I recommend books by Osamu Dazai, I consider him the greatest writer ever. Partly because I feel his life - which is very tragic - reflects so much on his work. Check out No Longer Human.
I would recommend The Great Passage by Shion Miura and The Nakano Thrift Shop by Hiromi Kawakami. They're both typical Japanese slice of life books that just follow characters about and let you experience their thought processes. I also second Sweet Bean Paste, it's a wonderful book.
I am always so happy to find another Banana Yoshimoto fan. It’s like spotting a unicorn. I first read her books back in my teens pre-internet and getting her books was near impossible. I have to admit I stopped trying and now I see by your video I have a lot of catching up to do. I love modern Japanese literature and I am grateful for this video of recommendations and also the recommendations of everyone in the comments too.
Hi Katie, you have tempted me to pick up one of Banana Yoshimoto’s books. I am so glad to hear your views about Haruki Murakami’s works and that Norwegian Wood is your honourable mention. If you’re not into major magical realism, you can try his South of the Border, West of the Sun (based on your liking of Norwegian Wood), After Dark (best to read it in one sitting in the midnight) and A Wild Sheep Chase (with a very slight dosage of magical realism but it is in no way same as Kafka on the Shore). I haven’t read Norwegian Wood as I was discouraged after watching the movie. Perhaps I should give it a try especially knowing your fondness of it; sometimes movies just don’t do justice to the delicate and beautiful writings in his book. Recommending to you The Seven Japanese Tales by Jun’ichirō Tanizaki, I am a cat Natsume Soseki and the intense thriller akin to a chess game, The Devotion of Suspect X by Keigo Higashino. Have you read The Tale of Genji by Murasaki Shikibu? I have yet to pick it up because of its length.
The Housekeeper and the Professor is also one of my favorites! It's such a sweet and touching story. Same goes for Miss Ice Sandwich. A few of these are on my tbr list and I'm really looking forward to them, but after years of hearing people talk about Murakami on booktube I've decided I'm not going to read any of his books, since the treatment of women in them really seems to be terrible, and I feel I'd only be getting upset. As for recommendations, I think you'd really enjoy The Great Passage by Shion Miura! It's about a man who gets recruited to work on the making/compilation of a Japanese Language Dictionary. It's one of my all time favorite books! I also recommend The Travelling Cat Chronicles by Hiro Arikawa, it's a lovely short novel told from the pov of a cat.
The Great Passage sounds so interesting! I'm sure I've seen The Travelling Cat Chronicles about a lot as well. Ms Ice Sandwich was so good :) And yeah, Murakami's treatment of women isn't great . . .
Great video, I’ve developed a love for Japanese literature and I adored Convenience Store Woman. I feel like you’d love Sweet Bean Paste! It’s a sentimental and beautiful novel about food, friendship and loneliness :) Now adding Banana’s books to my reading list!
We agree so deeply on Ogawa’s Housekeeper and Tanizaki’s Makioka Sisters! I haven’t yet read Inoue’s short story collection, Counterfeiters, but really loved his Hunting Gun and quite liked his Bullfight too. I liked some of the early Murakam’s better than you did - but I didn’t like Norwegian Wood very much. The only newly discovered (newly discovered by ME) Japanese writer that I didn’t hear you mention is Yuko Tsushima - her novella Territory of Light was really great! Happy reading!
I think Murakami books are much better read in Japanese as Japanese culture is full of the magical realism, such as Yokai, Shinto spirits and such. So for English readers it may be a lil strange.
I really enjoyed Kafka on the shore🤣 it is weird! The main for me is that is about labyrinths- internal, external, fantasy and reality and dreams. It’s all relative and depending on perspective and personal perspective and history it can experienced differently. But also those poor cats🙀 I’ve not read any of the others on this list but it’s given me something to think on. I’ve not really explored much international fiction so I’d like to do more 🤓 Lake and Makioka Sisters peak my interest of this list 😊
I loved Ms Ice Sandwich so thank you for recommending it !! Norwegian wood is on my bookish poster so want to get to it anyways but it was good to hear you liked it XX I will look out for some of the others particularly Revenge and some of Banana Yoshimoto's books too Xxx
Ms Ice Sandwich is good, but it kind of just a sweet story with not much conflict, all the characters like each other. Banana Yoshimoto is good, but so far I've only read Kitchen and Moshi Moshi, I plan to read more. Yoko Ogawa is awesome, Revenge is great, so is The Diving Pool, Hotel Iris might not be to many reader's taste, but The Housekeeper and the Professor is much different. Hiromi Kawakami is good too, Strange Weather in Tokyo and The Nakano Thrift Shop are worth reading, I want to read more of her works. I admit I really like Haruki Murakami, I've read almost all of his books (in English), my favorites are The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle and After Dark, among many others. Japanese Literature also has a darker side, with authors like Ryu Murakami's Into the Miso Soup or Hitomi Kanehara's Snakes and Earrings. But I think they're more of an anomaly. I've been reading Japanese literature since the 1970's (in English translation) and my humble opinion is that their entire body of work is the finest in the world. Primarily in the 20th century and into the 21st. I'm an American, but I don't think our literature has any giants on the world stage. Thomas Pynchon and David Foster Wallace are way to wordy, and their plots make no sense. Stephen King writes book to be made into movies. Who else is there? I'm no expert, I don't even have a college degree, so take what I say as you wish. But I appreciate that you celebrate these Japanese authors.
Hi, I am going through a tough time and interested in reading Japanese Novel; can you recommend any that is about the story of fight back/ resilence and postive ending?
Murakami and I do not get along at all and it seemed that I was the only one who did not get the beauty in his work.The magical realism is lost on me. I would try Norwegian wood on your recommendation. I did two murakami books and really did not like either and forced myself to finish them. I am keen to read more Japanese literature so thank you for this video
Katy, are there translated modern French novels. I ask this be ause I hardly ever see present day novels from European countries on sale or available. from libraries.
Have you read anything by Yasunari Kawabata? The Sound of the Mountain by him is a beautiful book and doesn't contain magical realism from what I remember. I definitely need to read The Housekeeper and the Professor - everybody seems to love it!
I had to add a few things because this popped up in my feed. I read kitchen and I liked it didn't love it, but I think it's meant for a younger audience. I lived in Japan for three years. A convenience store is exactly like a 7-Eleven. They even have the same layout as my local 7-Eleven in Hawaii. I really want to read convenience store woman. After kitchen I picked up a few more of banana yoshimoto books but the magical realism turned me off. It's much less in kitchen. I've recently read two Japanese translated books that I really enjoyed. One was inheritance from mother by Minae Mizumura. It was wonderful and told the story of an older woman dealing with a difficult mother. But it's so much more than that. I also just finished the Nakano thrift shop by Hiromi kawakami and I loved it. Aloha
Thank you so much for posting this video! :D I can't wait to check out some of these books, specially the ones you recommended for me a while back. I was wondering if I could recommend you a book as well called "Fear and Trembling" by Amélie Nothomb. The author is a Japanese descender and she had dreamt all her life to work in a Japanese company and when she finally did it she had all sorts of situations in her daily life which made a very funny and entertaining read and I would definitely recommend it for you. Also, I read a book when I was a teen by Yasunari Kawabata, I don't know if he's the sort of author you'd like but I read "Snow County" and I remember his descriptions of a small village in the North of Japan were absolutely stunning so I'd like to recommend for you to check it out as well. (Sorry for the long comment, I've been really excited to talk about books I've been reading) Amazing job on your channel! Congratulations!
Omg thank you so much for this! All these stories sounds absolutely phenomenal. I can't decide which one to read first! I have loved the few Japanese books I have read so far but other than a few well known ones, all I knew about was Murakami. I can't wait to start gobbling up the books on this list ^~^
This is great - thank you! I'm definitely going to try and pick up some Banana Yoshimoto. I'm loving Japanese books this year too, and have read both those Ogawa books, and the Murakami, and Convenience Store Woman. Have you come across The Last Children of Tokyo? It was going around booktube a while back, I really liked it. What did you think of the title 'Revenge'? I thought they could have done something a bit more with that. I asked my Japanese friend (who first introduced me to Ogawa) and she said the original translates to something like 'Silent Corpse, Indecent Death.' Which is certainly more interesting!
Ha yes, that's such a more interesting title! And I haven't read The Last Children of Tokyo but it's definitely one I've seen about and am interested in.
I've only read Norwegian Wood and Kazuo Ishiguro, if you can consider him Japanese. Norwegian Wood made me want to visit the Japanese mountains. I slightly disapproved of all the suicide.
I never really consider Kazuo Ishiguro Japanese - at least, when I talk about Japanese literature, I think I tend to mean literature translated from Japanese? And yeah, I'd love to go to Japan and see those mountains.
I picked up my first Murakami a few weeks ago with his running memoir and really enjoyed it. I've heard a lot of negatives about him as a writer but I do have Norwegian Wood on my shelves so I still want to give it a try. I've just finished Convenience Store Woman and it was such an interesting read. I usually don't like characters that are so distant but I loved it in this book. Great recommendations :)
I'm glad you liked Convenience Store Woman! Murakami is a weird one. I liked Norwegian Wood, but his presentation of women is pretty bad throughout everything of his I've read!
Norwegian wood was deal breaker for me, i actually loved kafka on the shore that i read before n wood, but this book made main character sleep with every woman and even the lesbian one so 😐 yikes...also maybe the fact that i was in Tokyo when i read kafka on the shore clouded my judgement 😅
But Kafka on the Shore and all the weird dream incest?! I feel like with one book I can just think, oh it's just the narrator or that particular characterisation, but when I've read a few and they all have similar problems, that's when it seems more of an issue for me . . .
@@katiejlumsden yeah i feel like with the first book you can always be like "it could be just this one..." but then when the second and third one have the same problems... 😕
My favorite book Snow Country is not on the list haha. I noticed that you have a souvenir from Vietnam on your bookshelf, which makes me happy as a Vietnamese. Take care.
I live in a city in Brazil which received lots of Japanese immigrants in the beginning of last century, and It is a very big influence in my life, since I was a child. I got really interested in Japanese literature and cinema. Wonderful Works of ART.
Thank you for this video! I adore Banana Yoshimoto, have just started Amrita having finished Kitchen. Another great book that you might enjoy is Sweet Bean Paste by Durian Sukegawa. It's a really tender story about friendship, hidden secrets and the simple pleasures in life. Finished it in a day as it was so gripping! Like a lot of Japanese fiction, the writing is really descriptive when concerning normal everyday activities but it has been translated so beautifully by Alison Watts that at times you can actually smell the adzuki beans and hear the pancakes frying!
I am half way through The Forest of Wool and Steel by Natsu Miyashita. The story follows a young man discovering his life destinies through piano tuning. A mesmerising and calming read
Finally I found that book yesterday and completed ..... thanks for recommending that book .....it's good book for learning about dream , music and piano tuner. 8:08am 20/5/2021
The first Murakami I read was The Wind Up Bird Chronicle & I loved it. I've read a couple of others (including Norwegian Wood which I liked but not loved) and have definitely had problems with some. I'm trying a couple more this year before I decide I've had enough Murakami. Loved The Housekeeper & the Professor so I will look for some of her others.
Books and Things yes you should! I am really intrigued to know how you will feel after reading it, be it good or bad 😊I loved all the characterisation in The Wind Up Bird Chronicle especially May Kasahara, her quirky questions about life and death and thoughts. She is like a real life character, perhaps the most lovable fictional character to me. Her quote is so odd but yet so addictive: “Wigs don't last long. Bet you didn't know: toupees are good for two, maybe three years max. The better made they are, the faster they get used up. They're the ultimate consumer product. It's 'cause they fit so tightly against the scalp: the hair underneath gets thinner than ever. Once that happens, you have to buy a new one to get that perfect fit again. ... Once a guy starts using a wig, he has to keep using one. It's, like, his fate.”
Really cool set of recommendations, most authors I haven't heard of. I really enjoyed Convenience Store Woman and look forward to reading Norwegian Wood and Housekeeper and the Professor. I haven't read Murakami yet and think I would hate him too because of his depiction of women but I've heard too many things about Norwegian Wood to not give it a try. Thank you for this video :)
Thanks for making this video. I've been curious about reading Japanese literature after hearing a discussion about The Convenience Store Woman on a Good Read a couple of months ago. I will have to check out Banana Yoshimoto and Yoko Ogawa.
Wooow Katie talking about and LOVING Japanese books...I am a huge Japanese culture fan & I intend to read some of their books ... . .I have read Kafka on the shore and while I loved some of the passages very much, the problem with it was that the hero sleeps with everyone and that female are a picture of sex like you said made me a little cautious about picking another murakami book ... . .so I will go with banana youshimoto this time .thanks for the recommendations
Happy to see that your top book is kitchen by Banana Yashimoto, which I've recently thrifted - so bought it randomly just because it was from a Japanese author and that I heard of her in your videos!
What different websites or apps that you used to learn a foreign language? For reading time of the day. I would like to read more often in Japanese. Is there anything that you recommend doing that? When you're able to.
I also have some problems with Murakami.... I thought I'd read it because I'm studying Japanese and he's really popular but I found I pretty much enjoyed only his shorter books. My absolute favourite is After Dark (the writing, especially in the original Japanese is so atmospheric and beautiful), but I barely made myself finish Norwegian Wood, even though it's one of his most widely loved books
I love your videos. Please keep them coming. Those are my top two Banana Yoshimoto novels as well, in addition to Moshi Moshi. I want to recommend Nothing to See Here by Kevin Wilson. Obviously not Japanese, but the perfect amount of magic in realistic fiction.
Most of the women in his books tend to be sex objects? What? How is that even true? Pretty all the female characters he writes are fleshed out and have backstory and character arcs, sure the male characters want to have sex with them but that doesn't mean they are just sex objects by my understanding of the term. Unless you mean that the protagonists of the story is sexualizing the female characters that he encounters which yeah that's something that happens for every cis gendered straight guy what's wrong with expressing it sounds like you are condemning mens heterosexual expression which is unsettling as it seems men exhibiting a sexual attraction to women is condemnedable. Even in all the books you gave all the female characters are fleshed out, sure the male character exhibits sexual interest but that's not objectifying. Yeah the main character sleeps with women so what? That's something men do is that not something you should right about?
I've been trying to read along with #asianpacific month. I tried to read Rainbirds , but it took a weird turn so I DNFd it. I have started reading Convenience Store Woman and it's much better.
There is a year since I bought Tsugumi, after watching this video I ‘m in the mood to read it. I’ve read The sound of waves by Yukio Mishima and The waiting years by Fumiko Enchi and I like both of them.
Hi! Nice to meet you! I'm Marcelo, from Brazil. Nice knowledge, nice content. Tks for sharing! But, what's the point to record and post a video like this if you just din't care to whom is going to listen it?! Don't you've any concern for people who is going to watch it?! Better change the title to "this video is only to my relatives though"... anyway, tks for sharing it! 👍👍
I recommend books by Osamu Dazai, I consider him the greatest writer ever. Partly because I feel his life - which is very tragic - reflects so much on his work. Check out No Longer Human.
Thanks for the recommendation!
He was and still is an amazing writer the setting sun and no longer human are my personal favorites
I would recommend The Great Passage by Shion Miura and The Nakano Thrift Shop by Hiromi Kawakami. They're both typical Japanese slice of life books that just follow characters about and let you experience their thought processes. I also second Sweet Bean Paste, it's a wonderful book.
Sweet Bean Paste sounds great! I'll also be putting The Great Passage on my list :)
May I suggest Yukio Mishima...
Definitely going on my list!
Definetly Mishima.The sea of fertility is one of the greatest pieces of literature I ever read.
I am always so happy to find another Banana Yoshimoto fan. It’s like spotting a unicorn. I first read her books back in my teens pre-internet and getting her books was near impossible. I have to admit I stopped trying and now I see by your video I have a lot of catching up to do.
I love modern Japanese literature and I am grateful for this video of recommendations and also the recommendations of everyone in the comments too.
She is such an amazing author!
Holy moly you talk at warp speed, like a long run on sentence-- George Eliot or Henry James perhaps ;)
Ironic really when I don't like George Eliot or Henry James much!
@@katiejlumsden LOL. It could be worse: you could have people saying you sound like an old Russian novel. ;)
Hi Katie, you have tempted me to pick up one of Banana Yoshimoto’s books. I am so glad to hear your views about Haruki Murakami’s works and that Norwegian Wood is your honourable mention. If you’re not into major magical realism, you can try his South of the Border, West of the Sun (based on your liking of Norwegian Wood), After Dark (best to read it in one sitting in the midnight) and A Wild Sheep Chase (with a very slight dosage of magical realism but it is in no way same as Kafka on the Shore). I haven’t read Norwegian Wood as I was discouraged after watching the movie. Perhaps I should give it a try especially knowing your fondness of it; sometimes movies just don’t do justice to the delicate and beautiful writings in his book.
Recommending to you The Seven Japanese Tales by Jun’ichirō Tanizaki, I am a cat Natsume Soseki and the intense thriller akin to a chess game, The Devotion of Suspect X by Keigo Higashino.
Have you read The Tale of Genji by Murasaki Shikibu? I have yet to pick it up because of its length.
Thanks for all the recommendations - I don't think I've read any of them, but will put them on my list!
The Housekeeper and the Professor is also one of my favorites! It's such a sweet and touching story. Same goes for Miss Ice Sandwich.
A few of these are on my tbr list and I'm really looking forward to them, but after years of hearing people talk about Murakami on booktube I've decided I'm not going to read any of his books, since the treatment of women in them really seems to be terrible, and I feel I'd only be getting upset.
As for recommendations, I think you'd really enjoy The Great Passage by Shion Miura! It's about a man who gets recruited to work on the making/compilation of a Japanese Language Dictionary. It's one of my all time favorite books! I also recommend The Travelling Cat Chronicles by Hiro Arikawa, it's a lovely short novel told from the pov of a cat.
The Great Passage sounds so interesting! I'm sure I've seen The Travelling Cat Chronicles about a lot as well. Ms Ice Sandwich was so good :) And yeah, Murakami's treatment of women isn't great . . .
I saw the anime of the great passage
Great video, I’ve developed a love for Japanese literature and I adored Convenience Store Woman. I feel like you’d love Sweet Bean Paste! It’s a sentimental and beautiful novel about food, friendship and loneliness :) Now adding Banana’s books to my reading list!
Sweet Bean Paste is going straight on my life!
Thank you for the recommendations. I’m exploring Japanese authors at the moment, and this gave me some ideas. I think the speed was just right.
plzz talk little slowly!!
go 0.75. youre welcome
pls talk a little slow
Yukio Mishima blows me away. Read ‘The man who fell from grace from the sea’ and ‘Life for Sale.’. He is an amazing writer. Have you read him?
Yes amazing writer. Read 'The Sea of fertility', his masterpiece.
We agree so deeply on Ogawa’s Housekeeper and Tanizaki’s Makioka Sisters! I haven’t yet read Inoue’s short story collection, Counterfeiters, but really loved his Hunting Gun and quite liked his Bullfight too. I liked some of the early Murakam’s better than you did - but I didn’t like Norwegian Wood very much. The only newly discovered (newly discovered by ME) Japanese writer that I didn’t hear you mention is Yuko Tsushima - her novella Territory of Light was really great! Happy reading!
I think you'd like Counterfeiters too :) Territory of Light sounds good - I'll put it on my list!
Great video. I am going to try out Convenience Store Woman on your recommendation!
Enjoy!
Do you read any of Yukio Mishima works? I planned to read Mishima, but I don't know where to start.
I haven't, I'm afraid, no.
Thirst For Love.
Try reading The Sailor Who Fell from Grace with the Sea and The Temple of the Golden Pavillion.
I've had Norwegian Wood on my shelves for so long!
Convenience Store Woman is also on my tbr, it sounds great ^^
I hope you like them!
I think Murakami books are much better read in Japanese as Japanese culture is full of the magical realism, such as Yokai, Shinto spirits and such.
So for English readers it may be a lil strange.
I really enjoyed Kafka on the shore🤣 it is weird! The main for me is that is about labyrinths- internal, external, fantasy and reality and dreams. It’s all relative and depending on perspective and personal perspective and history it can experienced differently. But also those poor cats🙀 I’ve not read any of the others on this list but it’s given me something to think on. I’ve not really explored much international fiction so I’d like to do more 🤓 Lake and Makioka Sisters peak my interest of this list 😊
Ha yes, I think it's just way too weird for me!
I loved Ms Ice Sandwich so thank you for recommending it !! Norwegian wood is on my bookish poster so want to get to it anyways but it was good to hear you liked it XX I will look out for some of the others particularly Revenge and some of Banana Yoshimoto's books too Xxx
I'm so glad you liked it :) :) And I highly recommend Banana Yoshimoto!
Ms Ice Sandwich is good, but it kind of just a sweet story with not much conflict, all the characters like each other. Banana Yoshimoto is good, but so far I've only read Kitchen and Moshi Moshi, I plan to read more. Yoko Ogawa is awesome, Revenge is great, so is The Diving Pool, Hotel Iris might not be to many reader's taste, but The Housekeeper and the Professor is much different. Hiromi Kawakami is good too, Strange Weather in Tokyo and The Nakano Thrift Shop are worth reading, I want to read more of her works. I admit I really like Haruki Murakami, I've read almost all of his books (in English), my favorites are The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle and After Dark, among many others.
Japanese Literature also has a darker side, with authors like Ryu Murakami's Into the Miso Soup or Hitomi Kanehara's Snakes and Earrings. But I think they're more of an anomaly.
I've been reading Japanese literature since the 1970's (in English translation) and my humble opinion is that their entire body of work is the finest in the world. Primarily in the 20th century and into the 21st. I'm an American, but I don't think our literature has any giants on the world stage. Thomas Pynchon and David Foster Wallace are way to wordy, and their plots make no sense. Stephen King writes book to be made into movies. Who else is there?
I'm no expert, I don't even have a college degree, so take what I say as you wish.
But I appreciate that you celebrate these Japanese authors.
Hi, I am going through a tough time and interested in reading Japanese Novel; can you recommend any that is about the story of fight back/ resilence and postive ending?
Kitchen by Banana Yoshimoto is a good one for that!
Murakami and I do not get along at all and it seemed that I was the only one who did not get the beauty in his work.The magical realism is lost on me. I would try Norwegian wood on your recommendation. I did two murakami books and really did not like either and forced myself to finish them. I am keen to read more Japanese literature so thank you for this video
Katy, are there translated modern French novels. I ask this be ause I hardly ever see present day novels from European countries on sale or available. from libraries.
“I have no ability to use phonetic pronunciation…”
Is there any other kind pronunciation ?
Have you read anything by Yasunari Kawabata? The Sound of the Mountain by him is a beautiful book and doesn't contain magical realism from what I remember. I definitely need to read The Housekeeper and the Professor - everybody seems to love it!
I have not - adding him to my list! :)
Watching it at .75x seems normal and normal seems 1.5x
2 years late to this but will recommend Hiromi Kawakami's works :)
I had to add a few things because this popped up in my feed. I read kitchen and I liked it didn't love it, but I think it's meant for a younger audience. I lived in Japan for three years. A convenience store is exactly like a 7-Eleven. They even have the same layout as my local 7-Eleven in Hawaii. I really want to read convenience store woman. After kitchen I picked up a few more of banana yoshimoto books but the magical realism turned me off. It's much less in kitchen.
I've recently read two Japanese translated books that I really enjoyed. One was inheritance from mother by Minae Mizumura. It was wonderful and told the story of an older woman dealing with a difficult mother. But it's so much more than that. I also just finished the Nakano thrift shop by Hiromi kawakami and I loved it. Aloha
Thank you so much for posting this video! :D
I can't wait to check out some of these books, specially the ones you recommended for me a while back.
I was wondering if I could recommend you a book as well called "Fear and Trembling" by Amélie Nothomb. The author is a Japanese descender and she had dreamt all her life to work in a Japanese company and when she finally did it she had all sorts of situations in her daily life which made a very funny and entertaining read and I would definitely recommend it for you.
Also, I read a book when I was a teen by Yasunari Kawabata, I don't know if he's the sort of author you'd like but I read "Snow County" and I remember his descriptions of a small village in the North of Japan were absolutely stunning so I'd like to recommend for you to check it out as well.
(Sorry for the long comment, I've been really excited to talk about books I've been reading)
Amazing job on your channel! Congratulations!
Not at all! Thanks very much :) That sounds really interesting! Snow Country's been on my list for a while - I must read it sometime!
Omg thank you so much for this! All these stories sounds absolutely phenomenal. I can't decide which one to read first!
I have loved the few Japanese books I have read so far but other than a few well known ones, all I knew about was Murakami. I can't wait to start gobbling up the books on this list ^~^
Thanks :)
This is great - thank you! I'm definitely going to try and pick up some Banana Yoshimoto. I'm loving Japanese books this year too, and have read both those Ogawa books, and the Murakami, and Convenience Store Woman. Have you come across The Last Children of Tokyo? It was going around booktube a while back, I really liked it. What did you think of the title 'Revenge'? I thought they could have done something a bit more with that. I asked my Japanese friend (who first introduced me to Ogawa) and she said the original translates to something like 'Silent Corpse, Indecent Death.' Which is certainly more interesting!
Ha yes, that's such a more interesting title! And I haven't read The Last Children of Tokyo but it's definitely one I've seen about and am interested in.
I've only read Norwegian Wood and Kazuo Ishiguro, if you can consider him Japanese. Norwegian Wood made me want to visit the Japanese mountains. I slightly disapproved of all the suicide.
I never really consider Kazuo Ishiguro Japanese - at least, when I talk about Japanese literature, I think I tend to mean literature translated from Japanese? And yeah, I'd love to go to Japan and see those mountains.
Ishiguro is English even though his name states otherwise
More like "My Favorite Banana Yoshimoto" books!
Well, she is wonderful . . .
I recommend "The Revelation of Katsushika Hokusai, The Artist"
I picked up my first Murakami a few weeks ago with his running memoir and really enjoyed it. I've heard a lot of negatives about him as a writer but I do have Norwegian Wood on my shelves so I still want to give it a try. I've just finished Convenience Store Woman and it was such an interesting read. I usually don't like characters that are so distant but I loved it in this book. Great recommendations :)
I'm glad you liked Convenience Store Woman! Murakami is a weird one. I liked Norwegian Wood, but his presentation of women is pretty bad throughout everything of his I've read!
Norwegian wood was deal breaker for me, i actually loved kafka on the shore that i read before n wood, but this book made main character sleep with every woman and even the lesbian one so 😐 yikes...also maybe the fact that i was in Tokyo when i read kafka on the shore clouded my judgement 😅
But Kafka on the Shore and all the weird dream incest?! I feel like with one book I can just think, oh it's just the narrator or that particular characterisation, but when I've read a few and they all have similar problems, that's when it seems more of an issue for me . . .
@@katiejlumsden yeah i feel like with the first book you can always be like "it could be just this one..." but then when the second and third one have the same problems... 😕
My favorite book Snow Country is not on the list haha. I noticed that you have a souvenir from Vietnam on your bookshelf, which makes me happy as a Vietnamese. Take care.
Have always enjoyed Japanese Literature; lived there for two years.
I live in a city in Brazil which received lots of Japanese immigrants in the beginning of last century, and It is a very big influence in my life, since I was a child. I got really interested in Japanese literature and cinema. Wonderful Works of ART.
Thank you for this video! I adore Banana Yoshimoto, have just started Amrita having finished Kitchen. Another great book that you might enjoy is Sweet Bean Paste by Durian Sukegawa. It's a really tender story about friendship, hidden secrets and the simple pleasures in life. Finished it in a day as it was so gripping! Like a lot of Japanese fiction, the writing is really descriptive when concerning normal everyday activities but it has been translated so beautifully by Alison Watts that at times you can actually smell the adzuki beans and hear the pancakes frying!
Thanks :) Banana Yoshimoto is amazing! People keep recommending me Sweet Bean Paste - definitely going on my list!
#EndoShusaku.
I am half way through The Forest of Wool and Steel by Natsu Miyashita. The story follows a young man discovering his life destinies through piano tuning. A mesmerising and calming read
That sounds very much up my street!
Allison ong
Where did you read it pdf /ebook available or you buy book ?
@@yahavi8211 I bought the book
@@lemonadehug ohhh😔😔😔
That's why I don't able to find free pdf .
If you know that it book available any where free ebook ??
Finally I found that book yesterday and completed ..... thanks for recommending that book .....it's good book for learning about dream , music and piano tuner.
8:08am 20/5/2021
I read a lot of Japanese murder mystery books translated to english
The first Murakami I read was The Wind Up Bird Chronicle & I loved it. I've read a couple of others (including Norwegian Wood which I liked but not loved) and have definitely had problems with some. I'm trying a couple more this year before I decide I've had enough Murakami. Loved The Housekeeper & the Professor so I will look for some of her others.
Maybe I need to try the Wind-up Bird Chronicle some time!
Books and Things yes you should! I am really intrigued to know how you will feel after reading it, be it good or bad 😊I loved all the characterisation in The Wind Up Bird Chronicle especially May Kasahara, her quirky questions about life and death and thoughts. She is like a real life character, perhaps the most lovable fictional character to me. Her quote is so odd but yet so addictive: “Wigs don't last long. Bet you didn't know: toupees are good for two, maybe three years max. The better made they are, the faster they get used up. They're the ultimate consumer product. It's 'cause they fit so tightly against the scalp: the hair underneath gets thinner than ever. Once that happens, you have to buy a new one to get that perfect fit again. ... Once a guy starts using a wig, he has to keep using one. It's, like, his fate.”
The Wind Up Bird Chronicle is my favourite
Really cool set of recommendations, most authors I haven't heard of. I really enjoyed Convenience Store Woman and look forward to reading Norwegian Wood and Housekeeper and the Professor. I haven't read Murakami yet and think I would hate him too because of his depiction of women but I've heard too many things about Norwegian Wood to not give it a try. Thank you for this video :)
Thanks for making this video. I've been curious about reading Japanese literature after hearing a discussion about The Convenience Store Woman on a Good Read a couple of months ago. I will have to check out Banana Yoshimoto and Yoko Ogawa.
Thanks :)
I loved Kitchen. I didn't like Asleep. Couldn't finish it.
Great video. I'll read a lot of Japanese novels.
I hope you enjoy them!
Wooow Katie talking about and LOVING Japanese books...I am a huge Japanese culture fan & I intend to read some of their books ...
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.I have read Kafka on the shore and while I loved some of the passages very much, the problem with it was that the hero sleeps with everyone and that female are a picture of sex like you said made me a little cautious about picking another murakami book ...
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.so I will go with banana youshimoto this time .thanks for the recommendations
Thanks :) I highly recommend Banana Yoshimoto - she's amazing!
I didn't know about the book either. Thanks for introducing me to it!
Thanks - hope you like some of them :)
Happy to see that your top book is kitchen by Banana Yashimoto, which I've recently thrifted - so bought it randomly just because it was from a Japanese author and that I heard of her in your videos!
Katie, if you are into very, very short stories, Yasunari Kawabata's "Palm-of-the-Hand Stories" is wonderful.
Thanks, good to know, I'll put it on the list :)
Might i suggest Keigo Hishigawa is the author you would love to go for if you are into murder genre?
Thanks I'll look them up!
What different websites or apps that you used to learn a foreign language? For reading time of the day. I would like to read more often in Japanese. Is there anything that you recommend doing that?
When you're able to.
Sorry, I think you've misunderstood me - I read all of these books in translation (to English); I don't speak Japanese.
Based on what you said about Banana Yoshimoto's books, I'd feel like you'd really like Confessions of a Mask by Yukio Mishima :)
Thanks!
I also have some problems with Murakami.... I thought I'd read it because I'm studying Japanese and he's really popular but I found I pretty much enjoyed only his shorter books. My absolute favourite is After Dark (the writing, especially in the original Japanese is so atmospheric and beautiful), but I barely made myself finish Norwegian Wood, even though it's one of his most widely loved books
There are other Japanese books I much more highly recommend!
I read the Chronicles of a Cat.... and I'm trying to move on by finding other books.
I must try that one!
10:30 I read Ms Ice Sandwich because of your recommendation. I really enjoyed it, and I'm so thankful for your recommendation
Oh wonderful, so glad you liked it!
I love your videos. Please keep them coming. Those are my top two Banana Yoshimoto novels as well, in addition to Moshi Moshi.
I want to recommend Nothing to See Here by Kevin Wilson. Obviously not Japanese, but the perfect amount of magic in realistic fiction.
Sounds interesting, thank you!
Most of the women in his books tend to be sex objects? What? How is that even true? Pretty all the female characters he writes are fleshed out and have backstory and character arcs, sure the male characters want to have sex with them but that doesn't mean they are just sex objects by my understanding of the term. Unless you mean that the protagonists of the story is sexualizing the female characters that he encounters which yeah that's something that happens for every cis gendered straight guy what's wrong with expressing it sounds like you are condemning mens heterosexual expression which is unsettling as it seems men exhibiting a sexual attraction to women is condemnedable.
Even in all the books you gave all the female characters are fleshed out, sure the male character exhibits sexual interest but that's not objectifying. Yeah the main character sleeps with women so what? That's something men do is that not something you should right about?
I've been trying to read along with #asianpacific month. I tried to read Rainbirds , but it took a weird turn so I DNFd it. I have started reading Convenience Store Woman and it's much better.
I'm glad you're liking Convenience Store Woman!
"Kokoro" by Natsume Soseki is my favourite. Thanks for this video ❤
That one is on my shelves :)
I'm searching for books that aren't translated.. Do you know where I can find any?
Not my area of expertise I'm afraid!
There is a year since I bought Tsugumi, after watching this video I ‘m in the mood to read it.
I’ve read The sound of waves by Yukio Mishima and The waiting years by Fumiko Enchi and I like both of them.
I'll have to put them on my list :) I hope you like Goodbye Tsugumi!
Your video is much appreciated.
Thanks!
can someone suggest short Japanese books to read ?
Bayer Strom Convenience Store Woman by Sayaka Murata.
Banana Yoshimoto's books are in general pretty short too
Are the books in Japanese
They were all written in Japanese, though I read English translations.
yoko ogawa :)
She's amazing :)
@@katiejlumsden yes. very amazing!.. and ur Videos r so too!
What a wrong list.
I think you will like Fumiko Enchi
Going on my list :)
I feel so bad for people who don’t properly appreciate the art that is Kafka on the Shore truly sad
Hi! Nice to meet you! I'm Marcelo, from Brazil. Nice knowledge, nice content. Tks for sharing! But, what's the point to record and post a video like this if you just din't care to whom is going to listen it?! Don't you've any concern for people who is going to watch it?! Better change the title to "this video is only to my relatives though"... anyway, tks for sharing it! 👍👍
Slow down girl
slow down plz
May I suggest talking slower?
Women as sex objects in Murakami books, you do know many Japanese women love Murakami books.