SNOW COUNTRY by Yasunari Kawabata - translated by Edward G. Seidensticker

[@Novaroma2728]

My advisor at college recommended this novel to me after he noticed me reading Yukio Mishima. Very good to see more Japanese literature on the channel!

[@LeafbyLeaf]

My Mishima video will be out soon. What a writer! What a person!

[@richardoyama7789]

Arguably my favorite Japanese novel--I would also recommend Kawabata's The Sound of the Mountain and Beauty and Sadness--although The Makioka Sisters, by Junichiro Tanizaki, may be the greatest 20th century novel of that culture. Natsume Soseki is the preeminent Meiji-era author when Commodore Perry's black ships hastened the collision between East and West. Thank you for your channel and love of books.

[@LeafbyLeaf]

And thank _you_ so much for all these great recommendations!

[@Paromita_M]

The range and depth of works you review is really amazing.

[@LeafbyLeaf]

It’s such a pleasure. 😁

[@stephenmorton8017]

hey man. you are blasting out the walls of my wheelhouse. good stuff.

[@LeafbyLeaf]

My pleasure! :)

[@mudgetheexpendable]

Wonderful review. Just...wonderful.

[@LeafbyLeaf]

Thanks so much!

[@eric13th18]

There are some incredible books in Japanese literature. I'm glad you're exploring it!

[@LeafbyLeaf]

Hear! Hear!

[@ramdularsingh1435]

It's a beautiful work by Yasunari ! I loved it. You too can enjoy the novel of thin size.....

[@vcackermanwrites]

That excerpt you read at the beginning was beautifully written.

[@timkjazz]

Read a bunch of Kawabata when I was in Germany, 1st winter there when in the Army, loved him then, love him now, my intro to Japanese fiction.

[@LeafbyLeaf]

The thought of reading Kawabata in Germany in winter really kindles the Romantic within me.

[@Ferrari1504]

Great to see this video! I found the ending so thrilling. Kawabata has this thing where he can imbue the smallest objects with emotion, make them thrilling. The teacups of Thousand Cranes are the best example for me. And that first scene is such a striking characterization of Shimamura. Thanks for doing a video on this one! Love it.

[@LeafbyLeaf]

I totally agree. Looking forward to reading more of him.

[@richardoyama7789]

The imagistic effects are startling: "The light moved across the face . . . It was a distant, cold light. (A)s the eye and the light was superimposed one on the other, the eye became a weirdly beautiful bit of phosphorescence on the sea of evening mountains." One can feel the cold flow of snow and the novel's exquisite emotional distance.

[@jimjimmler9825]

Bro don't miss got me expanduating my noodle mane fr fr 💯

[@jimjimmler9825]

This comment is satire I hope someone gets a chuckle, quite entertaining content and very enjoyable

[@LeafbyLeaf]

Your comment reminds me of the title of this work: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Our_Exagmination_Round_His_Factification_for_Incamination_of_Work_in_Progress

[@marinellamaccagni6951]

Snow country is one of my favourite novel and your review is amazing as always. But your literary t-shirts are outstanding!!!!I want to buy them all!!!!thanks chris!

[@LeafbyLeaf]

Thanks so much! I get them at outofprint.com.

[@robotummy]

Got a little thrill seeing you hold up Genji Days (; Thanks for the shout! It's about time I revisited Kawabata (and others) - your videos never fail to get me excited about reading. I'm a huge fan of Abe and Mishima, so I'm really looking forward to those reviews in particular. Unrelated, but I just finished Gravity's Rainbow yesterday - can't wait to dive into your video, natch

[@LeafbyLeaf]

I hoped you'd watch this one! I, too, and excited about our impending Genji journey! I can tell you that my experience of Mishima was nothing short of sublime. I also watched the Paul Schrader biopic, Mishima: A Life in Four Chapters. Stunning. Big congrats to you on finishing the mighty GR!

[@robotummy]

@@LeafbyLeaf So happy you watched and brought up the Schrader film. It is in my top five films of all time. The set designs by Eiko Ishioka in the stylized "novel sections" are just incredible. I first saw that film in my early twenties when I was deep into both Mishima and Philip Glass and... it was one of those "This must exist only for me" type of moments. I'm glad you loved it too (: BTW, I think the Mishima you were holding up at the end there was "The Sailor Who Fell..." Did you watch the film adaptation starring Kris Kristofferson? It's not good LOL but it's kind of still a thrill to see Mishima transformed in that way. I remember reading somewhere (probably his biography of Mishima) that the translator John Nathan worked with Mishima to figure out the English title for that book. The Japanese title 午後の曳航 is much more gentle/metaphorical, "Boat Towing in the Afternoon" - I appreciate the delicacy, but see why they wanted something more impactful in English. Anyway, just a random tidbit for you. Lastly, thanks for the big ups on GR! I had a ball (sometimes a bawl) reading it. Waiting for Miss Macintosh to get here in about a month, so Gerald's Party by Coover is keeping me company until then (;

[@ZenosConscience]

Read it before the COVID pandemic. Absolutely loved it!

[@LeafbyLeaf]

Love your username!

[@karlmatsumoto9281]

I've been following your channel for a few months now and feel it's to time express my appreciation to your always eloquent and sensitive analyses of literature's greatest works. I really admire what you've created for all of us. May I suggest Tanizaki's Naomi as another joy from 20th century Japan. Looking forward to your review of Mishima, perhaps the most enigmatic and brilliant of the Japanese writers. I accidentally found John Williams' Stoner recently and was blown away. Where had he been all my life?

[@LeafbyLeaf]

Very, very kind of you to say. It's such an honor and a thrill to have a space where I can channel (pun) and share my literary passion. I definitely have Naomi on the list, so thanks for affirming it! Mishima was nothing short of a revelation for me. (Sneak peek: I watched Paul Schrader's stunning biopic about Mishima's life and work and talk about it in the video.) Happy reading!

[@stephenmorton8017]

yes you may suggest! and thanks.

[@burke9497]

I reluctantly read Snow Country maybe 10 years ago as part of a small book club, and I was surprised how incredibly moving I found it to be. It seemed minimalistic to me, in a beautiful way. It’s always a treat to hear your insight on these books, especially the ones I’ve read. I would love to know which translation of Genji you plan to read. I am ocd about translations, to the point where sometimes I end up not reading a translated novel because I can’t decide which translation to read. Thanks Chris. You are awesome!

[@LeafbyLeaf]

Hey, Jeffrey! Always great to hear from you. About Genji, I was going to read the Washburn translation, but then a Japanese scholar and translator convinced me to go with the Royall Tyler. Hope all is well with you. Happy reading!

[@BlueDusk95]

As an introduction to Japan and its culture by a modern Western observer I've read The Empire of Signs, that Roland Barthes wrote during and after his stay in Japan for a series of lectures he gave in 1970. It's short, erudite but accessible, and has some moments of light humour. A very pleasant book to me that's rated 4/5 on Goodreads.

[@LeafbyLeaf]

Thanks for the recommendation!

[@Vic-mc6tb]

Perfect. I just finished Confessions of a Mask by Mishima and was looking for more Japanese literature recommendations.

[@LeafbyLeaf]

You'll definitely wanna check out Mishima--my goodness what a writer! I've a video of one of his books coming soon.

[@TacticsOgre35]

Liked it. Will grab more by this author. Weird though. The way they talk. Maybe just how it comes out in English?

[@lalitborabooks]

I was thinking of skipping this book until the last 5 minutes of your video. It completely changed it for me and now it is going on my tbr and Amazon cart. Thanks! Great video as always. Ps - that Tshirt looks great. Steinbeck is a great author (I share my birthdate with him).

[@LeafbyLeaf]

Hope you enjoy it!

[@forestray3724]

Definitely check out Kusamakura by Sōseki too when you get the chance! Penguin Classics does a wonderful translation-I’m pretty sure it was the first Japanese novel I ever read and it’s still one of my very favorites! You would definitely appreciate it. It also serves as a great introduction into the world of 20th century Japanese literature since Sōseki was educated in the West, and spends a lot of time in the book comparing Japanese artistic aesthetic and sensibility to that of the West. I still have to read Kokoro!

[@LeafbyLeaf]

Ahhh, thanks so much for the recommendation. I will definitely read this one. Happy reading!

[@MaximTendu]

I loved Snow Country. Looking forward to getting your opinion on Genji. Enjoy your Tale, Kurisu-san.

[@LeafbyLeaf]

Thank you!

[@fiarandompenaltygeneratorm5044]

Highly recommend Kawabata's BEAUTY AND SADNESS if you're interested in exploring this writer further.

[@LeafbyLeaf]

Thanks so much!

[@Steve-lt1op]

Have you read The Box Man - Kobo Abe? im about half way through, it's odd but strangely interesting as well

[@LeafbyLeaf]

No, I haven't. I've got The Woman in the Dunes on my list for Abe. I've heard The Face of Another is strange and intriguing, too.

[@Steve-lt1op]

@@LeafbyLeaf The woman in the dunes is well worth a read. A few other titles I would recommend in no particular order are:- Fathers and children - Turgenev The Tenant - Roland Topor Independent people - Laxness The Snow Leopard - Peter Matthieseen Keep up the good work and great reviews 👍

[@LeafbyLeaf]

Of those, I’ve read the Laxness and the Turgenev. Thanks for these recommendations!

[@jackwalter5970]

The quintessential Japanese novel.

[@LeafbyLeaf]

🙌

[@ThreeOranges]

Oh, I like when you review something I've read. It means I won't buy something to add to the pile. Shimamura is such a frustrating protagonist ... as you said, privileged with freedom that the women do not have ... and that he does not use. He's alienated from himself and his own culture (making a career out of another hemisphere's dance traditions) ... and can only begin to form a real self or real connections in a beautiful but squalid wasteland isolated from every other aspect of his life. Beauty and the bleak!

[@LeafbyLeaf]

Very well put! -Glad I saved your TBR from tottering. This time.

[@arhitagreen5273]

Really liked the analysis... Though the way Komako's character was written confused me. Her animosity towards Yoko, unexplained till the very end. The complexity of her character, the unpredictability baffled me. Didn't know if the author was trying to make a point...

[@kurtfox4944]

Nobody mentioned _Memoirs of a Geisha_? Highly recommended. A very good read. Not by a Japanese, but very well researched.

[@petersattler2241]

Wait! You'll be reading GENJI? I just finished it a couple weeks back (Tyler trans.) and look forward to hearing your reaction. So many moments that strike one/me with their cultural strangeness and distance, but each of these is nestled within a fabric of writing that is overwhelming beautiful, weaving back and forth between the interior and the exterior, between the large and the small, between different time signatures. How did this author discover what Defoe, Richardson, Austen, and Flaubert -- and, yes, Kawabata -- re-discovered so many centuries later?

[@rickharsch8797]

Do you know of David Peace's three Japanese novels?

[@LeafbyLeaf]

I was totally unaware...until now.

[@soundtrack795]

Very good novel! One of those texts that I didn't think too much of when first reading it but has somehow stuck. Now I'd remember it quite often, actually, especially during winter. And damn, Chris, isn't July the worst possible time to read stuff like this 😂

[@LeafbyLeaf]

As they say: Christmas in July! :) This is one of those books where the deceptive simplicity provides a layer of ice that the reader can easily glide across without realizing all the crystal formations below. Man. That metaphor just came to me. Wish I had used it for the video. Wait! I just read and reread Jose Emilio Pacheco's Battles in the Desert and the metaphor works for that, too. Gotta remember it. Thanks for letting me talk to myself in this comment.

[@krustn]

well done review as always, I could see myself getting into japanese some time in the future, (probably Murakami, to start with , thinking norwegian wood. i just saw the movie Burning , although Korean it´s based on murakamis short story barn burning which is based on a Faulkner story with the same name, highly recommend it. anyways Nice Of Mice and men shirt! do you have any plans reviewing some Steinbeck in the future, I feel like you could probably tackle East of eden the best here on YT.

[@LeafbyLeaf]

Thanks! I’m really fond of Norwegian Wood. I think it’s HM’s best book, of what I’ve read so far. He took inspiration from his reading of F. Scott Fitzgerald. Both Faulkner (whose work I adore) and Steinbeck are unacceptably missing from the channel. I read East of Eden during a week in Sweden, in winter, on a work trip. One of the most perfect reading experiences of my life. Outstanding book, that.

[@krustn]

@@LeafbyLeaf I saw all your Murakami reviews and thought that NW is probably the safest bet for me, that or Kafka. I binged Through east of eden in a month and it quickly made it in my top 5 or so. As for Faulkner I´m soon too be done with As i lay dying, and i am confused haha, very good though😅

[@LeafbyLeaf]

Fun story: I have a friend who has never really cared for or ventured into fiction literature and decided to try As I Lay Dying as his first introduction. It’s been four years and I don’t think he’s ever tried another book. Lol!

[@krustn]

@@LeafbyLeaf ah that´s unfortunate 😅 although I don´t why you would start with that book of all things, my main reason for reading Faulkner is that I´m a big McCarthy fan and he was one of his main influences

[@LeafbyLeaf]

It was just that he recalled the title from a long ago high school class or something.

[@gjsykes7924]

Are you including Shusaku Endo on your japanese literature reading list?

[@LeafbyLeaf]

Oh, yes--_Silence_. I'm greatly looking forward to it.

[@NavelOrangeGazer]

@@LeafbyLeaf It's amazing. Much better than the movie. By miles. There is an anxiety as the protagonist is tormented by his inner demons throughout that simply isn't conveyed in the movie as internal dialog doesn't translate to screens.

[@LeafbyLeaf]

(I didn’t even know there was a movie.)

[@NavelOrangeGazer]

@@LeafbyLeaf Scorsese directed it from like 2016. Andrew Garfield and Adam Driver running around Japan on a covert Jesuit mission.

[@jackseney7906]

Great, another name on the already lengthy Japanese reading list 😒😼 "Thanks," buddy. You might want to try Kenzaburo Oe's "The Silent Cry" from around that same general period. Talk about a weird one. And what's with all the Japanese-author suicides within a few decades there? Dazai, Kawabata, Mishima............oh that's right, you've got Mishima coming next 😄😸

[@LeafbyLeaf]

Sorry (kinda). :) Thanks for the recs. Yep--Mishima coming soon.

[@sventhemoose1218]

I found myself reading more Japanese books this year, and all I can say is that I wish I have done so years ago. One that particularly impressed me, and I consider a masterpiece is Kusamakura by Natsume Soseki. Beautiful writing. Thanks for the recommendation - I will certainly read it.

[@LeafbyLeaf]

I feel the same way, but--better late than never, of course! Thanks for the Soseki recommendation. I was wondering where to go with him after Kokoro. Happy reading!

[@BooksnLiterature-u5l]

Why so many youtube book reviewers so soft and pc, "privileged male" "misogyny" i didn't see none of that when reading the book, it's in your head that's why it's the first thing that came to you when you were reading it.

[@Idazle]

I stopped listening as soon as I noticed that a moral judgement on the book was about to be launched on the basis of the heteropatriarchy, etc. Literature is not to be judged on moral terms, as Oscar Wilde so cleverly explained in his days.

[@LeafbyLeaf]

You stopped too soon, my friend. I merely mention the contrast between the protagonist and the geisha, and I absolutely do not pronounce or launch any sort of moral judgment. I go on to praise the novel on an aesthetic level, as our clever mutual friend would appreciate. Happy reading!

[@PennPearson]

@@LeafbyLeaf I almost stopped too, when it seemed you were going to inflict presentism and political correctness on the novel. I lived in Japan and Korea for many years. I think if one is going to appreciate their cultures, it's not fair to judge their past according to the standards of the present. However, I stuck with your narrative and I'm glad I did because you did very well at focusing on the aspects of the novel that made me love it. Its dark, cold melancholy moved me deeply, especially after visiting Yuzawa, where it's set, in the winter. Thank you for your analysis.

[@LeafbyLeaf]

Drats! I wish I had had the foresight to see this pitfall. Thanks for sticking with it!

[@PennPearson]

@@LeafbyLeaf No problem. It was more than offset by the rest of your presentation.

[@LeafbyLeaf]

🙏

[@fictitiousfictitious8964]

I didn’t get to the point where you are reading because I hated this really boring book

[@LeafbyLeaf]

Life is short: if you're bored, move on. Cheers!

[@jackwilson8552]

Disappointing one for me.

[@LeafbyLeaf]

Ah, sorry to hear that. Wait--the book or the video? :)

[@jackwilson8552]

@@LeafbyLeaf the book. Your videos never disappoint good sir!