bury the town. An amazing book.
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Donald Keene, Osamu Dazai |
New
Directions
No Longer Human
$8.90
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Goodreads rating: 3.95
$8.90
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60% off est. retail
If you're intrigued by the complexities of cultural shift and personal identity, "No Longer Human" might speak to you deeply. It's not just a novel; it's a haunting journey through a man's internal struggle with societal expectations and self-worth. Perfect for those who appreciate psychological depth and existential reflections mirrored in a rapidly changing world.
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Yukio Mishima
|
Vintage/ebury
(a
Division
Of
Random
After the Banquet
$7.99
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Goodreads rating: 3.7
$7.99
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Reissued along side The Sound of the Waves plus three classics works by Junichiro Tanizaki.
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Haruki Murakami
|
Vintage
Classics
The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle : Vintage Classics Japanese Series
$9.46
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Goodreads rating: 4.15
$9.46
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Enter the surreal and enchanting world of Haruki MurakamiToru Okada's cat has disappeared.His wife is growing more distant every day.Then there are the increasingly explicit telephone calls he has recently been receiving.As this compelling story unfolds, the tidy suburban realities of Okada's vague and blameless life, spent cooking, reading, listening to jazz and opera and drinking beer at the kitchen table, are turned inside out. He embarks on a bizarre journey, guided by a succession of characters, each with a tale to tell.'Mesmerising, surreal, this really is the work of a true original' The TimesPart of the VINTAGE JAPANESE CLASSICS series - five masterpieces of Japanese fiction in gorgeous new gift editions.
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Kakuzō Okakura, Christopher E.G. Benfey |
Penguin
Classics
The Book of Tea
$6.90
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Goodreads rating: 3.86
$6.90
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Ostensibly a modest treatise on the tea ceremony, The Book of Tea is also a sardonic and insightful examination of the Western view of Japan and its civilization, from a Japanese citizen who was given such a thoroughly Western education that he learned nothing of his traditional culture until he was eleven. This book also suggests a deep connection between beauty and war, and between flowers and social mores. When first published, The Book of Tea fascinated foreign audiences with the major role of tea and its many ceremonies have played in the culture of Japan. This edition is accompanied by an introduction by Christopher Benfey, which explores Okakura's career in the arts establishment, his flair for the English language and his relationship with the United States, and includes suggested further reading.
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Shiga Naoya, Lane Dunlop |
Tuttle
Pub
Paper Door and Other Stories
$5.75
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Goodreads rating: 3.77
$5.75
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No modern Japanese writer was more idolized than Shiga Naoya. The Paper Door and Other Stories showcases the concise, delicate art of this writer who is often called "the god of the Japanese short story." Doyen of Japanese letters Donald Keene ranks some of Shiga's stories "among the most brilliant achievements in this genre by any twentieth-century Japanese writer." Shiga's unique style is concise and simple, with no unnecessary words. With the subtlest of gestures, he evokes the fullness of experience. Lane Dunlop's masterly translation of seventeen of Shiga's finest stories has provided English readers their first overview of the author's work. Now back in print, the book is augmented by Donald Keene's new preface contextualizing Shiga's awesome literary gifts. Dunlop has chosen stories that aptly represent Shiga's range and virtuosity. With selections spanning forty years, from the fable-like "The Little Girl and the Rapeseed Flower" to the psychologically complex "A Gray Moon," this collection delineates the development of Shiga's rare genius.
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Yukio Mishima
|
Vintage
The Sailor Who Fell From Grace With The Sea (Vintage Summer)
$4.27
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Goodreads rating: 3.86
$4.27
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A band of savage thirteen-year-old boys reject the adult world as illusory, hypocritical, and sentimental. When the mother of one of them begins an affair with a ship's officer, he and his friends idealise the man at first; but it is not long before they conclude that he is in fact soft and romantic. They regard this disillusionment as an act of betrayal on his part - their retribution is deliberate and horrifying.Yukio Mishma was born into a samurai family and imbued with the code of complete control over mind and body, and loyalty to the Emperor - the same code that produced the austerity and self-sacrifice of Zen. He wrote countless short stories and thirty-three plays, in some of which he acted. Several films have been made from his novels, including The Sound of Waves; Enjo, which was based on The Temple of the Golden Pavilion; and The Sailor Who Fell From Grace with the Sea. Among his other works are the novels Confessions of a Mask and Thirst for Love and the short-story collections Death in Midsummer and Acts of Worship.
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Aiko Ito, Graeme Wilson, Natsume Sōseki |
Tuttle
Publishing
I Am a Cat
Regular price
$10.90
$4.90
55% off
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Goodreads rating: 3.67
Regular price
$10.90
$4.90
55% off
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76% off est. retail
This book is a must-read for anyone fascinated by Japanese society and history. Through the eyes of a witty stray kitten, Soseki Natsume effortlessly skewers the upper-middle-class follies of the Meiji era. With acerbic wit and sardonic commentary, this classic novel offers a captivating and humorous perspective on societal absurdities. A delightful read for those seeking a satirical take on Japanese culture and a glimpse into the mind of one of Japan's greatest literary figures.
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Edward G. Seidensticker, Yukio Mishima |
Vintage
The Decay Of The Angel
$6.42
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Goodreads rating: 4.13
$6.42
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The dramatic climax of "The Sea of Fertility" tetraology takes place in the late 1960s. Honda, now an aged and wealthy man, discovers and adopts a sixteen-year-old orphan, Toru, as his heir, identifying him with the tragic protagonists of the three previous novels, each of whom died at the age of twenty. Honda raises and educates the boy, yet watches him, waiting.
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$7.21
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Kobo Abe, the internationally acclaimed author of Woman in the Dunes, combines wildly imaginative fantasies and naturalistic prose to create narratives reminiscent of the work of Kafka and Beckett.In this eerie and evocative masterpiece, the nameless protagonist gives up his identity and the trappings of a normal life to live in a large cardboard box he wears over his head. Wandering the streets of Tokyo and scribbling madly on the interior walls of his box, he describes the world outside as he sees or perhaps imagines it, a tenuous reality that seems to include a mysterious rifleman determined to shoot him, a seductive young nurse, and a doctor who wants to become a box man himself. The Box Man is a marvel of sheer originality and a bizarrely fascinating fable about the very nature of identity.Translated from the Japanese by E. Dale Saunders.
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Jay Rubin, Natsume Sōseki, Haruki Murakami |
Aardvark
Bureau
The Miner
$7.36
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Goodreads rating: 3.96
$7.36
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The Miner is the most daringly experimental and least well known novel of the great Meiji novelist Natsume Soseki (1867-1916). Written in 1908, it is an absurdist novel about the indeterminate nature of human personality, which in many respects anticipates the work of Joyce and Beckett. Virtually devoid of plot and characterization, it unfolds entirely within the mind of the unnamed protagonist. Focusing on a young man whose love life has fallen to pieces, The Miner follows him as he flees from Tokyo, is picked up by a procurer of cheap labor for a copper mine, and then travels toward - and finally burrows into the depths of - the mine where he hopes to find oblivion. The young man reflects at length on nearly every thought and perception he experiences along the way, in terms of what the experience means to him at the time and in retrospect as a mature adult narrating the tale. The narrator concludes that there is no such thing as human character, and the many passages in which he ruminates on the nature of personality constitute the theoretical core of the book. The intellectual distancing carries over into the style of writing as well, and instead of a tragedy of alienation, we find here an absurdist - truly absurd and comical - allegory of descent into the psyche.
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Jay Rubin, Haruki Murakami |
Vintage
Books
Norwegian Wood
$7.66
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Goodreads rating: 4.01
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Toru, a quiet and preternaturally serious young college student in Tokyo, is devoted to Naoko, a beautiful and introspective young woman, but their mutual passion is marked by the tragic death of their best friend years before. Toru begins to adapt to campus life and the loneliness and isolation he faces there, but Naoko finds the pressures and responsibilities of life unbearable. As she retreats further into her own world, Toru finds himself reaching out to others and drawn to a fiercely independent and sexually liberated young woman. A magnificent blending of the music, the mood, and the ethos that was the sixties with the story of one college student's romantic coming of age, Norwegian Wood brilliantly recaptures a young man's first, hopeless, and heroic love.