| Read Kawabata and Mishima. I should start reading more weeb lit myself. I have Akutagawa (someone else you can check out) stories on my shelf that I still haven't read. |
MurauMar 19, 2020 3:21 PM
| Do Light Novels count? Although, I feel like Isuna Hasekura's works barely feel like other LNs, and I feel like the material overtakes plenty of other "literature"; at least when you compare it to works of the modern era. He's really the only one I read. I would love to read more, but you don't really see them in bookstores, and if I have, they probably haven't tickled my fancy. (Blame me for being a genre reader) |
| "You know you've reached peak quality when a doujin is better than the actual source series." (Eg. To LOVE-Ru) Just to list a couple of biases. Likes: A good story, characters, writing, romance, a good plot twist or something that breaks expectations (In a good way), 'backstory' and justice. Dislikes: Bad romance, too much fanservice, the harem genre, yuri, yaoi, and bad writing. |
| I think Haruki Murakami is extremely mediocre; I haven't really found anything he writes to be particularly enjoyable/salient/contemplative/insightful, pretty much the things I seek when I'm reading novels. I'd say the tier of Japanese authors that are worth reading are: Soseki/Tanizaki/Kawabata at the very top. Arguably Akutagawa deserves to be here but I think all three of these have written not just some of the best Japanese novels, but some of the best novels, period. These authors effectively transcend the Japanese novel as "form" and become greater than simply a period/cultural piece. Akutagawa/Dazai/Mishima/Oe. I'd put Oe and Akutagawa above the other two, but these are all very good writers. Dazai suffers from the fact that his output is too small/there's only a handful of works that are actually worth reading from him (The Setting Sun/No Longer Human). Mishima suffers from inconsistent output. He has some very good novels, but a ton of mediocre/half-baked ones, whereas I think Oe has lower output but higher consistency. Abe/Endo/Fukunaga/Inoue - also suffer from limited output, your mileage may vary more considerably here, but they all have at least one standout work that's worth looking into (with the exception of inoue) And then there's people like Banana Yoshimoto, Ryu Murakami, Yoko Ogawa and a handful of other more modern writers that aren't really truly tested/hard to say where their quality really lies. Ichiyo Higuchi, Makoto Ueda, Miyazawa Kenji, Yumeno Kyusaku, Kyoka Izumi are also all notable names, but it's harder to find stuff for some of them. All generally recommended. Anyway have fun. Japanese literature is a pretty nice space to get into. I would steer clear of Haruki Murakami I don't think even think calling him a "Japanese" writer is particularly appropriate given how distant he is from any semblance of the "tradition" as it were. |
YudinaMar 23, 2020 3:10 PM
| For classics, Yukio Mishima and Jun'ichirō Tanizaki's writings are pretty engaging, so I would recommend giving their books a go. In regards to Murakami's novels, the can be a mixed bag. I thought 'South of the border, West of the sun' was enjoyable but found his latest novel incoherent. I'll list some contemporary titles I read recently, and hope you may enjoy: Hiro Arikawa - The traveling cat chronicles Durian Sukegawa - Sweet bean paste Sayaka Murata - Convenience store women Yoko Ogawa - The housekeeper and the professor Hiromi Kawakami - Strange weather in Tokyo |
RhineaPleiades said: Anyone who has read books from Japanese authors? My all-time favorite contemporary novel is 1Q84 from Haruki Murakami. I've read all Murakami's books except those rare ones that has never been translated in English. I've also read some books from Osamu Dazai and Natsume Soseki. Any more Japanese authors and titles that could be worth checking on? I've recently read Haruki Murakami's Norwegian Wood |
| I like Murakami quite a bit, though I feel as though he keeps writing the same novel over and over, all the characters and themes and stories feel exactly the same everytime. That being said, I echo everyone else's recommendations, and add the other Murakami. |
Just Yukio Mishima. I'd suggest starting with "Confessions of a Mask" or "The Sailor Who Fell from Grace with the Sea". |
JackDuluozMar 30, 2020 9:36 PM
| The football field isn't the only place where you could use a good line. |
| another murakami for you - ryu murakami has some pretty good stuff (namely coin locker babies and in the miso soup). tanizaki junichiro is also worth a read. |
AnimeFreak-San said: is this a male gender issure...human issue...mental illness perhaps? |
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