Ratings1
Average rating3
"A collection of classic, fantastical tales from Northern Japan that are equal parts whimsical and sophisticated, perfect for readers of all ages. Kenji Miyazawa is one of modern Japan's most beloved writers, a great poet and a strange and marvelous spinner of tales, whose sly, humorous, enchanting, and enigmatic stories bear a certain resemblance to those of his contemporary Robert Walser. John Bester's selection and expert translation of Miyazawa's short fiction reflects its full range from the joyful, innocent "Wildcat and the Acorns," to the cautionary tale "The Restaurant of Many Orders," to "The Earthgod and the Fox," which starts out whimsically before taking a tragic turn. Miyazawa also had a deep connection to Japanese folklore and an intense love of the natural world. In "The Wild Pear," what seem to be two slight nature sketches succeed in encapsulating some of the cruelty and compensations of life itself"--
"Kenji Miyazawa is one of modern Japan's most beloved writers, a great poet and a strange and marvelous spinner of tales, whose sly, humorous, enchanting, and enigmatic stories bear a certain resemblance to those of his contemporary Robert Walser. John Bester's selection and expert translation of Miyazawa's short fiction reflects its full range from the joyful, innocent "Wildcat and the Acorns," to the cautionary tale "The Restaurant of Many Orders," to "The Earthgod and the Fox," which starts out whimsically before taking a tragic turn. Miyazawa also had a deep connection to Japanese folklore and an intense love of the natural world. In "The Wild Pear," what seem to be two slight nature sketches succeed in encapsulating some of the cruelty and compensations of life itself"--
Reviews with the most likes.
DNF. I suspect this is fully on me, however I just could not get into these tales. Yes they are lyrical, but I constantly felt like I was missing something. Most of the tales just seem to end without any conclusion; almost like the author gave up (or assumed the reader could complete the rest of the story themselves). My guess is that there is some context that I am missing; a bit like reading Animal Farm without knowing anything about communism.
In any event, once I got to the racist depiction of a Chinese character I gave up. If I'm going to be confused, I don't also want to have to put up with racism (I am guessing this is excused as being “of its time”).
I'll give this 3 stars on the assumption that I am missing something (as evidenced by all the 5 star reviews this is getting).