I’m beginning to think of Japanese literature again…

 

It’s hard to tell from the small section included in the picture, but this is a window seat under our dining room window, in which I plan to sit and read All Day. I hope to finish Haruki Murakami’s latest, The City and Its Uncertain Walls, which is proving to be just as enigmatic, and intriguing, as I had hoped. Once again, I find some of the same themes: libraries, dreams, walls, and loneliness, and I am reminded of my love for Japanese literature.

When my husband and I were in Kyoto, in 2018, one of the many photographs I took were of the beautiful flower arrangements in the hotel. They were so elegant, and so simple at the same time. I have chosen one of  the photographs to represent the upcoming Japanese Literature Challenge 18.

It won’t officially begin until January, but if you choose to participate again, or for the first time, you have several weeks in which to choose what it is that you will read. I am compiling a list myself, which includes such titles as these:

• Under the Eye of the Big Bird by Hiromi Kawakami
• Palm of the Hand Stories by Yasunari Kawabata
• Harlequin Butterfly by Toh Enjoe (speculative fiction, winner of the Akutagawa Prize)
• Mina’s Matchbox by Yoko Ogawa
• We’ll Prescribe You A Cat by Syou Ishida
• Invisible Helix by Keigo Higashino
• The Full Moon Coffee Shop by Mai Mochizuki
• Marshland by Yotohiko Kaga

This list is comprised of short stories, classic authors, and newly published works. I hope you find something which encourages you to consider joining us, as we read for the Japanese Literature Challenge 18. (Review site to come.)