The Master Key

by  Masako Togawa
Translated by Simon Grove 
First published in Japanese in 1962
Penguin/Random/Pushkin Vertigo 3/27/2018
Genre: Crime/Mystery/Suspense/Thriller
Japanese literature
Classics
Pages: 192
Goodreads

As you know if you visit my blog regularly, I quite enjoy Japanese literature, both recent and classic. I’m thrilled I got the opportunity to discover Masako Togawa, an important author who died only a couple of years ago, and to present her famous The Master Key, a really ingenious mystery. 

Click to continue reading

Go

by  Kazuki Kaneshiro
Translated by Takami Nieda 
First published in Japanese in 2000
AmazonCrossing 3/1/2018
Genre: Literary fiction
Korean-Japanese literature
Pages: 172
Goodreads

Kazuki Kaneshiro is a famous novelist and screenplay writer. He is Zainichi Korean, meaning ethnically (North) Korean, born and raised in Japan. And that’s precisely the identity of Sugihara, the hero of Go, the first novel I read by this author. It actually received the prestigious  Naoki Sanjugo Prize in 2000. This semiannual award recognizes “the best work of popular literature in any format by a new, rising, or (reasonably young) established author”.

I knew nothing about the issue of Zainichi Koreans, so this short coming of age novel was a great introduction to it. Click to continue reading

Two short stories
by
Ryūnosuke Akutagawa

These books count for the following Reading Challenges:       

MY THOUGHTS ABOUT THESE BOOKS

I’m still not to sure why, but there is something in Japanese Literature that I find very attractive. I’m glad to participate every year in the Japanese Literature Challenge to read a few books. Time has come to look more closely at Ryūnosuke Akutagawa, regarded as the Father of the Japanese short story.
Click to continue reading