This is building up to be something special. The autobiographical content has moved more into the foreground. For example, Edward Said, who was a close friend of Kenzaburo Oe, makes an appearance.
There is also some very touching and honest content about his son, Hikari, in particular some of the limitations and failings of the character/author to take care of his son as they both decline in health.
The theater group also puts on an amazing adaptation of Natsume Soseki's Kokoro for students that involves throwing stuffed animals at the actors. I think reading Kokoro is a prerequisite before this one.
This is about an author on a quest to write a masterpiece, which revolves around mining some secrets contained in the red leather chest of his dead father.
This sounds grim and has some autobiographical context. But it is actually quite fun at this point, especially with the theater group(ies) who are trying to adapt the author's work in an authentic way (and also the work of other famous Japanese novelists).
I find the interactions between the theater group and the author hilarious because the author giving them access seems to validate his work in this weird social contract between artist and audience. They're trying to prove that they are serious and have ironed out the difficulties in adapting his work and he is feeding them material -- but probably doesn't need this amount of effort as I think he quite enjoys the attention.
Murasaki Shikibu, born into the middle ranks of the aristocracy during the Heian period (794-1185 …
Still figuring it out, lots to process...
4 stars
I somehow powered through this but will need to take a break before the second volume. I will likely read the essays in the Norton Critical edition and delve into other resources before continuing.
At some point, things expanded in scope and I had a hard time grasping the changes. There's politics and state management but we're also dealing with Genji's descendants. I have no idea what the rest of the tale has in store, even after peaking ahead.
I am not sure that the author worked entirely in a vacuum to create what many think is the world's first proper novel. However, I accept the possibility that the forms and techniques she was working with can't be neatly categorized. I suspect that the work has been adapted over time and through translation to make it more coherent to some identifiable literary standard. In the end, I doubt whether one …
I somehow powered through this but will need to take a break before the second volume. I will likely read the essays in the Norton Critical edition and delve into other resources before continuing.
At some point, things expanded in scope and I had a hard time grasping the changes. There's politics and state management but we're also dealing with Genji's descendants. I have no idea what the rest of the tale has in store, even after peaking ahead.
I am not sure that the author worked entirely in a vacuum to create what many think is the world's first proper novel. However, I accept the possibility that the forms and techniques she was working with can't be neatly categorized. I suspect that the work has been adapted over time and through translation to make it more coherent to some identifiable literary standard. In the end, I doubt whether one can view Genji as a protagonist. Instead, it may be a look at how the actions of a person who is an idealized representation of a court player, tragic flaws and all, affects the lives of those around him. Or if that isn't the case, it is a way for me to connect to the story.
