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The Tale of Murasaki by Liz Dalby

The author of this novel is an anthropologist. This novel is based on the Japanese Heian era noblewoman Murasaki Shikibu. Murasaki was a court poet, and she wrote The Tale of Genji which is now considered a classic. Dalby imagines her life in this story. This is also a woman’s story about court culture, litteredContinue reading “The Tale of Murasaki by Liz Dalby”

Breasts and Eggs by Mieko Kawakami

The main protagonist is Natsuko. In part one, her sister Makiko and daughter Midoriko arrive in Tokyo. Midoriko hates her body, which seeps into hating her aging mother, who is considering breast implants. The condition of being female seems excruciating. In part two, we meet Natsuko eight years later. She wants a child, cannot tolerateContinue reading “Breasts and Eggs by Mieko Kawakami”

In the Miso Soup by Ryu Murakami

Cynical Kenji is at the centre of this book, and so is loneliness. Frank is a serial killer who is vulgar in his demands of Kenji and the Shinjuku district. Kenji is hired to take him on guided tours but finds out more than he bargains for when he discovers he is on a rampageContinue reading “In the Miso Soup by Ryu Murakami”

Mishima’s Sword by Christopher Ross

Travels in Search of a Samurai Legend Yukio Mishima is one of the Japanese’s most sublime writers. He is sadly most remembered for cutting open his stomach and instructing assistants to behead him with his antique sword “Mishimi, who was fastidious with language, preferred the term hara-kiri over seppuku despite its perceived vulgarity.” Ross travelsContinue reading “Mishima’s Sword by Christopher Ross”

Spring Snow by Yukio Mishima

Spring Snow is the first part of a four-part series. The story starts in 1912 when Meiji Japan sees aristocracy dissolve as westernization and democracy take over. Shigekuni Honda is study law and is friends with Kiyoaki Matsugae, who possesses samurai heritage. Honda is pragmatic and duty-bound. However, Kiyoaki becomes enamoured with childhood friend SatokoContinue reading “Spring Snow by Yukio Mishima”

Empire of the Sun by J.G. Ballard

After forty years J.G. Ballard put his memories of a World War 11 Japanese internment camp into a novel. Jamie is a young British boy who lives in Shanghai with his parents. After the pandemonium of the Pearl Harbour bombing, Japan occupies the area in Shanghai where he lives and he is separated from hisContinue reading “Empire of the Sun by J.G. Ballard”