Thousand Cranes by Yasunari Kawabata

[Kelly_Hunsaker_reads]

2 stars

I think perhaps I am the wrong audience for this book. I found it to be demeaning and misogynistic. I know it represents another time and culture but the treatment of the women in this book took me out of the story and made me dislike the protagonist. I could not connect with either the story or the characters.

[Kristel]

Read 2010
Thousand Cranes by Yasunari Kawabata
5 stars
This is one of the stories that was part of the works for which the author received a Nobel Prize for Literature. It is also one of the 1001 Books You Must Read Before You Die. It is short. About 147 pages for those that want a quick read. It also is good. The story is about a young man whose parents have both died. He was psychologically affected by his dad's affairs. He is invited to a tea ceremony by a fomer mistress of his dead father. He doesn't expect to go but goes because he is going to meet a young women. A potential bride. He also meets up with Mrs Ota, also a former mistress of his father. The book is a good look into the culture of the tea ceremony. It was written in 1958 and should be read in the context of that time period. It is a tragedy that is about desire, regret and sensuality that connects the living to the dead.

[George P.]

I see now where Murukami's sparse, haunting style of writing comes from- the writing style of Kawabata is rather similar. This book is quite short and I wished it had been longer with more events in the protagonist's story. Kawabata left us with some uncertainty at the end of the story.