Review: The Penguin Book of Japanese Short Stories
The Penguin Book of Japanese Short Stories
Edited by Jay Rubin.
Penguin Random House UK | 2019 | £10.99
The Penguin Book of Japanese Short Stories is a collection of multiple short stories written by various Japanese authors, such as Haruki Murakami, Mishima Yukio, Genji Keita etc.
The cover I came across in my local Waterstones (which I hope is the cover picture Dave decides to use for this review,) was a beautiful illustration of a train passing through a colourful green field with a large pink cloud in the sky. They say not to judge a book by its cover, but in this case, I definitely did. I thought it was so beautiful and simplistic; I pictured myself reading it on a train journey, and someone else seeing the cover and being intrigued. This never ended up being the case as I didn’t decide to start reading it until a year after I bought it, and finished it in a week during lockdown.
Like many people across the country, I have picked up my old love of reading and have made a conscious decision to read more during this period of time. Plus, I have recently graduated from university for Creative Writing, and so I could begin reading purely for pleasure again, as opposed to reading for assignments. I figured that this book would be the best to ease me back into a regular reading schedule as it was short stories, so if needed I could stop after I finished one story, which would make it easier to digest as opposed to diving head first into a novel.
The Penguin Book of Japanese Short Stories is edited by Jay Rubin, and is split into seven sections:
- Japan & The West
- Loyal Warriors
- Men & Women
- Nature & Memory
- Modern Life and Other Nonsense
- Dread
- Disasters, Natural & Man-Made.
Each section pertained stories which related to the specific sub-sections. This means for people who don’t, for example, particularly like war stories, they could completely skip the section that contained war themed stories. However, I decided I was going to read all of them, regardless of whether it would be something I would normally read, and regardless of whether I enjoyed them or not, (as I figured they were only short so even if I wasn’t enjoying it, it would be quick to finish and I could perhaps learn something from that authors particular writing style.) However, I do think it is important to note that, no matter how good the translator/translation, the impact of the words will never be the same as in their native language, so a story that I particularly didn’t like may be due to its translation only, and if I could read in Japanese, I may have enjoyed it much more.
Since I cannot talk about every single story in this book, I have decided that I will talk about the ones I enjoyed the most.
Patriotism – by Yukio Mishima. {Loyal Warriors}
I am not the type of person who would usually gravitate or enjoy historical fiction, especially ones that are war based. However, I was pleasantly surprised to find that I enjoyed reading this one.
The story is about Lt. Takeyama Shinji and his wife, Reiko, as they prepare to, and ultimately, commit seppuku – (a ritual Japanese suicide by disembowelment.) The language that Yukio Mishima uses in this story was so powerful and gripping that I reached the end much quicker than I had expected to. Once I had finished the story, I had to take a moment to stop, look out of the window, and think about what I had just read. The plot is just so enthralling that it made it an enjoyable read, despite the fact that it is a genre of fiction that I wouldn’t usually read.
The Smile of a Mountain Witch – by Minako Okha. {Men & Women}
This is ultimately a story about a ‘woman’s duty:’ to be beautiful, quiet, get married, have children and care for your husband. This story follows the same women from childhood until death, fulfilling her ‘woman’s duty,’ but how at heart she wanted to be and always was a free spirit, like the legends of the Mountain Witches. It is a brilliant story to read if you are a woman feeling stuck and helpless in the cycle of life.
The Tale of the House of Physics – by Yōko Ogawa {Nature & Memory}
The Tale of the House of Physics follows a man who has just retired from his job in the publishing industry, as he reflects on the 1st book be helped to produce when he was a child. The story follows him as a boy as he helps the ‘deranged’ woman who lives in ‘The House of Physics’ create her book to tell her tell about a lonely atom floating throughout the universe searching for something to collide with.
Factory Town – by Minoru Betsuyaku {Modern Life and Other Nonsense}
Quite possibly, the funniest story in this book. I let out a snort at the final reveal. A very short story, where a factory that runs all through the day and night appears in a small town. The villagers all try to figure out what it is that they possibly could be making. The reveal is absolute genius, and if you read just one story in this book, make it this one. That’s all that I have to say.
I may not have enjoyed every story featured in this collection, but that is to be expected. However, I enjoyed it for the few stories that I loved, and I have discovered many new authors that I previously probably would not have. It is a great book to read to take a look at Japanese life and culture, and really shows the different in writing styles compared to authors here in The West. I would recommend this book if you want to ease yourself back into reading and want a unique experience with lots of variation.
Review by Megan.
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