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[vers la flamme]

Mishima has a sharp knife and he shows it. In contrast, nihilism, beauty, pessimism and indications in Kawabata's works are subtle. They are disturbing stories without appearing to be disturbing. His works appear to be about ordinary/average people written by an average/normal man. The guy is a scary guy.
Anciet Capitol, Snow Country, Izu Dancer are good, but I like the Cranes, especially the ending.

I agree with you: a scary guy. It disturbs me whenever I recall that his life, like that of his friend Yukio Mishima, ended in suicide. While it doesn't immediately impress on me while reading his writing, it occurs to me that he must have been deeply tortured. I get a similar feeling reading Hemingway, a completely different writer (but yet another suicide).

I ordered The Old Capital. I hope to one day read everything he's written, which is not much compared to some other great writers. It helps that his books are quite short.

[SimonNZ]

The only Kawabata I've read is The Master Of Go which I thought superb. Must try more in the bearish future.

[vers la flamme]

The only Kawabata I've read is The Master Of Go which I thought superb. Must try more in the bearish future.

Can wholeheartedly recommend Snow Country, and even Thousand Cranes, though I must admit there is something about it that is freaking me out.

[SimonNZ]

I see now I wrote "the bearish future", which sounds a bit grim.

Nearish.

[vers la flamme]

I see now I wrote "the bearish future", which sounds a bit grim.

Nearish.

I hadn't noticed; I read it just as you intended.

[Dry Brett Kavanaugh]

I agree with you: a scary guy. It disturbs me whenever I recall that his life, like that of his friend Yukio Mishima, ended in suicide. While it doesn't immediately impress on me while reading his writing, it occurs to me that he must have been deeply tortured. I get a similar feeling reading Hemingway, a completely different writer (but yet another suicide).

I ordered The Old Capital. I hope to one day read everything he's written, which is not much compared to some other great writers. It helps that his books are quite short.

I read the Old Capitol (=Kyoto) decades ago, and don't remember the story. I must get a copy. Sorry that the Cranes was a little disturbing. I thought his Sleeping Beauty might, but not Thousand Cranes.

The only Kawabata I've read is The Master Of Go which I thought superb. Must try more in the bearish future.

I haven't read The Master. But I heard that Kawabata considered the work as his best work. I will purchase a copy.

[vers la flamme]

I read the Old Capitol (=Kyoto) decades ago, and don't remember the story. I must get a copy. Sorry that the Cranes was a little disturbing.

I haven't read The Master. But I heard that Kawabata considered the work as his best work. I will purchase a copy.

No need for apology, I loved it—perhaps more than Snow Country. As I might have mentioned, I want to try and read everything of Kawabata's that has been translated into English. I'm finding him more and more to be a fascinating writer.

It would seem he held his short stories in higher regard than the novels. Going to try and find a copy of The Dancing Girl of Izu & Other Stories.

[Dry Brett Kavanaugh]

No need for apology, I loved it—perhaps more than Snow Country. As I might have mentioned, I want to try and read everything of Kawabata's that has been translated into English. I'm finding him more and more to be a fascinating writer.

It would seem he held his short stories in higher regard than the novels. Going to try and find a copy of The Dancing Girl of Izu & Other Stories.

Izu Dancer is a clean, pretty and (deceptively) simple story. I recommend it. Literate classes at some high schools often compare the style, theme, plot, etc in the work with those in Mishima's Sound of Waves.

[vers la flamme]

Izu Dancer is a clean, pretty and (deceptively) simple story. I recommend it. Literate classes at some high schools often compare the style, theme, plot, etc in the work with those in Mishima's Sound of Waves.

That Mishima is another one I mean to read. I've thoroughly enjoyed all the Japanese literature I've been reading since New Year's, but Mishima and Kawabata might be my favorites so far.

[Dry Brett Kavanaugh]

The only Kawabata I've read is The Master Of Go which I thought superb. Must try more in the bearish future.

I (still and humbly) recommend Thousand Cranes.

[SimonNZ]

I (still and humbly) recommend Thousand Cranes.

Thanks. I'll grab the next copy I find.

Re: Miishima. I've not read much of his but 'Acts Of Worship" I thought one of the best short stories I'd read by anyone. Looking back now I think I'd compare it to Henry James not just in themes and development but in quality.

[Florestan]

I could've bet that my late father's library had some Yasunari Kawabata, but at a very cursory search I found only Yasushi Inoue's Tea Master. Any thoughts on this one?

[Florestan]

TD



W. Somerset Maugham --- Up at the Villa. (Romanian translation: The Villa on the Knoll)

A vivid illustration of the old and true dictums that (1) hell is paved with good intentions, and (2) be careful what you wish for, it might actually happen.

[Dry Brett Kavanaugh]

I could've bet that my late father's library had some Yasunari Kawabata, but at a very cursory search I found only Yasushi Inoue's Tea Master. Any thoughts on this one?

Probably it would be a solid/decent work. He is a very good writer and I saw good reviews on the book.
The book is not dealing with a big philosophical or social issue though.

[Florestan]

Probably it would be a solid/decent work. He is a very good writer and I saw good reviews on the book.

Thanks.

The book is not dealing with a big philosophical or social issue though.

The Bible, Cervantes, Shakespeare, Dostoyevski, Tolstoy and Dickens cover those areas for me more than enough. 

[aligreto]

TD



W. Somerset Maugham --- Up at the Villa. (Romanian translation: The Villa on the Knoll)

A vivid illustration of the old and true dictums that (1) hell is paved with good intentions, and (2) be careful what you wish for, it might actually happen.

Did you enjoy the writing style, Andrei?

[Florestan]

Did you enjoy the writing style, Andrei?

Yes I did, very much so. Classical yet humorous --- and praise of Mozart's music.

Excellent.

[vers la flamme]

George Orwell's 1984



Somehow, I've never read this, or any other Orwell, before. Most people I know had to read this in high school but for whatever reason it was never on the curriculum. Anyway I'm finding it quite shocking, not only for its crushing bleakness, but also for its powerfully vivid language of violence and sexuality. There is something very English about it in that sense. At the same time I'm very much enjoying it. I'm just shy of the halfway point of the book.

I did read Ray Bradbury's Fahrenheit 451 in school (and really enjoyed it at the time; I'd love to reread as an adult) and it seems there are numerous parallels between the two books, not only in the nature of the dystopian societies depicted, but also in the two protagonists and their stories of rebellion.

[vers la flamme]

George Orwell's 1984

This book depressed me horribly. I found it absolutely crushing. But man, was it riveting. I couldn't put it down; I read the whole sizable book cover to cover in two days. It's one of those books that is so ingrained in the public consciousness that I felt I had already read it long before I ever really had, but I was wrong about that; this book is not what I thought. I can't stop thinking about it. Definitely a new favorite. I want to try and read everything Orwell ever wrote; there's not terribly much of it, as he died young.

[Alek Hidell]

I want to try and read everything Orwell ever wrote; there's not terribly much of it, as he died young.

I need to do this too, or at least a lot more - he was an excellent prose craftsman and a clear-headed thinker (at least from what I have read).