Kenzaburo Oe is one of the most original and important writers of your time, and nowhere is his genius more evident than in A Quiet Life -- an unca...
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Jan 29, 2012
Jane
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I had a lot of trouble assigning a rating to this book. On the one hand, I have not read other books by this (very famous) author, so I had a hard time sorting out what was his style, what was deliberately done to portray the voices of his his characters, what was odd or unfamiliar to me because it was culturally Japanese, and what was an artifact of of reading something that has been translated from Japanese into English. So I'm not sure what to make of my recurring sense that the characters di
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Jan 29, 2012
Holly
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I read this book like I read Gilead - by digesting one perfect sentence at a time. Kenzaburo Oe is so honest to me - I can't really describe him. He is so bare and authentic and I feel like I'm in someone's mind rather than in a story when I read his books. I love how his real life is smudged into his books and I love, LOVE that he is always studying Blake in his books! I love Ma-Chan - especially that she is a "slow thinker" like me. One of my favorite parts is when she and her brothe
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Dec 27, 2009
Michelle
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A Quiet Life is narrated by Ma-chan, a twenty year old girl. When her father, a novelist, goes off to California because of a ‘pinch’ that he is facing, her mother goes along with him to make sure that nothing untoward happens. This suddenly leaves Ma-chan the temporary head of the family, responsible for both Eeyore, her mentally-handicapped older brother, and O-Chan, her go-it-alone younger brother.
The description on the cover jacket says this is a Japanese “I”-novel, a blend of th More...
The description on the cover jacket says this is a Japanese “I”-novel, a blend of th More...
Aug 07, 2009
Emily
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In a piece of remarkable serendipity, I happened upon A Quiet Life at Powell's just after reading Claire's post about the authors she planned to read for the Japanese Literature Challenge. Knowing the lady has taste, I picked it up and started reading. I got through the first chapter in the store, bought it, came home and devoured the rest of it over the course of three days, letting it eclipse any other reading I might have been doing. I've been reading a lot of the bizarre and macabre latel
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Oct 23, 2011
Christina
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Not that I've read the Japanese version to make a valid comparison, but did anyone find this translation almost impossible to read? Such odd word choices and sentence structure; it was almost as if the translators themselves had a hard time finding equivalencies in English. I felt suspicious that the original Japanese prose might have been more eloquent than what I was reading.
Other than the translation issue, it was difficult to get past the overwhelming sense of self-absorption in t More...
Other than the translation issue, it was difficult to get past the overwhelming sense of self-absorption in t More...
Mar 24, 2011
Nancy
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The first thing I have written in my notes on this book is that it sort of creeps up on you, gaining your interest through simple stories told in a short story format. It is semi-autobiographical, with Oe represented as the father, “K.” The real ‘star’ of the book is his mentally retarded son Eeyour, a savant who composes classical music. Unencumbered by extraneous thought, Eeyour often proves to be the wisest of the family. He comes up with meaningful titles for his compositions and even for th
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Aug 09, 2009
Mark David
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Kenzaburo Oe, as his 1994 Nobel Prize citation so eloquently put, is a writer “who with poetic force creates an imagined world, where life and myth condense to form a disconcerting picture of the human predicament today.” With my own meager grasp of language, I couldn’t possibly put into such accurate a description the profound artistry of this world-renowned author. Unique to his style of writing is a tendency to transform elements of his own life into riveting fictional photographs that not on
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Jul 10, 2009
dannymac
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A nicely paced novel that concerns the nuerosis and anxieties of a shy teenager in Japan. It is not necessarily told from a feminine perspective and most certainly would not be referred to as teen or young adult fiction. Her life revolves around her father and her brother, who is disabled by something undefined but whatever it is, it certainly doesen't slow him down or deprive in any way from the rest of conventional society. Her mother is more of a foil to the father who is suffering from a ser
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Jan 29, 2012
Stuart
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Another fictionalized autobiography, this time from the perspective of K's daughter. Key terms: Sort of, in a pinch, nobody, robotization. Celine (Rangoon), Tarkovsky (Stalker), Ende (Momo), Vonnegut. I still cannot coherently explain what makes Oe's writing so appealing to me.
The book orbits around K's eldest son, Eeyore, who is disabled as a result of a brain hernia during pregnancy (the subject of 'A Personal Matter'). K and his wife leave Ma-chan and Eeyore in Japan while the More...
The book orbits around K's eldest son, Eeyore, who is disabled as a result of a brain hernia during pregnancy (the subject of 'A Personal Matter'). K and his wife leave Ma-chan and Eeyore in Japan while the More...
Aug 14, 2010
Gertrude & Victoria
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Oe Kenzaburo is known for writing about family affairs with honesty, warmth, and compassion, and A Quiet Life is no different. He takes the most ordinary occurences and creats something original - something special. His portrait of family relationships is painstaking, as his writing reflects well-developed characters.
Ma-chan, the daughter and her older brother are the central characters in this family story set in Tokyo. Ma-chan finds herself as the head of the household, when her More...
Ma-chan, the daughter and her older brother are the central characters in this family story set in Tokyo. Ma-chan finds herself as the head of the household, when her More...
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Jan 29, 2012
Daniel
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Kenzaburo Oe’s literary universe is so close to his real life that the limits between both of them are not clearly recognizable. In “A quiet Life” the depiction of his family and especially his family matters is made through his “fictional” daughter, a very sensitive narrator and too mature a personality for a 20-year-old girl. Although the narrator is supposed to be Ma-chan, since most of the stories consist of discussions and opinions about the father, an implicit author Oe, as a reader you ca
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Jun 05, 2009
Christopher
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This was the first work by Oe I have read. I rather enjoyed it, but it took a little while for me to understand his voice. This work blurs the line between fiction and autobiography, which lends a realness to his characters and narrative. Composed as diary entries, albeit a diary written for parents who have been away from Japan for some months, the reader is privy to the inner workings and thoughts of 3 children (adult children), coping with their parents extended leave and also with adulthood.
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Jan 29, 2012
Masanaka
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In many cases, booklovers tend to praise a book while criticise bitterly its film version. But here I strongly recommend that you should watch the film directed by Juzo Itami if you are considering reading this story. The English translation’s standard is ridiculously poor. Besides that, through reading this book, I’ve come to be doubtful about Oe’s ethical standard as a professional writer. He has often mentioned, in articles or essays, negative sides of Japan’s Emperor system. But if you read
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Jan 29, 2012
Barb
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It's worth slogging through some of the slower parts at the beginning. For me, the beauty came from the accumulation of rituals that they fall into once their folks leave. The way the kids surprise each other, break out of their roles and step up to the challenge. It's a very gentle read and sometimes things seem like they're in slow motion. The digressions into Celine's Rigadoon and Tarkovsky's film Stalker might seem like irritating tangents but they make sense really in the grand scheme of th
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Mar 24, 2011
Renzo
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I found this to be a very mixed bag. It had some gentle, touching bits, but it also found some parts quite annoying - too many detours that seemed pointless, but most importantly I never warmed up the bits where the children were not much more than props for a lot of self-indulgence on the writer's part. It felt like it was born out of a lot of vain. Probably totally unfair on my part, but that's what it seemed to me.
Jan 29, 2012
Mike
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I liked this a lot more than I thought I would. Thematically, it's even more depressing than the soul crushing "Nip the Buds, Shoot the Kids" and there's oodles of creepiness to go along with the boatload of simple nastiness. But...but..., there's a loyalty and love to this. A bedrock belief of dedication and duty to cling to. Feels good to have that something to cling to, even if the onslaught is heavy.
Wait, am I thinking of the right book? Girl with disabled brothe More...
Wait, am I thinking of the right book? Girl with disabled brothe More...
Jan 29, 2012
Charlaralotte
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Harrowing in a quiet, beautifully written way. The enormous pressures facing a young woman whose famous father keeps running away to try to escape his depression. The sexual assault at the end was probably the best account I've read of all the confusion that exists in the victim's mind before, during, and after the event. Painfully, incredibly accurate. Extraordinary assessment of a family torn apart by a mentally disabled son's needs, and yet kept together by him.
Jan 29, 2012
Abby
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A young woman cares for her mentally challenged older brother, nicknamed Eeyore, in this strange novel. By now, I'm rather accustomed to the darkness of Japanese literature, but I confess I found it harder to find the meaning behind all of this darkness. The end of the novel does stir one's heart strings a bit--finally!--but I found that to be the only genuinely enjoyable section of the book.
Jan 29, 2012
Kazuko
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I finish almost everything that lands in my hands even if I don’t particularly like it but A Quiet Life was such a bad read that I almost couldn't get through with it.
However, I do appreciate that Oe is one of the few Japanese authors that has openly discuss personal matters regarding mental illnesses which is not common at all. I almost wish I could have found the book more interesting.
However, I do appreciate that Oe is one of the few Japanese authors that has openly discuss personal matters regarding mental illnesses which is not common at all. I almost wish I could have found the book more interesting.
Jan 29, 2012
Dan
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Someone else mentioned the book seemed great in many ways, but the style felt a little stilted, and that matches my experience as well. The basic events of the novel work well and raise interesting ideas, but at times it was hard to engage them fully because of the slightly off-center feel of the sentences.
Jan 29, 2012
Mimi
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a wonderful book, very thoughtful about a young girl who is left in charge of her mentally retarded but musically gifted older brother. This is a theme of Oe's since he has such a son. The book is tender and philosophical, and amazingly appropriate for the thinking of a somewhat timid young girl.
Jan 29, 2012
My main experience with Oe was far more magical-realist than this work, which, while not explicitly realistic, seems grounded in the everyday. Oe produces a rather charming episodic narrative, bringing in autobiographical details and an eye for the charmed details of modern existence.
May 20, 2008
Susan
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This is one of my top favorite books of all time. It is so humane and beautiful and surprising. A young woman is left to care for her household (and her autistic/savant brother) when her parents spend a year in America, but she ends up learning how to care for herself. I loved it!
Aug 22, 2007
Phillip
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I just read this one this summer - I've read several of Oe's books, this one continued to show what a brilliant stylist he is. His depth of inquiry into his daughter's perspective on their family is pretty amazing, as the book is told through her eyes.
Dec 16, 2009
Wini
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Took me a lot more time then usual to finish the read, and felt that maybe my personality cant truly enjoy a quiet family life as the subject, but it has the feeling of a quiet family life should be, little bitter but wind-like.
Jan 29, 2012
Russell
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An odd, but moving novel, about a twenty year old Japanese girl who is forced to take care of her mentally handicapped brother while their parents are off in America. I highly recommend it.
Jan 29, 2012
Jenni
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Well, I got about 1/2 way through before giving up. I think I'm just not currently in the mindset to read something so depressing. Perhaps I'll give it another try some other time.
Jan 29, 2012
Kylos
rated it:
touching and quirky. a little standoffish. you need to coax it away from the wall and onto the dancefloor. but once you get it out there with you it's a good time.
