Yasunari Kawabata's The Rainbow (1950-51) | Book Review and Analysis

[@astro368]

Kawabata‘s also one of my favourite writers, I can‘t wait to read this one. How amazing that we get a new Kawabata novel in 2023. Thanks so much for sharing your thoughts

[@JorgesCorner]

YES, isn't that amazing?! 😃 I hope more of his works will become available soon. I have a novella in Spanish titled Segundo matrimonio that has not appeared in English yet. So who knows; maybe one of these days. Please let me know what you think about The Rainbow. Thank you for stopping by, my friend, and have an excellent day!

[@donaldkelly3983]

I picked up The Rainbow today at a bookstore and was happy to get a Kawabata novel in its first English translation. I am a dedicated Kawabata reader so I appreciate your review?

[@JorgesCorner]

Happy reading, my friend! 😃 Please let me know what you think of the novel. I really enjoyed it, but then, Kawabata is my favorite Japanese author. I'm trying to decide which of his books to review next.

[@emilycorwith1119]

I'm excited as well about this new translation of a novel by YK. Would not have known about it if I had not recently subscribed to your 'corner'. Thanks for inspiring me to read it ASAP!

[@JorgesCorner]

Thank you so much for watching and subscribing, Emily! 😃 That is so cool that you found out about this novel here. I'm honored. Please let me know what you think of the novel. Happy reading, my friend, and have a fantastic day!

[@matthewl5919]

Very happy to learn of this :D. I likely won't be adding any new books to my collection until Christmas, but this one will likely be one of the books I grab over the holidays. I still have his novella (unfinished novel?) Dandelions on my shelf, which I haven't gotten to yet.

[@JorgesCorner]

Happy reading, Matthew! 😃 Please let me know what you think about this novel. I love Dandelions too. I rarely read unfinished novels, but because we are talking about Kawabata, I made an exception there, and I'm so glad I did. Of course, the experience of reading an unfinished work by a favorite author is always bittersweet, but I'm still glad I read it. Have a wonderful day, my friend!

[@EpiDot52]

Always can trust in you to recommend a great book. It's interesting to think about Kawabata's characters as cruel. Dandelions is my favorite and I guess the conversation the mother and lover had could be construed as very mean-spirited or uncaring. They never really thought of the other very much. They kind of just existed in a selfish haze. I'll order soon! I've also managed to get all my friends to read Felisberto next year on your recommendation.

[@JorgesCorner]

Thank you so much for stopping by, Clifford! 😃 I love that idea of the selfish haze that surrounds some of these characters. It can be seen throughout Kawabata's works, and that's a great example. Thanks for sharing your thoughts! And omg, a Felisberto reading club. Excellent! Have a wonderful day, my friend, and happy reading!

[@donaldkelly3983]

Completely read The Rainbow. Some reviews praised the novel highly, one thought it was boring in spots. For Kawabata completists only. Overall I enjoyed The Rainbow. It covered a lot of the same ground as The Sound of the Mountain and Beauty and Sadness (troubled family relations). At moments The Rainbow, which takes place in 1950 Tokyo, reads like a museum tour. The shadow of WWII is everywhere, although the conflict is rarely mentioned directly. Instead, large parts of Japanese cultural history have been erased. Statues have been removed, ancient buildings destroyed, and aristocratic homes turned into hotels. The past will not leave the characters in peace. A protagonist, Momoko, who abandoned by her lover to fight at Okinawa, extracts revenge by breaking the heart of the dead lover's younger brother. I am a Kawabata completist, so I wanted to read it the moment I saw it.

[@JorgesCorner]

Thank you so much, Donald, for this brilliant assessment! 😃 The close connection with The Sound of the Mountain and Beauty and Sadness (my two favorite Kawabata novels) has a lot to do with my enthusiasm for The Rainbow. I would also describe myself as a Kawabata completist. Speaking of which, I have a novella by him in Spanish that has not be translated into English (yet), so I may be sharing my thoughts on it one of these days. Have a wonderful day, my friend!

[@marinellamaccagni6951]

Hola jorge! How are you? Fortunately "arcobaleni" has been available in italian translation since 1989 even if I haven't read it yet. My favourite japanese author is kenzaburo oe of whom I have read everything available in english, italian, spanish and french. My favourite novel is "gli anni della nostalgia" that was written in 1976 when oe was in mexico where he knew rulfo. "Esa obra-Pedro Paramo- debería estar en el centro mismo de la literatura latinoamericana”, subraya. El desconocido caballero guarda silencio y, al cabo de un rato, dice: “Yo soy quien escribió esa novela”. Así relata su feliz y místico encuentro con Juan Rulfo el escritor japonés Kenzaburo Oé ganador del Premio Nobel de Literatura en 1994. Thanks for your brillant review. Have a gorgeous day, my friend!

[@JorgesCorner]

¡Hola, Marinella! 😃 Estoy muy bien, ¿y tú? That's the wonderful thing about being able to read more than one language. If I had known it was available in Italian, I would have given it a try! I have two Kawabata books in Spanish that are not available in English (yet): a novella titled Segundo matrimonio, and his correspondence with Mishima. Oe is a great author, yes! Gli anni della nostalgia is not available in English. Thank you so much for sharing the passage about his encounter with Rulfo, another brilliant author. Thanks again for stopping by, my friend, and have an amazing day!

[@emilycorwith1119]

@@JorgesCorner just a random thought but what do you think was the basis for Kawabata's friendship with Mishima? Although there are some marvelously poetic passages in Mishima's writings, and he was also very psychological, somehow I have trouble imagining a strong connection between what seem to have been two very different people. But - I haven't read their correspondence yet.

[@JorgesCorner]

Hello Emily! 😃 That's a great question, and you're absolutely right: they were very different people. Their correspondence consisted mostly on them telling each other what they were up to, and sharing feedback on their works as these were published. It's been a while since I read their letters, though. I'll make a point of revisiting the book relatively soon, and I'll definitely share my thoughts here!

[@emilycorwith1119]

@@JorgesCorner I'll be very interested to hear what you think!

[@the3rdpillblog934]

Lucky you! Hope it will be translated into German.

[@JorgesCorner]

I'll keep my fingers crossed for you, my friend! 🤞 I'm sure it will. It's definitely worth the wait. 😃