Is Kenzaburo Oe worth reading?
I read The Changeling and it was OK, but idk if I should eead him again...
Also, what are other Japanese writers worth reading aside from Mishima and Kawabat?
Osamu Dazai
I'll report back to you once we get to him in one of the courses I'm taking this semester. From what I've heard though I'm somewhat feeling as if I will dread reading through some of Oe.
>>7728074
Oe was a meme tier writer of genre fiction with no discernible talent!
>>7728074
The Catch is one of my favorite short stories, but I don't know about his other work.
>>7728157
>said the suicide manlet
>>7728166
All Japanese men are manlets. The average height there is 5'7.
>>7728157
no. it's "he's a meme author. Literally genre tier fiction. he has no discernable talent."
>reading any slope but the Japanese Borges
Kik
I read "A Personal Matter" a few years ago
It was a pretty ugly book. Ugly subject matter and plain, unadorned prose. I didn't really see the appeal, but of course I read a >translation
Oe is great. His works are deceptively simple and are all-around joys to read.
Tanizaki.
>>7728074
The poetry tradition. Kobayashi, Basho, Buzon (or is it Fuzon?). Oh, and Lady Murasaki.
>>7728242
Japanese doesn't have multiple words for the same thing. Every word is crystalline. There are homophones which allow puns but geherally, Japanese translated works will be plain unadorned language.
So excepting metaphorical segments and untranslatable puns they will all be very plain unless someone puts a lot of sauce on his translations.
>>7728232
who is the japanese borges?
>>7728344
Probably Kobo Abe. Pretty disappointed and surprise no one has mentioned him yet.
>>7728157
There's a hilarious anecdote involving Oe and Mishima at a party. I'm going to go through my notes to find it.
>>7728341
Which language on earth has "multiple words for the same thing"? Each word exists for a reason.
>>7728166
>Mishima being a manlet
>You will never get close to a prime Japanese qt like that literary genius
>>7728496
Let me know when you find it. I'd be interested in sourcing the story to an autobiography or whenever it comes from. Hopefully we can all manage to trace its origins. I'll be checking in throughout the day. Sounds like an amusing little tale.
>>7728074
Yes, definitely.
Read A Personal Matter.
>>7728074
A personal matter is an easy, short and very enjoyable read.
>>7728508
in the unlikely event this is not bait,
http://www.thesaurus.com/
>>7728341
does this mean that once you get past the moonrunes, learning japanese is easy because the necessary vocabulary will be small?
>>7728157
>mfw just read The Silent Cry
>mfw Oe predicted Mishima's final end years before it happened
The Silent Cry is fantastic and probably his best.
>>7728849
That hit me right in the feels. Our loss.
So more modern authors similar to Oe? Any living modern right wing authors to serve as a contrast to his works?
>>7728341
お前は日本語を話しませんよ。
>>7728074
Will I get flamed if I suggest Murakami?
Particularly Norwegian Wood - such a cozy book. It's Nicholas Sparks for males
>>7731746
>Will I get flamed?
>Suggests a book by referring to it as "Nicholas Sparks for males"
GTFO.
>>7728496
tell us more family.
>>7731728
sieg heil
>>7731728
This.
Lots of similar words for pretty much the same thing. Of course having slight nuances like any other language too.
>>7732324
can this be a meme
>>7728074
>Also, what are other Japanese writers worth reading aside from Mishima and Kawabat?
Dazai
Akutagawa
Haven't read Oe so I can't comment on that.
>>7728341
That explains a lot actually.
>>7731772
God forbid you read something that makes you feel something other than a vague smugness
>>7731841
You can't really compare Mishima and Oe. They're very different writers, both aesthetically and ideologically.
>>7732868
What about Soseki Natsume?
>>7728074
>what are other Japanese writers worth reading aside from Mishima and Kawabat?
Ishiguro.
>>7728341
>a language in which people use different levels of politeness, honorifics and formality has only 1 word for everything
>>7728496
>Your relationship with Mishima was fraught.
He hated me. When I published “Seventeen,” Mishima wrote me a letter saying that he liked it very much. Because that story imagines the life of a young right-wing student, Mishima probably thought I would be drawn toward Shintoism, nationalism, and emperor worship. I never intended to praise terrorism. I wanted to try to understand the behavior of a young person who would run away from home and society to join a terrorist group. I still think about it.
But in another letter, which was published in his collected letters, Mishima wrote that I surprised him because I was so ugly. Usually, one would not publish such an insulting letter. In Nabokov’s letters, for instance, the directly insulting letters were not published until both parties had died. But Mishima was a god to publishers and he was allowed to publish whatever he wanted.
>Is it true that you once called Mishima’s wife a cunt at a party?
That’s a fabrication. John Nathan wrote this in the introduction to Teach Us to Outgrow Our Madness. He wanted to create an image of me as a young, scandalous writer. Mishima and I met twice at publishing parties, but there were hostesses serving alcohol, and a writer would never take his wife to parties like that. Mishima was the foremost writer at that time. It would have been impossible. According to John Nathan, I learned that word from Norman Mailer. But I already knew the word—I grew up around American GIs and it was a term they would throw out at Japanese girls. As a man with pride, I would never use such a word. Besides, if I hated someone I would never give offense to his wife. I would give it to that person directly. I haven’t forgiven John Nathan for that, although I like his translation of that book.
All the good Japanese writers killed themselves.
>>7733121
is this bait?
>>7733222
oe's paris review interview ranks among my favorites
also nice digits senpai, dubs dubs into trips
>>7728085
Did /lit/ already make a thread about his daughter passing on the 18th?
>>7732969
God forbid he doesn't read pleb shit like Sparks.
>>7733909
W E W
E
W
careful nto to cut yourself on all that edge anon!
>>7733222
Citation family?
>>7733222
>tfw you'll never call mishima a fuccboi to his face
>>7733956
>tfw you'll never get to fuck Mishima in the face.
If only we had the diaries of the men who may have facefucked Mishima. </3
kenzaburo oe is one of the best.
read "the silent cry" or "seventeen"
he demolishes mishima's philosophy. his short story, "prize stock" (aka "the catch") is one of the best. not all of his shit is accessible.
"a healing family" is another favorite of mine but it gets mixed feedback. I also enjoyed "a quiet life" a lot. it's pretty accessible imo. "a personal matter" is his most famous probably. it's about a dude who comes to terms with discarding youthful fantasy for what he considers reality. not his best but the message is killer.
osamu dazai is a favorite of mine. "the setting sun" is my favorite by him.
try natsume soseki. one of Japan's most famous authors. try "sanshiro" for a wicked coming of age story or "botchan" for something light a funny. "kokoro" is maybe his most famous but I was never crazy about it. "kasumakara" is pretty cool. soseki is kind of like a Japanese Raymond carver in that a lot of his stories are around the house, dinner table, yard kind of stories.
but try "the silent cry"
E N D O
N
D
O
>>7734800
END O' THE ROPES BUDDY
>>7734551
Has anyone read the biography of one of the gay guys who asked him about the location of the gay bar described in forbidden colours? I don't know if it actually describes sexual encounters with Mishima but apparently his widow got it removed from the shelves in Japan.
>>7735131
Sounds fascinating. Would love more background. Stuff like this makes Japanese lit even more interesting in my eyes.
I enjoyed "Botchan", by Natsume Soseki
>>7734800
I've read Deep River and Silence, and would recommend both. Endo has an interestingly ambivalent take on his own Christian faith.
>>7728074
Try The Silent Cry, A Personal Matter, Nip the Buds Shoot the Kids or Teach Us to Outgrow Our Madness.
To my mind, if Kawabata is pure white snow, Oe is dirt - less aesthetically pleasing, but satisfyingly grubby.
>>7735950
http://www.nytimes.com/1999/10/21/books/arts-abroad-court-in-japan-halts-publication-of-dead-author-s-letters.html
http://m.huffpost.com/us/entry/a-sailor-who-fell-from-gr_b_6414666.html
Half of the things in this article are probably unfounded bullshitting though.
>>7737055
I'll look at the NYT one definitely, but I'm not even sure the huffpost one is worth clicking.
Not sure how his translated works are but Junichiro Tanizaki is one of my favourite Japanese writers.
>>7740046
Akutagawa's Hell Screen is epic, as are In a Grove, Spider's thread, and Rashomon.
Looking into Abe kobo's short stories now
>>7740709
I've been looking into Japanese film as well as their playwrights in terms of broadening my horizons and general understanding.
>>7734786
mishi didn't have a real philosophy. more like personal aesthetics
>>7741282
>As if aesthetics cannot exist as "real philosophy"
>>7741972
One of them is personal and the other a matter public debate? Why would you go out of your way to demolish something that is a personal view based on personal experience? It's not like he's a philosopher or sociologist.
i just realized that my tailor looks like oe
not sure how i feel about this
He's like the Anti-Mishima.
>>7741991
There are general philosophical discussions as well as philosophical discussions about aesthetics. I'm not demolishing a personal viewpoint. I'm just saying it is open as topic of contention. You can have your own views on say philosophy, politics, or aesthetics but I am free to criticize them equally if they are openly aired. Mishima is profound enough in many regards to consider his writings loosely "philosophical".
Torahiko Terada is the best Japanese essayist.
>>7728347
Abe is amazing brah. Face of Another? Rad
>>7728347
abe is more like jp kafka
and murakami is like japanese john green for 20 year olds instead of 12 year olds
The responses Oe is getting in the ass eating thread would indicate that yes, he is worth reading.
>>7743374
eww what?
>Kobo Abe, Ryunosuke Akutagawa, Osamu Dazai, Shusaku Endo, Yasunari Kawabata, Yukio Mishima, Kenzaburo Oe, Natsume Soseki, Junichiro Tanizaki, Torahiko Terada
Any other authors y'all feel are worth mentioning?
>>7728344
Obviously Murakami.
>>7744206
Ryu Murakami
>>7744206
yasuhi inoue
mori ogai
I'm getting ready to read the Paris Review interview, anything I should know or plan for going into it family?
>>7745487
ok i laughed
>>7745597
What was so funny? How does that help me as I plan to read it?
NO DISCERNIBLE TALENT DESU.
