Book review and resources: Japanese series

The author

Yasunari Kawabata (11 June 1899 – 16 April 1972) was a Japanese novelist and short story writer whose spare, lyrical, subtly-shaded prose works won him the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1968, the first Japanese author to receive the award. His works have enjoyed broad international appeal and are still widely read.

Summary

Opening on the train to Kyoto, the narrative, in characteristic Kawabata fashion, subtly brings up issues of tradition and modernity as it explores writer Oki Toshio's reunion with a young lover from his past, Otoko Ueno, who is now a famous artist and recluse. Ueno is now living with her protegée and a jealous lover, Keiko Sakami, and the unfolding relationships between Oki, Otoko, and Keiko form the plot of the novel. Keiko states several times that she will avenge Otoko for Oki's abandonment, and the story coalesces into a climactic ending.

My review

Beauty and Sadness is the perfect title to a novella written in a refined and exquisite style, which pertains to such delicate and deep topics as regrets, ageing (implicitly), love lost, memories and the embellishment of one’s past, jealousy and all kinds of love, revenge. It is above all a story of sadness which  is profoundly moving and beautiful and it is already one of my favourite books. For Europeans, it is also of course a fabulous journey into Japanese culture, traditions and landscapes.

To go further, you can also read my review of Snow Country and watch this video: