10 Japanese Authors I Love
ฝัง
- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 13 มิ.ย. 2023
- In which I talk about my favourite Japanese authors . . .
My old video on my favourite Japanese books: • My Favourite Japanese ...
Authors and Books Mentioned
Jun’ichiro Tanizaki: / 6263.jun_ichir_tanizaki
In Praise of Shadows: / 34473.in_praise_of_sha...
The Makioka Sisters: / 34449.the_makioka_sisters
Some Prefer Nettles: / 194642.some_prefer_net...
Quicksand: / 34460.quicksand
A Cat, A Man and Two Women: / 34468.a_cat_a_man_and_...
Natsume Soseki: / 16061597.natsume_s_seki
Kokoro: / 762476.kokoro
Botchan: / 169437.botchan
Ten Nights’ Dream and Our Cat’s Grave: / ten-nights-dreams-and-...
Yasushi Inoue: / 117105.yasushi_inoue
The Hunting Gun: / 502118.the_hunting_gun
Life of a Counterfeiter: / life-of-a-counterfeiter
Fumiko Enchi: / 103307.fumiko_enchi
The Waiting Years: / 177404.the_waiting_years
Banana Yoshimoto: / 28229.banana_yoshimoto
Kitchen: / 50144.kitchen
Asleep: / 50143.asleep
Goodbye Tsugumi: / 50146.goodbye_tsugumi
Hard-boiled Hard Luck: / 1109655.hard_boiled_ha...
N.P.: / 50158.n_p
Lizard: / 50148.lizard
The Lake: / the-lake
Argentine Hag: / 50149.argentine_hag
Amrita: / 1019580.amrita
Moshi Moshi: / moshi-moshi
Dead-End Memories: / dead-end-memories
Mieko Kawakami: / 5559451.mieko_kawakami
Ms Ice Sandwich: / ms-ice-sandwich
Heaven:
All the Lovers in the Night: / all-the-lovers-in-the-...
Yoko Ogawa: / 42775.y_ko_ogawa
Revenge: / revenge
The Housekeeper and the Professor: / the-housekeeper-and-th...
Emi Yagi: / 20827150.emi_yagi
Diary of a Void: / diary-of-a-void
Durian Sukegawa: / 14160513.durian_sukegawa
Sweet Bean Paste: / sweet-bean-paste
Natsu Miyashita: / 13593316.natsu_miyashita
The Forest of Wool and Steel: / the-forest-of-wool-and...
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Revenge by Yoko Ogawa is my current read and I find it really interesting because of its interconnecting twists.
Looking forward to read Sweet Bean Paste and the series of the book when the coffee gets cold.
I recommend Confession by Kanae Minato which is one of my ultimate favorite read
Hi Katie. I really enjoyed Before The Coffee Gets Cold by Toshikazu Kawaguchi. I thought it was beautifully written and very poignant. I also really liked Convience Store Woman by Sayaka Murata. That story spoke to me in the same way the story about piano tuning spoke to you! I have really enjoyed the Japanese fiction I have read so far and want to read more.
I also really liked Convenience Store Woman, though her next book was a bit too weird for me. Before the Coffee Gets Cold was great, too!
What a great video, I am just starting to get into Japanese literature. I loved The Devotion of Suspect X, Confessions and Before the Coffee Gets Cold recently.
Thank you so much for this! I recently discovered Yukio Mishima and I've been interested in reading more Japanese authors.
Hello Katie,
I love Japanese Literature for many reasons (my heritage, a place I want to visit, the Japanese culture, etc.).
"The Memory Police" by Yoko Ogawa was one of my best readings last year.
I thought "The Memory Police" very different from "The Housekeeper and the Professor".
In my opinion, "The Memory Police" was fearfully claustrophobic, I don't know if it makes sense.
This is the synopsis - "When a young woman who is struggling to maintain her career as a novelist discovers that her editor is in danger from the Memory Police, she concocts a plan to hide him beneath her floorboards. As fear and loss close in around them, they cling to her writing as the last way of preserving the past."
I thought amazing how Yoko Ogawa was managed to transfer this fear and loss in her writing :).
I read this book by Natsu Miyashita and I was amazed about the profession of Tomura (character), piano tuner.
I really liked the analogy you made between piano tuner and copy editing (15:10) :)
It makes sense!
I could say that a piano tuner and a copy editor enhances the beauty of final product.
Great video and book recommendations!
I'm excited to read The Memory Police - it sounds strange but great!
I enjoyed your list and I am going to try to find some of these. I suspect it may be easier to find Japanese books in translation in England than the US. I know I have been frustrated by the lack availability. Abe Kobo is an author who you did not mention. I recently re-read The Ruined Map which I had read many years ago and had largely forgotten. It is a sort of surrealistic detective novel and very interesting on several levels. He was the creator, most famously in the West, of Woman of the Dunes. Regarding Tanizaki, my very favorite novel of his is Diary of a Mad Old Man, The Key is a close second.
I'll have to look those up!
Thank you for this video! Ive started to read some Japanese literature this year. I struggle to find the titles i want at the library or used. A few months i read Before the Coffee Gets Cold, and it was such a delightful treat between heavier reads. I saw that its a series and i cant wait to read the other installments!
Oh yes, I did enjoy Before the Coffee Gets Cold; that was a lovely read.
Fantastic! Glad I found this video. I love Japanese literature and understand (and enjoy) what I'm reading much more after having studied culture, folklore, military & social history as well as Japanese geography. Not to mention actually observing the Japanese folks in their natural habitat. Greater context is EVERYTHING. It's a genuine thrill. Even watching an animated film and recognising a minor detail and the great depth of meaning and relevance of it is wonderful. I get a kick every time I spot something and go, 'oh I know what that is/I know what's going on here!'. You can enjoy an animated movie, book or J-drama without fully understanding everything going on culturally between characters or the set itself but wow, isn't it great when you start recognising and comprehending how all these details thread together, their cultural history etc? Enjoyment is far greater.
Anyhow, thank you for giving me yet more books to look into buying in 2024. PS= For anybody travelling to Tokyo and wondering where to buy books by Japanese authors in translation, I recommend the Kinokuniya Shinjuku-- the one in the annex building of Takashimaya Square (right above the Nitori store easily spotted at ground level). Great one stop shop if you're pressed for time and want to ensure you're going to a store guaranteed to have the sorts of English language books you're hoping to find. The range is excellent and prices for new releases are slightly cheaper that what they are in the UK, even on Amazon. As a bit of trivia, the only Japanese book I've disliked and had trouble finishing was 'No Such Thing As An Easy Job'. How certain books even get published is a mystery. Have a super 2024 and I look forward to more uploads. 😊
I really want to read all the books you’ve mentioned!! The thing is I stay in a place where reading is not really a thing and finding new titles is really hard and expensive.
You can read the pdfs online
What you said about The Forest Of Wool And Steel, comparing it to copy editing, I found intriguing. If it’s not necessary for a piano tuner to play the piano to properly tune it, likewise, a copy editor can put into proper shape any text without necessarily being an author. This idea works out in most disciplines, since every skilled profession is supported by a plethora of talented people, who perform the maintenance to keep the machinery working. Do you think this is true or am I way off in my thinking? Anyway, thanks Katie, for making me think!
Definitely. I think it's probably relatively rare to be both a copy editor and an author. I think a lot of creative stuff needs technical stuff behind it. Definitely, from working both as an editor and an author, I have always thought of making a book as a team effort!
I loved your review. I have read all the books you list in your description. My particular favourites were:
Jun'ichirō Tanizaki’s The Makioka Sisters, EMI Yagi’s Diary Of A Void; and Mieko Kawakami’s All The Lovers In The Night. However my favourite modern Japanese author is Sayaka Murata especially Convenience Store Woman and Life Ceremony.
I need to try Life Ceremony. I loved Convenience Store Woman but struggled with Earthlings - it was a bit too weird for me!
Sayaka Murata is my favorite. I love all her three books. The earthling was dark, scary and awesome at the same time.
Also love Ruth Ozaki, Ishiguro, & Yoko Ogawa.
Would recommend the earthling, breast and egg, the memory police 👍 I recently read the Buried Giant, it was dark and whimsical and I can't stop thinking about it.
Yes, I liked Convenience Store Woman but Earthlings was a bit too weird for me, haha XD
A fun trivial detail is that the cover and spine of 'Earthlings' glows in the dark. No 'booktuber' ever mentioned this in their review. I've never heard anybody mention that aspect of the book's design. I don't actually know what my ultimate view of the novel is. Culturally I've been conditioned to look for allegory, deliberate symbolism and to read between the lines. Japanese literature doesn't fit into that paradigm, which I usually love to confront and be open to but so many books are wild flights of fancy and all the indulgent surrealism and trivial but lovingly drawn details 'mean' nothing. I close the back cover when finished and just feel confused or ripped off. Another thing no reviewer ever mentions. The way these mentally lazy, creatively underwhelming academic dullards accept all received opinions about Murakami is cringe inducing. Are people that insecure in their own assessments? It's oh-so trendy to regurgitate the half-baked, immature but common views about Murakami's "problematic" writing when it comes to women. Where are the strong characters out there, brave enough to actually generate idiosyncratic ideas, compelling questions and challenging viewpoints, y'know?
I'd recommend a different Kawakami, in this instance Hiromi: People from My Neighbourhood is a very entertaining read. As regards Soseki I've recently finished Kokoro which I found to be a fascinating insight into Japanese culture: at least of its time, though I suspect there are still some of the same generational conflicts. Interesting what you had to say about the copy editing role and would be good to hear also your views on the role of the 'sensitivity reader' and how this impacts on the integrity of an author's vision.
I've heard nothing but amazing things about Sweet Bean Paste, really curious about it. Same with my Brother's Husband which just sounds so sweet and heartwarming. I read Shizuko's Daughter by Kyoto Mori back in the late 90s and absolutely loved it, a great take on grief, mental health and also looks at the transition period in the 70s from the perspective of a 12 year old girl. Highly recommend checking it out!
That sounds great - thanks so much for the recommendation!
I recently read The Memory Police and really enjoyed it! Id be interested to hear your thoughts. I also really liked Tokyo Ueno Station by Miri Yu.
Definitely read "The Memory Police" and let us know what you make of it, especially the ending 😄😸 Maybe you will consider Sayaka Murata if you don't mind going a more controversial route 😏😼 and considering the ending of "Earthlings"
I really enjoyed Convenience Store Woman, but Earthlings was a bit too weird for me XD
The Guest Cat by Takashi Hiraide
Confessions by Kanae Minato (Japanese Thriller)
The Traveling Cat Chronicles by Hiro Arikawa
Sweet Bean Paste is one I am very interested in. I am currently reading Solo Dance by Li Kotomi. It is a book that focuses on darker topics but in a really poignant way
I'll have to read Solo Dance; it sounds up my street.
I second Anna T who mentioned Sayaka Murata... I have not yet read "Earthlings", but I loved "Convenience Store Woman" and the story collection "Life Ceremony". I also really liked "The Woman in the Purple Skirt" by Natsuko Imamura.
Big fan of Mieko Kawakami and Banana Yoshimoto as well.
So, I loved Convenience Store Woman, but Earthlings was too weird for me! I might try Life Ceremony, though, as I can deal with very weird short stories more. I'll put The Woman in the Purple Skirt on my list!
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I love the japanese stuff 😄
I particularly like Hiroko Oyamada. Three slim books. The Factory, her first, is quite atmospheric; The Hole, her second and an award winner, may well become a classic; her most recent is Weasels In The Attic. The best starting point, I believe, is The Hole.
Ooo I really liked Weasels in the Attic, so I'll have to read the other two, too!
Hi Katie!
The cat who saved books 📚 author
Sosuke Natsukawa
Out author Natsuo Kirino
If and when you read these please let me know your thoughts
Take Care🌸
I have already read both of these :) I loved The Cat who Saved Books - I feel like maybe that belonged in this video, now that I think about it. Out was a bit too dark for me, though I thought it was well written.
With Soseki I'd recommend reading his first unofficial trilogy (Sanshiro, Sorekara (And Then), and The Gate).
First
Try some books of Chinese authors,they are good.