Kawabata Yasunari -- Snow Country and Thousand Cranes

[jain]

4. Kawabata Yasunari, Snow Country

I had high hopes for this book, about the relationship between a wealthy urbanite and a geisha at a hot springs resort in the mountains. Unfortunately, although several of the characters were sympathetic and interesting, the narrative itself felt unsatisfying. There were too few resolutions and too many unsolved mysteries, especially regarding a few of the characters' personal histories and their interrelationships.

The writing style was also hit and miss for me. Some passages were breathtakingly lovely, only to be followed by others that were banal or excessively belabored. The translation may be partially to blame, but it can't account for infelicitous writing choices such as the metaphor in the line: "The high, thin nose was a little lonely, a little sad, but the bud of her lips opened and closed smoothly, like a beautiful little circle of leeches."

5. Kawabata Yasunari, Thousand Cranes

Much more to my taste, this is a lovely, perceptive novel about family, love, betrayal, and the tea ceremony. One brief suggestion of violence in a scene midway through the book felt out of place to me; otherwise, the story is very well crafted and the characters believable and finely drawn.

3-4: The Man In My Basement and Fortunate Son by Walter Mosley

[puritybrown.livejournal.com]

3: The Man In My Basement by Walter Mosley
4: Fortunate Son by Walter Mosley

Two gripping and remarkable novels by an author frequently recced on this comm; having read these two, I can see why. They're both quasi-allegorical, but at the same time they work as straightforward realistic fiction. The Man In My Basement is, on one level, about a drifting, unemployed young black man who is approached by a rich and ruthless white man who wants to be locked up in his basement for three months; and on another level, it's about power and responsibility and guilt and the ways in which our hands get dirtied just by living in an unjust world. Fortunate Son is, on one level, about two boys, one black and sickly and poor, one white and strong and rich, who are raised as brothers for the first few years of their lives and then separated; and on another level it's about what "fortune" means -- what is it that life is really for? They're both really meaty novels -- full of ideas to get your teeth into, and a multitude of fascinating characters. Mosley's detached third-person narration is in a style that I hadn't thought I would like, and it took a little getting used to, but it's what works for what he's doing.

Excellent stuff. I'm glad he's written so much; more to enjoy!