Объяли меня воды до души моей...

by Kenzaburō Ōe, Кэндзабуро Оэ

Kozui wa waga tamashii ni oyobi (The Flood Invades My Spirit)

"Объяли меня воды до души моей..." - самый известный роман крупнейшего современного японского писателя Кэндзабуро Оэ. В центре этой притчи-антиутопии взаимоотношения человека и общества, взрослых и детей, а названием послужила цитата из библейской Книги Ионы, отсылающая читателей к традициям японского христианства, тонко и пронзительно прозвучавшим в романе.

Genres: Japanese Literature, Japan, Fiction, 20th Century, Nobel Prize

Hardcover

First published January 1, 1973

About the author

Kenzaburō 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."

Reviews

[Olga · Rating 5 out of 5]

This dystopian parable is a strange, powerful and multi-layered meditation on so many aspects of human existance that it is difficult to choose where to start.

The protagonist is a former secretary of a conservative politician living as a recluse with his five-year-old mentally disabled son in a nuclear bunker. He has his reasons to avoid people and become 'the ambassador' of whales and trees. In fact, he addresses them all the time in his thoughts. One day the protagonist meets some members of a non-conformist group of disapponted rebellious teenagers who show antisocial behaviour. The members of the Union of Free Sailors, as they call themselves, believe in apocalypse (nuclear war or earthquake, doesn't matter) and dream of leaving Japan by sea. There is only one problem - thay don't have a ship.
The story starts when, first, the contact between the protagonist and the Union of Free Sailors is established and afterwards, an unlikely alliance is formed.
Progressing slowly, the author explores the themes of guilt, grief, resilience, redemption, faith, sacrifice, social injustice and a generation gap drawing on Biblical imagery. It seems that the overall apocalyptic atmosphere of the nuclear war prevailing in the book resonanates with our reality more than ever.
It was not easy to read this novel, but I am very glad that I have read it and I am greatly impressed.

[Svitlana · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5⭐️
Книга, которая подхватывает тебя на свои волны и выбрасывает на неожиданный берег размышлений о фатализме и точке невозврата, об истинных целях и ценностях, о сути героизма, о том, что нас держит вместе/в обществе/в своём уме.
Да, неожиданно замечательно и трогательно.

[Daria (｡•̀ᴗ-)✧ · Rating 3 out of 5]

The main character and his young son with special needs live in seclusion in a bomb shelter. He considers himself the "confidant of whales and trees", the messenger of these creatures on earth. He communicates mentally with the souls of whales and trees, listens to the cries of whales, plunges his feet into the ground, as if his feet are the roots of a tree. Meanwhile, his little son is only interested in the voices of birds.
Their strange but peaceful life changes dramatically when one day they meet the "Free Sailors" - a gang of teenagers who decided to go against authority.

I expected that the book would be about whales and trees, but it turned out that the book is about people.
There's quite a lot of violence here. It was hard and unpleasant to read. I liked only the ending of this book, although it is also strange, as the book liself.

[Eugene · Rating 3 out of 5]

Объяли меня воды до души моей», притча-антиутопия, обыденное, нормальное и естественное отсутствует в романе вообще, уступая место повсеместным отклонениям и искажениям. По одну сторону оказывается общество, по другую — связавшие друг с другом свои судьбы поверенный китов и деревьев Ооки Исана и анти-политическое объединение подростков «Союз свободных мореплавателей». Трагедия, в которую превращается для находящихся «там» персонажей повествование по мере своего развития, обусловлена противопоставлением этих двух миров. Нашедшая в романе идея вытеснения маргинального является центральной для всего творчества Оэ.

Not an easy read, and took a lot of will-power to finish, because none of the main characters actions make any sense in the traditional way, which you tend to expect from Japanese literature. Comparing this book to my anchor of Oriental writing, Haruki Murakami, I would say Oe does not deliver for me, due to lackluster dialogues and bleak character development. If you are not expecting a page turner and in a search of something different give this book a chance. Strong 3 stars.

[Sofia · Rating 4 out of 5]

Как говорилось в аннотации, роман наполнен пением птиц и китов, шелестов листьем. Согласна, в нем присутствует глубокая эмоциональная близость с природой, возможно, именно это и помогло мне с легкостью прочитать его. Однако тема протеста и борьбы за "свободу" изображена крайне неприглядно.

[Nente]

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