This masterpiece from the Nobel Prize-winning author and acclaimed writer of Thousand Cranes is a powerful tale of wasted love set amid the desolate beauty of western Japan. • “Kawabata’s novels are among the most affecting and original works of our time.” —The New York Times Book Review
When I saw that Karen, of Literary Excursions, posted Snow Country by Yasunari Kawabata as one of her potential choices for the Japanese Literature Challenge 19, I got all happy inside. It seems the perfect choice for Japanese literature and Winter. When she suggested a buddy-read, I was even happier.
So now, we open up this reading experience to any of you who wish to join us. Here’s the plan: Snow Country is a 192 pages written in two parts. We will read, and post about Part One, on January 9. We will post about Part Two on January 16.
Feel free to read and post about it with us, we’d love to have you.
I'm so excited! I just got my post up. :)
ReplyDeleteHooray for this great idea, Karen, thanks to you!
DeletePerfect, my best friend gave me the hardback Penguin Classic edition of Snow Country for Christmas
ReplyDeleteWell, now that’s a bit of serendipity! Who knew you would be reading it so soon? ☺️
DeleteAs Bellezza mentioned, that sounds serendipitous! I'll have to look up the edition you have to see the cover because Penguin Classic editions usually have really nice covers. I have a slowly building collection of Penguin Classics. :)
DeleteI didn't put my name with my comment. Ooops!
DeleteDid you see the cover? I have a 5 hour train journey and 5 hours back next week, so guess what I will be reading. Mind you, a friend just went from Chicago to LA by train - 40 hours - worthy of a book in itself
DeleteIs it the cover which looks a bit like lace, done with white and blue? There’s another which is mostly blue, with a few white circles…both are so beautiful. I’m so intrigued that your friend gave you this book at this time. What a coincidence! Also, do you have a blog on which I can comment? I couldn’t seem to find it, which doesn’t matter other than I wish to be reciprocal.
DeleteThe blue and white lacy one that is pine trees and snowflakes when you look closely. Snow, hail and deep black clouds here but not like Scotland and the N of England. I do have a blog which is probably de-activated. I had a bookshop in Beaumaris, Anglesey, which I had to close to look after my mum full-time. I am desperate to restart the blog (apart from the AI scrapes and the virus scares) but keep putting it off as I am still having issues with probate and our family home. I re-read my entries from 10 years ago the other day and I wasn't unhappy with them, so as soon as I am settled somewhere (!), I will restart it or start afresh. Meanwhile, I have made so many friends and enjoyed the chat amongst the girls on the blogs; it has been thoroughly therapeutic and a great use of the internet. I should just bite the bullet, as they say.
DeleteIf I can get Snow Country from the library in time I might participate. I often get shy and don't post on these.
ReplyDeleteDon't be, you are amongst friends in this blogging world. Different people have different perspectives (and different recommendations) that make us all scurry to libraries, so all valid
DeleteI could not have said it better, Mandi! We are all friends here, and all insights, opinions, and feelings are valid.
DeleteI did read Snow Country on the train and there was snow on the ground. I smiled so much at the first line: "The train came out of the long tunnel into the snow country." The whole section of the train journey is captivating. My thought when I closed the book was that I just wanted to start it all over again. This may be useful found in an interview with Ted Goossen (translator of Murakami and most recently The Third Love). "A related challenge arises when teaching Kawabata Yasunari’s classic novel, Snow Country (『雪国』), translated by Edward Seidensticker, where the three main characters are named Shimamura 島村, Yoko 葉子, and Komako 駒子. Here the meaning of the kanji is very relevant—Shimamura is an isolated man, an island unto himself; Yoko can be identified with the plant world, where death suggests a rebirth in the spring; while Komako is most definitely connected to the animal world of youthful purity and vigor followed by aging and culminating in a final death."
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