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Ravine and Other Stories
An astonishing artistic re-creation of roiling metnal landscapes.
144 pages, Paperback
First published September 1, 1997
47 people want to read
About the author
Yoshikichi Furui
18 books11 followersYoshikichi Furui (古井 由吉 , born November 19, 1937) is a noted Japanese author and translator.
Furui was born in Tokyo, Japan. He was educated at the University of Tokyo, where he majored in German literature, receiving a BA in 1960. His undergraduate thesis was on Franz Kafka. He remained at Tokyo University for graduate work for another two years, earning an MA in German literature in 1962. After graduating, he accepted a position at Kanazawa University where he taught German language and literature for 3 years. He subsequently moved to Rikkyo University in Tokyo where he remained as an assistant professor of German literature until the watershed year of 1970.
The early 1970s was a period of rapid economic growth and cultural efflorescence. In the literary sphere, a new group of authors was emerging. These authors differed notably from their predecessors because of their move away from the overt social and political commentary—particularity as directed against the system that supported Japan's involvement in World War II—then common both in recent works of literature, and as a measure by which literature was measured. Because this new group of authors turned their gaze from society to the individual, looking inward, engaging the fears and fantasies of an urban population beset by a crisis of identity in a time of rapid economic growth, they were called the introverted generation, and Furui was, perhaps, their exemplar.
In 1970 Furui resigned from Rikkyo University to become a full-time writer. In 1971 his novella Yoko (杳子) was awarded the Akutagawa Prize, and he has subsequently won both the Tanizaki Prize and Kawabata Prize.
Furui has also translated Robert Musil and Hermann Broch.
(from Wikipedia)
Furui was born in Tokyo, Japan. He was educated at the University of Tokyo, where he majored in German literature, receiving a BA in 1960. His undergraduate thesis was on Franz Kafka. He remained at Tokyo University for graduate work for another two years, earning an MA in German literature in 1962. After graduating, he accepted a position at Kanazawa University where he taught German language and literature for 3 years. He subsequently moved to Rikkyo University in Tokyo where he remained as an assistant professor of German literature until the watershed year of 1970.
The early 1970s was a period of rapid economic growth and cultural efflorescence. In the literary sphere, a new group of authors was emerging. These authors differed notably from their predecessors because of their move away from the overt social and political commentary—particularity as directed against the system that supported Japan's involvement in World War II—then common both in recent works of literature, and as a measure by which literature was measured. Because this new group of authors turned their gaze from society to the individual, looking inward, engaging the fears and fantasies of an urban population beset by a crisis of identity in a time of rapid economic growth, they were called the introverted generation, and Furui was, perhaps, their exemplar.
In 1970 Furui resigned from Rikkyo University to become a full-time writer. In 1971 his novella Yoko (杳子) was awarded the Akutagawa Prize, and he has subsequently won both the Tanizaki Prize and Kawabata Prize.
Furui has also translated Robert Musil and Hermann Broch.
(from Wikipedia)
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
February 22, 2009
These four short stories deeply evoke Japan and Japanese people; reading them, I was transported. From the first sentence, the stories suck you into the strange, heightened reality of Furui's ordinary characters. The stories all involve mountain hiking or urban walking, and I recognised the people I've met and places I've been to, down to individual train stations.
'Ravine' is an eerie and evocative description of trying to sleep in a Japanese mountain hut after a day's hike. 'Grief Field' explores similar themes of death and dying in an urban context. 'The Bellwether' is one of Furui's early works, but I can't remember the last time an ending crept up on me with such devastating ease. It's about a salaryman oppressed by the rush-hour crush on the trains, who spends his journeys musing about how to induce a stampede in the placid herd. Some laugh-out-loud lines for anyone who has ever caught a train in urban Japan. The final story, 'On Nakayama Hill', is more of a vignette, without the intense imagery and larger themes of the first three stories, but the characters are vividly and sympathetically drawn.
Written by a Japanese writer attuned to the strange ways of the Japanese -- and translated superbly by Meredith McKinney -- Ravine and Other Stories is another in a series of random books that have of late been landing in my lap at the perfect moment.
'Ravine' is an eerie and evocative description of trying to sleep in a Japanese mountain hut after a day's hike. 'Grief Field' explores similar themes of death and dying in an urban context. 'The Bellwether' is one of Furui's early works, but I can't remember the last time an ending crept up on me with such devastating ease. It's about a salaryman oppressed by the rush-hour crush on the trains, who spends his journeys musing about how to induce a stampede in the placid herd. Some laugh-out-loud lines for anyone who has ever caught a train in urban Japan. The final story, 'On Nakayama Hill', is more of a vignette, without the intense imagery and larger themes of the first three stories, but the characters are vividly and sympathetically drawn.
Written by a Japanese writer attuned to the strange ways of the Japanese -- and translated superbly by Meredith McKinney -- Ravine and Other Stories is another in a series of random books that have of late been landing in my lap at the perfect moment.
July 29, 2024
the most literature i’ve read in a while. Thank you Taryn for the book 🤙🏽
August 23, 2012
I'm sure these are very fine stories, but I just couldn't bring myself to read them all. The first two that I read are dealing with death, which is my favorite thing in life. I planned to re-read them both, as I fell asleep in the middle of reading them. The third one was very interesting as it was dealing with inner paranoia, which is also my pet feeling. But I just couldn't finish reading it. Too heavy for my bird brain.
These are philosophical fictions, so you need to be well prepared to embark on them. Right now I need some a good dose of romance to keep me awake.
These are philosophical fictions, so you need to be well prepared to embark on them. Right now I need some a good dose of romance to keep me awake.
May 24, 2009
I started reading this glorious book, but I had to pass it on before I had a chance to break the halfway mark.
Intimately detailed, you feel the forest, the man, the life. It was indeed beautiful.
Of course, I'd like to get a chance to read all the stories in it. The writer is skilled, and the translation is well suited. It's one to sit down with on a cool evening, huddled under a blanket with a well-aged shiraz.
Intimately detailed, you feel the forest, the man, the life. It was indeed beautiful.
Of course, I'd like to get a chance to read all the stories in it. The writer is skilled, and the translation is well suited. It's one to sit down with on a cool evening, huddled under a blanket with a well-aged shiraz.
February 7, 2017
4 short stories. Some good, some average. I'm a fan of Japanese literature, but this didn't stand out as much as some, though the writing style is very good.
I would read this author again, but hopefully in a full length novel next time, as I do prefer that to short stories.
I would read this author again, but hopefully in a full length novel next time, as I do prefer that to short stories.
April 26, 2016
Furui's writing is full of pretty words but I failed to find anything of substance within.
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews