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Verwandte des Lebens.
Rare Book
208 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1989
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About the author
Kenzaburō Ōe
239 books1,693 followersKenzaburō Ōe (大江 健三郎) was a major figure in contemporary Japanese literature. His works, strongly influenced by French and American literature and literary theory, engages with political, social and philosophical issues including nuclear weapons, social non-conformism and existentialism.
Ōe was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1994 for creating "an imagined world, where life and myth condense to form a disconcerting picture of the human predicament today."
Ōe was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1994 for creating "an imagined world, where life and myth condense to form a disconcerting picture of the human predicament today."
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April 17, 2023What is the purpose of life ? It is indeed a question that has troubled human beings for centuries, and Kenzaburo's protagonist struggles with the same question. But why is such a difficult question to answer ? I can't formulate an answer on this idea, perhaps is no answer to that. But what Kenzaburo teaches me, through his novel, is that the journey itself is what truly matters.
Here, I can even draw a parallel with Camus' Myth, the struggle to find purpose and meaning is what defines us as human beings. The journey of searching purpose is quite a testament to the indomitable human spirit, in fact, is what gives our lives meaning, we may never find an definitive answer to the question of why we are here, but the journey itself is what makes life worth living, and if we can learn to embrace the journey, we can find solace and satisfaction in the knowledge that we are doing all that we can to make the most of the time that we have.
Here, I can even draw a parallel with Camus' Myth, the struggle to find purpose and meaning is what defines us as human beings. The journey of searching purpose is quite a testament to the indomitable human spirit, in fact, is what gives our lives meaning, we may never find an definitive answer to the question of why we are here, but the journey itself is what makes life worth living, and if we can learn to embrace the journey, we can find solace and satisfaction in the knowledge that we are doing all that we can to make the most of the time that we have.
June 19, 2013
"With a deep sadness and a massive hard-on,"
"Marie nodded as she listened, directing a dark look of great intensity at me that said, if all this grief I've been carrying around with me ... was just a scheme the 'cosmic will' cooked up to get me to invite some Filipinos to Japan, I'll go out of my mind."
Fictional Kenzaburo Oe's fictional son's fictional best-friend's fictional mother is the star of this one. The cosmic will throws her one hell of a curveball, and she's off to California and then Mexico in an attempt, I feel, to escape the suggestion that there's any method in her sadness.
I have never before found Oe apologising for his frankness:
"[The American young man] would, rightly, be offended to hear me say this, but on occasional gusts of wind that made the young leaves outside sparkle in the sunshine, I caught a whiff of something not unlike the odor of a make (or female?) cat in season,"
"'... When I was much younger, there were two or three women I didn't 'do it' with, even though they propositioned me directly. I regretted it for a long time afterwards, so then I went through a period when I decided I'd 'do it' no matter what ... But now I'm older, I look back and realize that whether I 'did it' or not, the memories are there all the same, so it didn't really make much difference.'"
"Marie nodded as she listened, directing a dark look of great intensity at me that said, if all this grief I've been carrying around with me ... was just a scheme the 'cosmic will' cooked up to get me to invite some Filipinos to Japan, I'll go out of my mind."
Fictional Kenzaburo Oe's fictional son's fictional best-friend's fictional mother is the star of this one. The cosmic will throws her one hell of a curveball, and she's off to California and then Mexico in an attempt, I feel, to escape the suggestion that there's any method in her sadness.
I have never before found Oe apologising for his frankness:
"[The American young man] would, rightly, be offended to hear me say this, but on occasional gusts of wind that made the young leaves outside sparkle in the sunshine, I caught a whiff of something not unlike the odor of a make (or female?) cat in season,"
"'... When I was much younger, there were two or three women I didn't 'do it' with, even though they propositioned me directly. I regretted it for a long time afterwards, so then I went through a period when I decided I'd 'do it' no matter what ... But now I'm older, I look back and realize that whether I 'did it' or not, the memories are there all the same, so it didn't really make much difference.'"
July 31, 2018
Betty Boop character here. This novel also involves the handicapped son?
This book made me rage. The story is a man obsessed with a woman. I think his primary objection, and at the same time primary fascination, is to do with her Independence. She does what she likes - or at least tries, and she is sexually liberated meaning she doesn't just stick with the one man/protagonist/author etc.
So the author kills her off with cancer - breast, and spreading.
The narrator (male) is in love with the Betty Boop character (read liberated female, wears lipstick). Oh, he has a wife, whom he can't leave because of handicapped son.
This is the work of a Nobel prize winner!
Anyone else feel free to comment.
This book made me rage. The story is a man obsessed with a woman. I think his primary objection, and at the same time primary fascination, is to do with her Independence. She does what she likes - or at least tries, and she is sexually liberated meaning she doesn't just stick with the one man/protagonist/author etc.
So the author kills her off with cancer - breast, and spreading.
The narrator (male) is in love with the Betty Boop character (read liberated female, wears lipstick). Oh, he has a wife, whom he can't leave because of handicapped son.
This is the work of a Nobel prize winner!
Anyone else feel free to comment.
February 4, 2024
Der Ich-Erzähler berichtet episodenhaft aus dem Leben seiner Bekannten Marie Kuraki, die nach dem Doppelselbstmord ihrer beiden behinderten Kinder versucht, eine Antwort auf dieses unsagbare Leid zu finden, um weiterleben zu können. Leider schafft es der Roman weder, emotional glaubhafte Figuren zu entwickeln, noch, die in einigen Passagen bemühte theoretisierende Debatte über Leid zum überzeugenden Stilprinzip auszubauen. Es bleiben ein stellenweise gut lesbarer Stil und ein zu sehr auf sich und seine sexuellen Begierden fokussierter Ich-Erzähler.
May 27, 2021
Ich hab so geweint
September 16, 2015
Wow, author of A Personal Matter writes a book about a Flannery O'connor expert who, after the double suicide of her children, becomes venerated as a saint in mexico? count me in.
This novel joins works like Rouse Up and the aforementioned A Personal Matter in Oe's pseudo-autobiographical kaleidoscope. When working in this vein, oe subverts the japanese "I-novel" trope of excessive, Zola-influenced realism that permeated the country at the beginning of the 20th century by writing from the point-of-view of a fictionalized version of himself. How, or to what extent, his literary avatar is fictionalized is highly variable, and herein lies the genius of this brand of Oe: by palming where and when he takes his creative liberties, the impossibility of writing actual realism--of having all the facts at hand--becomes painfully apparent.
And yet, this is where we find the most truth. In the same way that absolute philosophical systems break down when the variable of time is introduced, time chips away at the sanctity and sovereignty of realism; new tools and methods and sources come to light over time, and our perception of the moment in time which realism tries so ardently to capture becomes one artifact in our composite view of history. Oe knows that in order to get a complete view of Oe, he must constantly revise, update, and flesh out the Oes that exist in very close parallel universes. this murkiness--this unsureness of the self and its place in the world--is the truest realism of all.
This novel in particular deals with Oe's wrestlings with transcendence. struck by the power and resolve that lupus-afflicted Flannery O'connor was afforded by her faith, Oe is concerned with what happens when tragedy befalls those who are not equipped with the security of the absolute. It is because of rather than in spite of the fact that Flannery O'connor's view of the absolute is so, well, absolute, that this issue is so pressing for Oe: O'connor's god is as distant as his absolute nature requires him to be, which is difficult enough--what does one do if that god doesn't exist to begin with?
[to be cont......]
This novel joins works like Rouse Up and the aforementioned A Personal Matter in Oe's pseudo-autobiographical kaleidoscope. When working in this vein, oe subverts the japanese "I-novel" trope of excessive, Zola-influenced realism that permeated the country at the beginning of the 20th century by writing from the point-of-view of a fictionalized version of himself. How, or to what extent, his literary avatar is fictionalized is highly variable, and herein lies the genius of this brand of Oe: by palming where and when he takes his creative liberties, the impossibility of writing actual realism--of having all the facts at hand--becomes painfully apparent.
And yet, this is where we find the most truth. In the same way that absolute philosophical systems break down when the variable of time is introduced, time chips away at the sanctity and sovereignty of realism; new tools and methods and sources come to light over time, and our perception of the moment in time which realism tries so ardently to capture becomes one artifact in our composite view of history. Oe knows that in order to get a complete view of Oe, he must constantly revise, update, and flesh out the Oes that exist in very close parallel universes. this murkiness--this unsureness of the self and its place in the world--is the truest realism of all.
This novel in particular deals with Oe's wrestlings with transcendence. struck by the power and resolve that lupus-afflicted Flannery O'connor was afforded by her faith, Oe is concerned with what happens when tragedy befalls those who are not equipped with the security of the absolute. It is because of rather than in spite of the fact that Flannery O'connor's view of the absolute is so, well, absolute, that this issue is so pressing for Oe: O'connor's god is as distant as his absolute nature requires him to be, which is difficult enough--what does one do if that god doesn't exist to begin with?
[to be cont......]
November 26, 2020
This could have been great. The first third of the book sucked me in and I could not put it down. I thought this to be an excellent, even five star Japanese read and got quite excited. But then everything became just so... convoluted? Weird?
I had a really hard time figuring out what this novel is about. The weird sexuality and male gaze are very strong in this one - and i don't quite know if this is by design or not. The end picks up again, but even though I read it rather quickly, I ended up feeling a bit meh about it. So... worse than it could have been, but still interesting.
I had a really hard time figuring out what this novel is about. The weird sexuality and male gaze are very strong in this one - and i don't quite know if this is by design or not. The end picks up again, but even though I read it rather quickly, I ended up feeling a bit meh about it. So... worse than it could have been, but still interesting.
June 19, 2022
Feels like a mix of Oe's writing about his son Hikari and the various challenges of raising a kid with mental disabilities, as well as his interest in New Religious Groups and people's motivations for joining. Various other common themes/structures pop up - groups of restless and directionless young adults staging theatrical shows, the protagonist living overseas, someone traveling to a rural place for a climax of the story.
In this case, the story focused on Marie, a japanese woman whose two sons commit suicide(one with a mental disability since birth and the other paralyzed by a bus as a teenager). It then follows the fallout of that for her, getting dragged into a theatrical group, leading these few younger adult men, and eventually joining a religious group that makes its way to California, before she heads off to Mexico to work on a farm.
There's references to other women throughout history having lived with immense physical challenges - Flannery O'Connor and lupus, Frida Kahlo's bus accident injury, and in Marie's case I guess Oe was exploring what happens to someone when their world collapses but they have no sort of creative outlet or religious value system to fall back on.
In that sense it was just OK. I think it really pales in comparison to his later Somersault (maybe because of Aum Shinrikyo's attack having occurred by then), which goes more in depth into New Religious Groups and covers a wider variety of people who follow or lead them, while also having a significantly less distractingly horny POV character.
I thought An Echo of Heaven's protagonist was a bit too obsessed with creating some sense of mystery/intrigue in Marie. This fictional "K", in that sense, was a little cringe... slightly sexually obsessed, probably should be spending time on something else... there's a line between concern for a friend and creepy interest, the narration fixates on Marie's sex life and behavior when, in honesty, I feel like people's sex lives or behavior are not particularly more interesting than their other facets!
I enjoyed the descriptions of life of being a parent in Japanese society and having a kid with a mental disability, as well as the interesting contrast Marie's views towards her own kid differed towards the other parents in the school for children with mental disabilities - her concern with viewing her own kid as 'sympathetic little' 'imbeciles', etc, the implications of doing that versus facing the ableism of society more head-on... I assume other work by Oe's about his son goes into these things in more detail.
Overall I can't say I would really recommend this book. Sort of feels like a less effective combination of parts that he's done or probably done better elsewhere. (Even the setting of rural mexico appears in his earlier, english-untranslated Game of Contemporaneity (同時代ゲーム))
In this case, the story focused on Marie, a japanese woman whose two sons commit suicide(one with a mental disability since birth and the other paralyzed by a bus as a teenager). It then follows the fallout of that for her, getting dragged into a theatrical group, leading these few younger adult men, and eventually joining a religious group that makes its way to California, before she heads off to Mexico to work on a farm.
There's references to other women throughout history having lived with immense physical challenges - Flannery O'Connor and lupus, Frida Kahlo's bus accident injury, and in Marie's case I guess Oe was exploring what happens to someone when their world collapses but they have no sort of creative outlet or religious value system to fall back on.
In that sense it was just OK. I think it really pales in comparison to his later Somersault (maybe because of Aum Shinrikyo's attack having occurred by then), which goes more in depth into New Religious Groups and covers a wider variety of people who follow or lead them, while also having a significantly less distractingly horny POV character.
I thought An Echo of Heaven's protagonist was a bit too obsessed with creating some sense of mystery/intrigue in Marie. This fictional "K", in that sense, was a little cringe... slightly sexually obsessed, probably should be spending time on something else... there's a line between concern for a friend and creepy interest, the narration fixates on Marie's sex life and behavior when, in honesty, I feel like people's sex lives or behavior are not particularly more interesting than their other facets!
I enjoyed the descriptions of life of being a parent in Japanese society and having a kid with a mental disability, as well as the interesting contrast Marie's views towards her own kid differed towards the other parents in the school for children with mental disabilities - her concern with viewing her own kid as 'sympathetic little' 'imbeciles', etc, the implications of doing that versus facing the ableism of society more head-on... I assume other work by Oe's about his son goes into these things in more detail.
Overall I can't say I would really recommend this book. Sort of feels like a less effective combination of parts that he's done or probably done better elsewhere. (Even the setting of rural mexico appears in his earlier, english-untranslated Game of Contemporaneity (同時代ゲーム))
August 11, 2023
This novel is a Nobel Prize winner and a classic of Japanese literature, Kenzaburo Oe in the short list of the nomination "Missed Masterpieces" of the Yasnaya Polyana Literary Award 2023. I have collected my reviews of books from this list in a selection on the Book Addict channel in Zen, if you are interested, take a look. Premium lists are one of the most effective ways to attract attention to a book: they are much inferior to the reader's devotion to the beloved author ("I will read everything from N, even if he/she wants to retell the commuter train schedule") and word of mouth ("What are you reading? - Remark, "Three Comrades," now the whole of Moscow is reading this"), but they are on par with the recommendations of critics, book reviewers and bloggers, mainly because the same engaged readers pay attention to them.
The novel "Echo of Heaven" (1989) continues the writer's series of books based on the experience of raising a son with Down syndrome, which was started by "Personal Experience", and also includes his most famous novel "The Waters embraced me to my soul".
This is the story of a young educated and very attractive woman Marie, she is from a wealthy family, lived in America for a long time as a child and absorbed a more "Western" view of things. She is researching the work of Flannery O'Connor, and this is the beginning of the theme of suffering in her initially carefree life. Because, who doesn't know, Oconnor wrote dark books in the genre of American Southern Gothic and died of hereditary lupus.
I said about the suffering, the firstborn of Marie Musan is born with Down syndrome, in fact, this becomes the reason for the author's family to get acquainted with her - common problems allowed people to get closer even in the pre-Internet era. Michio's second son is healthy and you can move on, but then the heroine makes a strange decision, she is sure that by devoting herself to Musan she will be able to make him happy and for this purpose... divorces her husband, leaving him Michio. Refraining from value judgments as much as possible, I still want to ask, but did the heroine think about the trauma inflicted on the baby by separation from her mother?
Несвятая святая
Мать говорит Христу:
— Ты мой сын или мой
Бог? Ты прибит к кресту.
Как я пойду домой?
Как ступлю на порог,
не поняв, не решив:
ты мой сын или Бог?
То есть, мертв или жив?
Он говорит в ответ:
— Мертвый или живой,
разницы, жено, нет.
Сын или Бог, я твой.
Бродский "Натюрморт"
Этот роман нобелианта и классика японской литературы, Кэндзабуро Оэ в коротком списке но��инации "Пропущенные шедевры" литературной премии Ясная поляна 2023. Свои рецензии на книги этого списка я собрала в подборке на канале Book Addict в Дзене, если интересно - заглядывайте. Премиальные списки - один из самых действенных способов привлечь внимание к книге: сильно уступают читательской преданности любимому автору ("У N прочту все, даже если ему/ей вздумается пересказать расписание пригородных электричек") и сарафанному радио ("- Что вы читаете? - Ремарк, "Три товарища", сейчас вся Москва это читает"), но идут вровень с рекомендациями критиков, книжных обозревателей и блогеров, в основном потому, что на них обращают внимание те же вовлеченные читатели.
Роман "Эхо небес" (1989) продолжает серию книг писателя основанных на опыте воспитания сына с синдромом Дауна, который начат "Личным опытом", и включает также самый известный его роман "Объяли меня воды до души моей".
Это история молодой образованной и очень привлекательной женщина Мариэ, она из обеспеченной семьи, в детстве долго жила в Америке и впитала более "западный" взгляд на вещи. Занимается исследованием творчества Фланнери О’Коннор, и это начало темы страданий в ее изначально беззаботной жизни. Потому что, кто не в курсе, О Коннор писала мрачные книги в жанре американской южной готики и умерла от наследственной волчанки.
Я сказала о страданиях, первенец Мариэ Мусан рождается с синдромом Дауна, собственно это и становится причиной знакомства семьи автора с ней - общие проблемы позволяли сближаться людям и в доинтернетную эпоху. Второй сын Митио здоров и можно жить дальше, но тут героиня принимает странное решение, она уверена, что, посвятив всю себя Мусану сумеет сделать его счастливым и с этой целью... разводится с мужем, оставив ему Митио. Максимально воздерживаясь от оценочных суждений, все же хочется спросить, а о травме, наносимой малышу разлукой с матерью, героиня не задумалась?
Так или иначе, муж даже женится во второй раз, но отношения в новом браке не идеальны, а после несчастья, которое случается из-за школьного буллинга, Митио остается пожизненным инвалидом и семья совсем разваливается: воспитывать чужого ребенка одно, воспитывать нелюбимого ребенка-инвалида нелюбимого мужчины - совсем даже другое. После этого о каком бы то ни было наказании виновнику паралича Митио в книге не говорится, семья воссоединяется, мальчики дружны, а отсутствие материальных проблем делает возможной несчастливую, но комфортную жизнь ("Лучше плакать в "Ягуаре", чем в автобусе" Франсуаза Саган).
Эта недолгая стабильность заканчивается двойным самоубийством детей. Муж окончательно отправлен в отставку и тихо спивается, а Мариэ посвящает себя богоискательству. Сначала на некоторое время вступает в секту, затем уезжает в Мексику и трудится там в роде коммуны, которую называют Фермой. Самоотверженным трудом и заботой об окрестных женщинах и детях завоевав в глазах окружающих авторитет святой. Что не мешает местному бандиту дважды изнасиловать ее, за что крестьяне жестоко его избивают и когда, недолгое время спустя, Мариэ умирает от рака, именно он роет могилу.
Как видите, достаточно богатая событиями история оставляет много вопросов каузального свойства: какова мотивация поступков героини? Почему во всех случаях жизненно важных выборов она, умная и образованная, выбирает самый нерациональный способ действий? Почему, обладая приличными возможностями, не добились примерного наказания виновника инвалидности Митио? Здоровья мальчику это не вернуло бы, но пучина отчаяния, в которую он погружался, не была бы такой черной и безнадежной. За что так обошлась с мужем? Что ей эти сектанты? А что за необходимость погнала на другой конец света к мексиканским крестьянам?
То есть, некоторое знакомство с матчастью позволяет предположить, что секта и Латинская Америка дают автору подискутировать с другим нобелиантом, Марио Варгасом Льосой о феномене духовного учительства и роли Наставника в изолятах религиозного толка на материале его "Войны конца света" - Оэ специализировался на изучении латиноамериканского магического реализма. Одновременно, киносценарий, в котором фанаты Мариэ деконструируют ее жизнь в житие святой, напрямую связан с его интересом к кинематографу и женитьбой на дочери успешного кинопродюсера. Такое: "что есть в печи - на стол мечи".
Роман поднимает множество остроактуальных тем и написан в комфортной для читателя манере, когда автор не педалирует разницу между ним и интеллектуалом-собой, хотя забыть о ней не позволяет. Однако он удручающе скучен и повествовательная логика просела так глубоко, что отыскать ее не представляется возможным.
Для общего развития да, для читательской радости - совсем нет.
#японская литература, интеллектуальная проза, Кэндзабуро Оэ, Нобелевская премия, Ясная поляна 2023, Пропущенные шедевры, дети-инвалиды, буллинг, самоубийство, секта, плотское и духовное, жертвенность, перевод Веры Кобец, Амфора
The novel "Echo of Heaven" (1989) continues the writer's series of books based on the experience of raising a son with Down syndrome, which was started by "Personal Experience", and also includes his most famous novel "The Waters embraced me to my soul".
This is the story of a young educated and very attractive woman Marie, she is from a wealthy family, lived in America for a long time as a child and absorbed a more "Western" view of things. She is researching the work of Flannery O'Connor, and this is the beginning of the theme of suffering in her initially carefree life. Because, who doesn't know, Oconnor wrote dark books in the genre of American Southern Gothic and died of hereditary lupus.
I said about the suffering, the firstborn of Marie Musan is born with Down syndrome, in fact, this becomes the reason for the author's family to get acquainted with her - common problems allowed people to get closer even in the pre-Internet era. Michio's second son is healthy and you can move on, but then the heroine makes a strange decision, she is sure that by devoting herself to Musan she will be able to make him happy and for this purpose... divorces her husband, leaving him Michio. Refraining from value judgments as much as possible, I still want to ask, but did the heroine think about the trauma inflicted on the baby by separation from her mother?
Несвятая святая
Мать говорит Христу:
— Ты мой сын или мой
Бог? Ты прибит к кресту.
Как я пойду домой?
Как ступлю на порог,
не поняв, не решив:
ты мой сын или Бог?
То есть, мертв или жив?
Он говорит в ответ:
— Мертвый или живой,
разницы, жено, нет.
Сын или Бог, я твой.
Бродский "Натюрморт"
Этот роман нобелианта и классика японской литературы, Кэндзабуро Оэ в коротком списке но��инации "Пропущенные шедевры" литературной премии Ясная поляна 2023. Свои рецензии на книги этого списка я собрала в подборке на канале Book Addict в Дзене, если интересно - заглядывайте. Премиальные списки - один из самых действенных способов привлечь внимание к книге: сильно уступают читательской преданности любимому автору ("У N прочту все, даже если ему/ей вздумается пересказать расписание пригородных электричек") и сарафанному радио ("- Что вы читаете? - Ремарк, "Три товарища", сейчас вся Москва это читает"), но идут вровень с рекомендациями критиков, книжных обозревателей и блогеров, в основном потому, что на них обращают внимание те же вовлеченные читатели.
Роман "Эхо небес" (1989) продолжает серию книг писателя основанных на опыте воспитания сына с синдромом Дауна, который начат "Личным опытом", и включает также самый известный его роман "Объяли меня воды до души моей".
Это история молодой образованной и очень привлекательной женщина Мариэ, она из обеспеченной семьи, в детстве долго жила в Америке и впитала более "западный" взгляд на вещи. Занимается исследованием творчества Фланнери О’Коннор, и это начало темы страданий в ее изначально беззаботной жизни. Потому что, кто не в курсе, О Коннор писала мрачные книги в жанре американской южной готики и умерла от наследственной волчанки.
Я сказала о страданиях, первенец Мариэ Мусан рождается с синдромом Дауна, собственно это и становится причиной знакомства семьи автора с ней - общие проблемы позволяли сближаться людям и в доинтернетную эпоху. Второй сын Митио здоров и можно жить дальше, но тут героиня принимает странное решение, она уверена, что, посвятив всю себя Мусану сумеет сделать его счастливым и с этой целью... разводится с мужем, оставив ему Митио. Максимально воздерживаясь от оценочных суждений, все же хочется спросить, а о травме, наносимой малышу разлукой с матерью, героиня не задумалась?
Так или иначе, муж даже женится во второй раз, но отношения в новом браке не идеальны, а после несчастья, которое случается из-за школьного буллинга, Митио остается пожизненным инвалидом и семья совсем разваливается: воспитывать чужого ребенка одно, воспитывать нелюбимого ребенка-инвалида нелюбимого мужчины - совсем даже другое. После этого о каком бы то ни было наказании виновнику паралича Митио в книге не говорится, семья воссоединяется, мальчики дружны, а отсутствие материальных проблем делает возможной несчастливую, но комфортную жизнь ("Лучше плакать в "Ягуаре", чем в автобусе" Франсуаза Саган).
Эта недолгая стабильность заканчивается двойным самоубийством детей. Муж окончательно отправлен в отставку и тихо спивается, а Мариэ посвящает себя богоискательству. Сначала на некоторое время вступает в секту, затем уезжает в Мексику и трудится там в роде коммуны, которую называют Фермой. Самоотверженным трудом и заботой об окрестных женщинах и детях завоевав в глазах окружающих авторитет святой. Что не мешает местному бандиту дважды изнасиловать ее, за что крестьяне жестоко его избивают и когда, недолгое время спустя, Мариэ умирает от рака, именно он роет могилу.
Как видите, достаточно богатая событиями история оставляет много вопросов каузального свойства: какова мотивация поступков героини? Почему во всех случаях жизненно важных выборов она, умная и образованная, выбирает самый нерациональный способ действий? Почему, обладая приличными возможностями, не добились примерного наказания виновника инвалидности Митио? Здоровья мальчику это не вернуло бы, но пучина отчаяния, в которую он погружался, не была бы такой черной и безнадежной. За что так обошлась с мужем? Что ей эти сектанты? А что за необходимость погнала на другой конец света к мексиканским крестьянам?
То есть, некоторое знакомство с матчастью позволяет предположить, что секта и Латинская Америка дают автору подискутировать с другим нобелиантом, Марио Варгасом Льосой о феномене духовного учительства и роли Наставника в изолятах религиозного толка на материале его "Войны конца света" - Оэ специализировался на изучении латиноамериканского магического реализма. Одновременно, киносценарий, в котором фанаты Мариэ деконструируют ее жизнь в житие святой, напрямую связан с его интересом к кинематографу и женитьбой на дочери успешного кинопродюсера. Такое: "что есть в печи - на стол мечи".
Роман поднимает множество остроактуальных тем и написан в комфортной для читателя манере, когда автор не педалирует разницу между ним и интеллектуалом-собой, хотя забыть о ней не позволяет. Однако он удручающе скучен и повествовательная логика просела так глубоко, что отыскать ее не представляется возможным.
Для общего развития да, для читательской радости - совсем нет.
#японская литература, интеллектуальная проза, Кэндзабуро Оэ, Нобелевская премия, Ясная поляна 2023, Пропущенные шедевры, дети-инвалиды, буллинг, самоубийство, секта, плотское и духовное, жертвенность, перевод Веры Кобец, Амфора
January 22, 2009
(cuma mindah dari multiply:-P)
Awalnya aku ngedit buku ini dengan ogah-ogahan...tapi ternyata di luar dugaanku: i like it a lot! ndak cukup suka sehingga direkomendasikan dengan kata-kata: it will change your life sih *Hohoho* tapi..cukup..mmm bukan cukup menghibur, karena ceritanya agak depressing, cukup mengesankan dan enlightening. BTW, ini bukan promosi buku bentang lho..
Di novel ini oe seolah menceritakan kisah yang dia sendiri terlibat di dalamnya, walo bukan tokoh utama. Sudut pandangnya kan orang pertama, dan orang pertama itu adalah seorang pengarang berinsial K (kentara banget kan itu si kenzaburo, wong lainnya langsung disebutin namanya dengan jelas ga pake inisial kok).
Karena malas kalo harus nulis sinopsinya, ditambah lagi aku belum kelar bacanya (karena itu, rating bisa berubah..sapa tau separuh terakhir bukunya juelek buanget), kuceritakan sepotong-sepotong dulu ya..
Tokoh utamanya bernama Marie Kuraki yang punya dua anak lelaki. Anak pertama terbelakang mental, anak kedua awalnya normal tapi terus kecelakaan dan harus menggunakan kursi roda.
Nah anak kedua yang cerdas ini jadi sedih dan stres karena cacatnya itu..akhirnya dia pun bunuh diri...ngajakin abangnya yang idiot itu pula!!!
bayangin aja gimana shocknya si marie..dua anaknya mati sekaligus, sampai-sampai ia pengen balas dendam sama Tuhan..
naaaah...eng ing eng bagaimanakah akhir ceritanya sodara-sodara..?
saya sendiri belum tahu..hiehehehe
yang bagus adalah cara bertutur si Kenzaburo oe...bikin kita ikut merasakan kesedihan en kesumpekan si marie, dan para orangtua yang memiliki anak handicapped..
maka berbahagialah para ortu yang anaknya normal..we are very very blessed and lucky...
Awalnya aku ngedit buku ini dengan ogah-ogahan...tapi ternyata di luar dugaanku: i like it a lot! ndak cukup suka sehingga direkomendasikan dengan kata-kata: it will change your life sih *Hohoho* tapi..cukup..mmm bukan cukup menghibur, karena ceritanya agak depressing, cukup mengesankan dan enlightening. BTW, ini bukan promosi buku bentang lho..
Di novel ini oe seolah menceritakan kisah yang dia sendiri terlibat di dalamnya, walo bukan tokoh utama. Sudut pandangnya kan orang pertama, dan orang pertama itu adalah seorang pengarang berinsial K (kentara banget kan itu si kenzaburo, wong lainnya langsung disebutin namanya dengan jelas ga pake inisial kok).
Karena malas kalo harus nulis sinopsinya, ditambah lagi aku belum kelar bacanya (karena itu, rating bisa berubah..sapa tau separuh terakhir bukunya juelek buanget), kuceritakan sepotong-sepotong dulu ya..
Tokoh utamanya bernama Marie Kuraki yang punya dua anak lelaki. Anak pertama terbelakang mental, anak kedua awalnya normal tapi terus kecelakaan dan harus menggunakan kursi roda.
Nah anak kedua yang cerdas ini jadi sedih dan stres karena cacatnya itu..akhirnya dia pun bunuh diri...ngajakin abangnya yang idiot itu pula!!!
bayangin aja gimana shocknya si marie..dua anaknya mati sekaligus, sampai-sampai ia pengen balas dendam sama Tuhan..
naaaah...eng ing eng bagaimanakah akhir ceritanya sodara-sodara..?
saya sendiri belum tahu..hiehehehe
yang bagus adalah cara bertutur si Kenzaburo oe...bikin kita ikut merasakan kesedihan en kesumpekan si marie, dan para orangtua yang memiliki anak handicapped..
maka berbahagialah para ortu yang anaknya normal..we are very very blessed and lucky...
October 14, 2015
perchè mai al povero Ōe Kenzaburō toccano delle copertine italiane che sembrano rubate a un Harmony?
questo non è uno dei libri di Ōe che consiglierei da leggere...anzi, tra i suoi che ho letto posso dire che questo è il libro che mi ha convinto di meno...non è tanto per via della storia leggermente inconsistente e che non ho trovato quasi in nessun momento avvincente, quanto per la narrazione diluita e i dettagli descrittivi insistiti piuttosto rozzi...insomma a chi importa dell'ossessione sessual/romantica del narratore per i peli del pube della protagonista più algida dell'intera produzione del suo autore?
pur volendo tenere conto delle differenze enormi che ci sono tra la concezione estetica giapponese e quella occidentale, Marie è la più odiosa delle sue protagoniste, fredda, irrequieta e sessualmente rapace non è che un fantasma dal punto di vista emotivo, si ha tutto il tempo la sensazione di assistere a una rappresentazione di quelli che dovrebbero essere i sentimenti, quelli che lei dovrebbe sentire e che il narratore le attribuisce, ma l'azione è pura recita, come una telenovela brasiliana, dove tutti enfatizzano e chi assiste vede solo la finzione...per non parlare del fastidiosissimo sottotesto cristiano di colpa/espiazione e relative colte citazioni lanciate a cavolo in faccia al lettore...certo è scritto benissimo e almeno all'inizio si è incuriositi, ma poi il tutto scivola in una recita la cui protagonista è una caricatura adorata da tutti manco fosse una vera santa e come tale finisce adorata, certo ma mai amata da nessuno, nemmeno da se stessa...
questo non è uno dei libri di Ōe che consiglierei da leggere...anzi, tra i suoi che ho letto posso dire che questo è il libro che mi ha convinto di meno...non è tanto per via della storia leggermente inconsistente e che non ho trovato quasi in nessun momento avvincente, quanto per la narrazione diluita e i dettagli descrittivi insistiti piuttosto rozzi...insomma a chi importa dell'ossessione sessual/romantica del narratore per i peli del pube della protagonista più algida dell'intera produzione del suo autore?
pur volendo tenere conto delle differenze enormi che ci sono tra la concezione estetica giapponese e quella occidentale, Marie è la più odiosa delle sue protagoniste, fredda, irrequieta e sessualmente rapace non è che un fantasma dal punto di vista emotivo, si ha tutto il tempo la sensazione di assistere a una rappresentazione di quelli che dovrebbero essere i sentimenti, quelli che lei dovrebbe sentire e che il narratore le attribuisce, ma l'azione è pura recita, come una telenovela brasiliana, dove tutti enfatizzano e chi assiste vede solo la finzione...per non parlare del fastidiosissimo sottotesto cristiano di colpa/espiazione e relative colte citazioni lanciate a cavolo in faccia al lettore...certo è scritto benissimo e almeno all'inizio si è incuriositi, ma poi il tutto scivola in una recita la cui protagonista è una caricatura adorata da tutti manco fosse una vera santa e come tale finisce adorata, certo ma mai amata da nessuno, nemmeno da se stessa...
February 15, 2015
Este livro conta a história de uma mulher independente e irreverente, que a certa altura perde os dois filhos de uma forma dramática e que, tendo colocado de lado a hipótese do suicídio, procura várias experiências, algumas aparentemente contraditórias, que a ajudem a viver com essa memória e remorso. A escrita é simples e fluida e o livro lê-se num repente, mas, talvez pelo teor da história, não me cativou tanto como estava à espera que acontecesse depois de ter lido as primeiras páginas.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
November 4, 2017
I didn't finish this book. The themes are intriguing - two parents with handicapped kids, but the author's obsession with the woman Marie and her journey got terribly heavy and there seemed no end in sight. Others might like the book. The theme of parental guilt about dealing with kids, especially kids with disabilities, feels important. At the end of the day, though, it didn't work for me.
September 25, 2021
This book was about a man watching a woman deal with hardship. I would have much rather read the same story from Marie’s point of view.
May 7, 2023
A thinking reader's novel, VERY clever author Oe, writes a VERY thematically-Japanese story that circumnavigates a double suicide by two children and operates on about a half dozen levels. Ostensibly about how tragedy can define one's identity, issues such as the objectification of individual men and women, of talent, of careers, of family, of religion on ad infinitum by society is examined and concomitantly how one individual can never actually know another (another VERY Japanese theme) no matter how closely we observe. Ultimately, we are each trapped as an observer in our own points of view. While I truly appreciated this finely-crafted novel, it irritated me by its classic reference to mono no aware with none of its poignancy. Frankly sometimes I felt I was reading a computer manual. Shrug. Perhaps that was the point...
July 26, 2020
Oe writes the story of his friend Marie who went on a lifetime search for spiritual peace after the suicide of her two children. She was on a continuous journey of experimenting that included religion, religious cults and sex that led her to California and finally Mexico. Kenzaburo Oe is a fascinating writer for me. Many of his books have him or a thinly disguised version of himself as a character in the book as the narrator. When I read his books I'm always wondering where reality ends and fiction begins.
April 15, 2018
Avevo sentito parlare un gran bene di Kenzaburō Ōe, ma questa lettura mi ha lasciato indifferente.
La storia è poco credibile ed inconsistente, fino a diventare noiosa; la narrazione troppo diluita di descrizioni gratuite e approssimative. La protagonista della storia è algida dalla prima all'ultima pagina e non si riesce a capire l'ossessione dell'autore/narratore nel volerla rincorrere per tutto il mondo.
La storia è poco credibile ed inconsistente, fino a diventare noiosa; la narrazione troppo diluita di descrizioni gratuite e approssimative. La protagonista della storia è algida dalla prima all'ultima pagina e non si riesce a capire l'ossessione dell'autore/narratore nel volerla rincorrere per tutto il mondo.
March 22, 2024
I bought this book at a little gift shop on SE 28th Ave just south of Burnside St many years ago. The price marked on the book is $6.00. The owner of Artemesia picked it out for me.
This was a good book, well written by a Nobel prize winning author. It must be partially because the author is Japanese because it is sort of a different novel but religion, art, literature, philosophy are all pivotal in this story of a woman’s life filled with tribulations but with grace as well.
This was a good book, well written by a Nobel prize winning author. It must be partially because the author is Japanese because it is sort of a different novel but religion, art, literature, philosophy are all pivotal in this story of a woman’s life filled with tribulations but with grace as well.
July 30, 2018
Претенциозно, но посредственно
June 29, 2023
This is by far one of my favorite books of all time that I must read every couple of years! Oe is a master with words and the relationships between people. Truly a masterpiece!
January 17, 2025
è stato come guardare un film di Hamaguchi
August 30, 2014
Хочу привести продолжение данной аннотации к данному произведению, взятое у Лениздата, т.к. по этой о чем речь в книге ясно не до конца.
"Темы, затронутые в романе «Эхо небес», по-настоящему глубоки и даже болезненны. За внешней лаконичностью стиля и сдержанной авторской интонацией стоит полный изумления и горечи рассказ о жизни молодой красивой женщины Мариэ Кураки. Ее судьба выткана столь причудливо, что читатель вслед за автором застывает в священном ужасе пред волею небес, в которой слышатся отголоски античных трагедий.
Здесь переплетены экзистенциальные мотивы и тема чувственного влечения, взаимоотношения родителей и умственно отсталых детей и вопросы веры, безысходность неизлечимой болезни и размышления о грехе и искуплении. Многочисленные отсылки к русской и европейской классике включают эту книгу в контекст всей мировой литературы, а повседневный человеческий опыт граничит с мифологией."
Перед Вами случай, когда Вы получаете именно то, что написано в аннотации к книге. Трагедия и сила воли держащая на самом краю. Поиск смысла жизни, когда кажется, что его попросту нет. "Почему Бог допустил произошедшее"? И поиск ответа на этот вопрос. Но есть и "бонус", увы со знаком минус. Первый - отсылки к мировой классике. Автор, как минимум трижды (честно говоря, поленилась перелистывать книгу, чтобы удостовериться) прибегает к цитированию, и поверьте это не два-три слова, произведений мировых классиков для того, чтобы описать свои мысли и чувства, будто в силе своих собственных слов он не уверен. А второй минус - это та самая тема "чувственного влечения", упоминаемая в аннотации. Лично я ничего чувственного не вижу в рассказах автора о своих сексуальных фетишах, а также, заранее прошу прощения за СПОЙЛЕР, но один все же в комментарии допущу, в изнасиловании главной героини.
Надеялась на сильную книгу, а получила сплошное разочарование.
"Темы, затронутые в романе «Эхо небес», по-настоящему глубоки и даже болезненны. За внешней лаконичностью стиля и сдержанной авторской интонацией стоит полный изумления и горечи рассказ о жизни молодой красивой женщины Мариэ Кураки. Ее судьба выткана столь причудливо, что читатель вслед за автором застывает в священном ужасе пред волею небес, в которой слышатся отголоски античных трагедий.
Здесь переплетены экзистенциальные мотивы и тема чувственного влечения, взаимоотношения родителей и умственно отсталых детей и вопросы веры, безысходность неизлечимой болезни и размышления о грехе и искуплении. Многочисленные отсылки к русской и европейской классике включают эту книгу в контекст всей мировой литературы, а повседневный человеческий опыт граничит с мифологией."
Перед Вами случай, когда Вы получаете именно то, что написано в аннотации к книге. Трагедия и сила воли держащая на самом краю. Поиск смысла жизни, когда кажется, что его попросту нет. "Почему Бог допустил произошедшее"? И поиск ответа на этот вопрос. Но есть и "бонус", увы со знаком минус. Первый - отсылки к мировой классике. Автор, как минимум трижды (честно говоря, поленилась перелистывать книгу, чтобы удостовериться) прибегает к цитированию, и поверьте это не два-три слова, произведений мировых классиков для того, чтобы описать свои мысли и чувства, будто в силе своих собственных слов он не уверен. А второй минус - это та самая тема "чувственного влечения", упоминаемая в аннотации. Лично я ничего чувственного не вижу в рассказах автора о своих сексуальных фетишах, а также, заранее прошу прощения за СПОЙЛЕР, но один все же в комментарии допущу, в изнасиловании главной героини.
Надеялась на сильную книгу, а получила сплошное разочарование.
December 4, 2012
Eigentlich haben mir die Bücher von Kanzaburo Oe bislang recht gut gefallen. Dieses Mal muss ich aber passen. Was da an verquasten Wiederholungen im zweiten Teil der Erzählung auf die Leserin zukommt, ist schlicht schwer zu ertragen bzw. braucht viel Stehvermögen. Die Geschichte von Marie, deren zwei behinderte Söhne Selbstmord begehen, fesselt zunächst, wird dann aber immer abstruser (u.a. als sie sich dem "Väterchen Tutor" anschliesst...) und immer redundanter. Vielleicht liegt es an der Übersetzung (was ich nicht beurteilen kann...).
March 2, 2010
So I just wrote a very long and purple-y prose(d) review about how much I like this book and yatta yatta gabba gabba whateva. The library internet connection kicked me off just as I hit enter. Dammit.
So, to make this short. It's good, the structure is funny, but Oe is a supremely confident writer, and that's certainly evident in his prose which can sometimes, many times, read like poetry thrown scattered about the page.
So, to make this short. It's good, the structure is funny, but Oe is a supremely confident writer, and that's certainly evident in his prose which can sometimes, many times, read like poetry thrown scattered about the page.
September 9, 2012
This is a heavy book about human suffering in the modern world. Everything about this book holds solid. If you read this book, be prepared to mentally and emotionally exhausted. But I think it's one of those thing you just got to do. This was my first Oe book and I will be reading the rest of his collection.
December 18, 2015
I am a little ashamed to admit that I did not want to read this book because I thought the title was so cheesy, but I am glad I got past that and read it. The theme is a little cheesy (I feel cynical calling a story about finding inner peace, cheesy), but the way it is presented is not at all cheesy. Oe is becoming my favorite living author.
January 25, 2017
Having the authors' real family in the fiction leaves strange effects on the story.
I really like Oe's style of story telling honest (often blunt); at times it feels like the story teller is far removed from the story (even when the narrator is having violent emotional changes).
Passages from one of the Marie's letter talking about poem 'The Second coming' lingers.
I really like Oe's style of story telling honest (often blunt); at times it feels like the story teller is far removed from the story (even when the narrator is having violent emotional changes).
Passages from one of the Marie's letter talking about poem 'The Second coming' lingers.
July 29, 2007
this is about flannery o'connor. really incredible.
April 25, 2011
This book is about a Japanese woman who is distraught over the deaths of her two sons. She then travels to California and Mexico. I could not get into this book.
March 19, 2012
My first experience reading Oe. I enjoyed his narration and exploration of searching for meaning in the face of incredible loss. I certainly plan to read more of Mr. Oe's work.
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