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The Silent Cry
In Oe's masterpiece of the human condition and family psychology, estranged brothers Mitsusaburo and Takashi have long since left their family home in a remote forested valley on Shikoku, in the south of Mitsusaburo for work in Tokyo; his younger brother Takashi for the United States, to atone for his part in anti-American student protests. Takashi's return to Japan coincides with a local Korean supermarket magnate's offer to buy the brothers' ancestral storehouse, pitting the brothers against one another and dredging up family histories best forgotten.
The Silent Cry is the most important Japanese novel of the post-war period and a strange, unsettling tale of how the call of blood and history echoes down the generations.
The Silent Cry is the most important Japanese novel of the post-war period and a strange, unsettling tale of how the call of blood and history echoes down the generations.
292 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 1, 1967
About the author
Kenzaburō Ōe
207 books1,765 followersKenzaburō 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."
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."
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 575 reviews
July 30, 2017
Kenzaburō Ōe uses an historical 1860 uprising as the basis for his dark novel of two bothers soul-searching, and enduring a personal crisis in post-war Japan, a world where existence and myth deliquesce to form a disturbing picture of the human predicament. With reverberating touches of Dostoevsky and Mishima, Ōe's powerful story concerns that of Mitsusaburo, the married older brother living and working out of Tokyo, and Takashi, young and confident returning from the United States after being involved in anti-American student protests. Both left their respectable remote home in the forested valley of Shikoku years before, but return to take part in the sale of their land and ancestral storehouse to a Korean supermarket boss, or emperor as he is viewed.
Both brothers get caught up in a rather distressing state of affairs, with locals, themselves more than anything, loved ones, and a past best left in the history books.
The story itself is multi-layered, driven forward with anguish and foreboding, but also with a lingering hope and sense of redemption. There are many bleak passages of writing that were fiercely alarming, but just so well written after a somewhat laboured opening, while the overall tone of the narrative felt like a cloak of darkness, with just a tiny opening for letting the sun of a morning horizon seduce your eyes, to witness a beauty through the engulfing chaos.
There is a significant subplot, mostly revealed through reminiscences, about the history of the village and the boys family during the past one hundred years or so, it's murky and unclear to grasp hold of this side of proceedings at first, and only becomes more apparent by the end, however for me at least, I still felt slightly unsure of the satisfactory answers. Linking the past with their present lives, themes of strong family loyalty and honour, personal responsibility, economic degradation, racism, and self-liberation are explored in an acute way, with Ōe not afraid to hold back with some truly shocking lines that were upsetting to read, but wholly necessary.
Under normal circumstances this novel may for some feel a little contrived, had it been set in a country other than Japan it would probably would be, I find with most Japanese literature there is something buried deep inside that's difficult to fully comprehend for an outsider, but that never falls into the category of monotony reading. I am not going to lie, it's harsh and sombre nature so nearly got the better of me,, but on a lighter level (not nearly enough) Ōe does portray rural Japan in fascinating clarity, and brings this world to life right in front of you. For me, I believe Oe's Nobel prize was fully justified for his insight and humanity, and there was enough in the meaning and quality of the writing here that tells me this undoubtedly is rightly viewed as a masterpiece of post-war Japanese fiction, tainted with an irreparably spirited notion of being written in ancestral blood.
September 5, 2013
This is a very difficult read, not as in 'dense' but as in 'unpleasant'. And made no easier by the author's resolve to lead the narrative to the most intentionally uncomfortable places he can imagine; there is to be no outlet or uplift at any point in the novel, and we can tell from the first few pages. For the rest of the book we will be encircled by fear, constraint, control, fate and deep mood swings.
We're led down the emotional plumbing along with a kind of numb / punchdrunk narrator, whose brief time describing his life to us comprises a chamber of horrors and an unending set of even-worse consequences. A list of same would be too much in a review, but pick a form of violence, a human failing, a deformity of nature, an offense against society, against family, incest, suicide-- it's here, but meant in a broader, umbrella sense. His concerns are the philosophical structures of the Japanese national persona, and the inherited national flaws he sees.
The Japanese in 1967 were still trying to make sense of the links between the hyperloyalist shogun tradition, the authoritarian cult of empire, and the cabin-fever shock and guilt that made the postwar era so unstable. We feel the infantilized shame and post-fascist surreality of Witold Gombrowicz in the proceedings. And maybe some Beckett, as well; there is a sleepwalker's logic to the course of the book, in fulfillment of what can only be said to be pre-ordained. The failures here, though, are the inability to balance the shock of the distasteful with the familiarity of the obvious, in the way that Beckett was able to do, at once deft and disarming. Mr. Ōe wants no such pretty 'balance' in his attack on the senses. ( Also on the negative side of the equation, there is plenty here that is kind of wifty-cosmic ala Vonnegut, or deliberately obtuse, grotesque in a way we'd now recognize as the tactic of director David Lynch.)
The onslaught of intimidation and dread the narrator feels bounces back and forth from an internalization of events to the formation of a complex analogy of those same, or similar, outside occurrences. The string of disaster and violence our author observes from day to day becomes a kind of personal 'disgrace loop' for which he blames himself. And in analyzing and agonizing about that blame, the dishonorable flaws of the society are reflected. And in taking the blame, back around the loop again.
There are worlds within this novel that this reader can't claim to know about; the rebellions & disturbances in Japan in the 60's were different from other places, and so was the nation. It must also be noted that the author's own biography mirrors at least some of what goes on. A disabled child wasn't just a fiction for this book; the author was father to a similar case. Ōe knew Henry Miller and Sartre, and aspects of their viewpoints appear throughout. He met with Mao Tse Tung. A thorough study of the novel would include at least some familiarity with the author's intriguing biographical details.
There is a desolate sense here that the more reasonable the man, the worse and more relentless the nightmares he must internalize. And Hiroshima towers blackly above the entire conception here, mentioned only once or twice, but crackling like an electric current at the edges.
Closing the back cover on this book, emerging from the 'disgrace loop', feels like walking out of a prison. A prison of blunted, hurtful ambiguities.
Aaarrgh.
We're led down the emotional plumbing along with a kind of numb / punchdrunk narrator, whose brief time describing his life to us comprises a chamber of horrors and an unending set of even-worse consequences. A list of same would be too much in a review, but pick a form of violence, a human failing, a deformity of nature, an offense against society, against family, incest, suicide-- it's here, but meant in a broader, umbrella sense. His concerns are the philosophical structures of the Japanese national persona, and the inherited national flaws he sees.
The Japanese in 1967 were still trying to make sense of the links between the hyperloyalist shogun tradition, the authoritarian cult of empire, and the cabin-fever shock and guilt that made the postwar era so unstable. We feel the infantilized shame and post-fascist surreality of Witold Gombrowicz in the proceedings. And maybe some Beckett, as well; there is a sleepwalker's logic to the course of the book, in fulfillment of what can only be said to be pre-ordained. The failures here, though, are the inability to balance the shock of the distasteful with the familiarity of the obvious, in the way that Beckett was able to do, at once deft and disarming. Mr. Ōe wants no such pretty 'balance' in his attack on the senses. ( Also on the negative side of the equation, there is plenty here that is kind of wifty-cosmic ala Vonnegut, or deliberately obtuse, grotesque in a way we'd now recognize as the tactic of director David Lynch.)
The onslaught of intimidation and dread the narrator feels bounces back and forth from an internalization of events to the formation of a complex analogy of those same, or similar, outside occurrences. The string of disaster and violence our author observes from day to day becomes a kind of personal 'disgrace loop' for which he blames himself. And in analyzing and agonizing about that blame, the dishonorable flaws of the society are reflected. And in taking the blame, back around the loop again.
There are worlds within this novel that this reader can't claim to know about; the rebellions & disturbances in Japan in the 60's were different from other places, and so was the nation. It must also be noted that the author's own biography mirrors at least some of what goes on. A disabled child wasn't just a fiction for this book; the author was father to a similar case. Ōe knew Henry Miller and Sartre, and aspects of their viewpoints appear throughout. He met with Mao Tse Tung. A thorough study of the novel would include at least some familiarity with the author's intriguing biographical details.
There is a desolate sense here that the more reasonable the man, the worse and more relentless the nightmares he must internalize. And Hiroshima towers blackly above the entire conception here, mentioned only once or twice, but crackling like an electric current at the edges.
Closing the back cover on this book, emerging from the 'disgrace loop', feels like walking out of a prison. A prison of blunted, hurtful ambiguities.
Aaarrgh.
January 8, 2022
Una lectura densa, en algunos tramos sumamente escatológica, poblada por una galería de personajes enajenados y grotescos: el protagonista tuerto, el amigo suicida, la esposa alcohólica, la vecina obesa, el hermano con ínfulas de revolucionario. No fue una lectura placentera. Todavía estoy meditando sobre cuál es el significado de la novela, si es que tiene uno. Es una obra profundamente japonesa, de modo que probablemente para un extranjero que no conoce la idiosincracia de ese país es más difícil de comprender. Hay una dicotomía entre los dos hermanos: el protagonista Mitsusaburo, pasivo y cerrado, y su hermano Takashi recuerdan muchos eventos de manera diferente. Takashi se adhiere a una versión distorsionada del pasado: los antepasados siempre fueron buenos y heroicos, un tercer hermano de la familia también murió como un héroe, el gran empresario coreano del valle (conocido como el "Emperador de los supermercados" que a pesar de ser coreano, domina económicamente a la aldea japonesa con su supermercado) es un villano. En cambio Mitsusaburo recuerda la historia de manera más objetiva: la muerte del tercer hermano de la familia fue mucho menos épica, y tampoco odia al Emperador de los Supermercados: durante la guerra, fue uno de muchos esclavos coreanos llevados contra su voluntad al país para trabajar. Con el final de la guerra, se quedó y prosperó. Nadie en el valle se plantea esto: lo ven como el extranjero codicioso que oprime al pueblo japonés. El nacionalismo infantil e inmaduro de Takashi se contrapone con el pesimismo realista de Mitsusaburo. Esta es solo mi interpretación personal; creo que es una novela que admite más de una interpretación.
August 27, 2016
R.I.P., Kenzaburo Oe! His publisher Kodansha announced hours ago that the Nobel Laureate passed away.
https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/202...
"The Silent Cry" is one of my favorite books ever.
https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/202...
"The Silent Cry" is one of my favorite books ever.
December 25, 2016
***I’ve tried to eliminate the spoilers; but be WARNED -- somewhat spoilery***
Early in the novel, the main character, Mitsu, finds himself in the pit where his septic tank will soon go. He goes into the pit to think. The position is symbolic, as everything is in this novel -- a graphic depiction of his psychological state and our place in the novel. The world has become a septic tank and Mitsu is looking for a way out of the pit.
Set in the early to mid-1960s, in a small town in Japan, the novel depicts the struggle of two brothers over the meaning of history and the future of their town. Each, it seems has been designated a role (by history and the natural, horrific flows of the universe) -- Mitsu, the role of the dispassionate establishment figure; Takashi, the role of the revolutionary figure and tragic martyr.
Without spoiling the novel, I’ll say that it’s perhaps one of the most poignant political novels you could read today (despite being written in the 60s). Relevant themes abound -- racism (toward Koreans), a popular uprising, the shunning of intellectuals, the populist leader who leads by his gut, the thrill of revolution.
In the figure of Takashi you can see shades of Trump or Dutertre -- over-stylized machismo, a fascination with violence and virility, and an intellectual vacuum in place of coherent ideology. In the figure of Mitsu, you see the opposite (but also Takashi’s enabler) -- a despondent “establishment” figure, a principled pacifism that is often equated with sterility, and an aloof rationalism with no coherent answer to the energy of Takashi’s movement.
The “revolution” itself is an absurd, intoxicating spectacle that has the power to entrance, compel, and mystify...but is also essentially empty.
The most compelling and touching aspect of the book is the relationship of the two brothers. The two often seem to have the power to save one another, but tragically are unable to because they inhabit worlds with irreconcilable worldviews.
The politics of the book are stylized with a macabre surrealism not unlike the work of HP Lovecraft. Terrible things lurk just out of vision and appear in unexpected places. Death. Suicide. Retardation. Venereal diseases. These things stick out like warts in the first few pages and highlight the monstrous conditions of modern life. The characters appear with monstrous deformities and the habits of creatures -- a hermit, a character with a deformed eye, and a fat blob. With all these everyday creatures, the mythical “chosokabe” of the Shikoku forests is the least terrifying one.
On a personal level, the book got me thinking about modernity and modern life. It seems all too often that modern life offers us up routines and functions in place of meaning. The book starts with the main character discovering that his friend has committed suicide by painting his face crimson, sticking a cucumber up his anus, and hanging himself. I’m pretty sure that if I did the same thing in my office my action would largely go unnoticed, until I was called upon to do something important. Then, when my unique problem needed to be “handled” the question of the day would be which department would handle my dead body and who would take care of the paperwork. The dry, corporate platitudes that would then follow would only highlight the fact that most people were barely aware of who I was or what I did.
Luckily, I have no such inclinations. Besides, the whole thing seems to me a waste of a perfectly good cucumber.
More than anything the book makes me thrilled that I lived to be an adult with a really bad literature addiction.
Early in the novel, the main character, Mitsu, finds himself in the pit where his septic tank will soon go. He goes into the pit to think. The position is symbolic, as everything is in this novel -- a graphic depiction of his psychological state and our place in the novel. The world has become a septic tank and Mitsu is looking for a way out of the pit.
Set in the early to mid-1960s, in a small town in Japan, the novel depicts the struggle of two brothers over the meaning of history and the future of their town. Each, it seems has been designated a role (by history and the natural, horrific flows of the universe) -- Mitsu, the role of the dispassionate establishment figure; Takashi, the role of the revolutionary figure and tragic martyr.
Without spoiling the novel, I’ll say that it’s perhaps one of the most poignant political novels you could read today (despite being written in the 60s). Relevant themes abound -- racism (toward Koreans), a popular uprising, the shunning of intellectuals, the populist leader who leads by his gut, the thrill of revolution.
In the figure of Takashi you can see shades of Trump or Dutertre -- over-stylized machismo, a fascination with violence and virility, and an intellectual vacuum in place of coherent ideology. In the figure of Mitsu, you see the opposite (but also Takashi’s enabler) -- a despondent “establishment” figure, a principled pacifism that is often equated with sterility, and an aloof rationalism with no coherent answer to the energy of Takashi’s movement.
The “revolution” itself is an absurd, intoxicating spectacle that has the power to entrance, compel, and mystify...but is also essentially empty.
The most compelling and touching aspect of the book is the relationship of the two brothers. The two often seem to have the power to save one another, but tragically are unable to because they inhabit worlds with irreconcilable worldviews.
The politics of the book are stylized with a macabre surrealism not unlike the work of HP Lovecraft. Terrible things lurk just out of vision and appear in unexpected places. Death. Suicide. Retardation. Venereal diseases. These things stick out like warts in the first few pages and highlight the monstrous conditions of modern life. The characters appear with monstrous deformities and the habits of creatures -- a hermit, a character with a deformed eye, and a fat blob. With all these everyday creatures, the mythical “chosokabe” of the Shikoku forests is the least terrifying one.
On a personal level, the book got me thinking about modernity and modern life. It seems all too often that modern life offers us up routines and functions in place of meaning. The book starts with the main character discovering that his friend has committed suicide by painting his face crimson, sticking a cucumber up his anus, and hanging himself. I’m pretty sure that if I did the same thing in my office my action would largely go unnoticed, until I was called upon to do something important. Then, when my unique problem needed to be “handled” the question of the day would be which department would handle my dead body and who would take care of the paperwork. The dry, corporate platitudes that would then follow would only highlight the fact that most people were barely aware of who I was or what I did.
Luckily, I have no such inclinations. Besides, the whole thing seems to me a waste of a perfectly good cucumber.
More than anything the book makes me thrilled that I lived to be an adult with a really bad literature addiction.
July 12, 2023
A man has a son who is mentally retarded, a wife who is an alcoholic, and a brother who once raped their sister.
Then his friend shoves a cucumber up his arse and hangs himself.
That's life, kids.
Then his friend shoves a cucumber up his arse and hangs himself.
That's life, kids.
October 25, 2017
A mesmerising read. Mesmerising not in a beautiful, sweetly lyrical sense but gripping, dark and brutally frank. Piercing, insightful metaphors and phrases abound. The opening chapter was so amazing, I thought I had found another 'Vegetarian'. Alas, the one drawback was that I found the plot, based on a present day uprising aimed at reenacting another which happened a hundred years before, not very interesting in and of itself. It would have been better if the middle part, which dwelled a bit too much on this, had been slightly shorter. Given the strength of the writing, I would have given this a 5.0 if the story had been more engaging. Still, the last third did pick up the pace again and contained a few unexpected revelations.
August 4, 2023
Duże rozczarowanie, nie była to książka dla mnie.
September 17, 2012
I finished The Silent Cry right before the window of July shut for eternity. My reading of the book is locked away from me by an invisible wall that materialized overnight. I am glad of this because Oe’s book terrified me. In fact, The Silent Cry is the most frightening book I've ever read.
The Silent Cry is about a depressed intellectual who returns to his ancestral village with his younger brother who plans to incite the young men to overthrow a local Korean businessman, "The Emperor of the Supermarkets."
This book is a staple of hardcore Japanese literature. It's a densely written, philosophically loaded story that deals with the darkness of living in a personal hell. Suicide and shame continuously haunt the characters, punctuated by outbursts of raw violence. The danger extends beyond fiction through Oe's writing that refuses to leave the reader as a faraway bystander. We are faced with the naked suffering of every character, from all angles, until we become soiled.
Though The Silent Cry is disturbing, it communicates its message: Despite the worst humiliations and failures, we can generate the strength to begin again. Isn't this the story of Japan and the atomic bombs? The Silent Cry allegorized the shame of Imperial Japan’s defeat into a family that must face an existential horror akin to nuclear annihilation. The pain becomes communal. That is why this book turns so many people off.
Oe delivers a literary blow across the face that leaves us to solemnly reflect on our own personal hell and the will to start again, from nothing if need be.
(And now for some funny Japanese existentialism.)
The Silent Cry is about a depressed intellectual who returns to his ancestral village with his younger brother who plans to incite the young men to overthrow a local Korean businessman, "The Emperor of the Supermarkets."
This book is a staple of hardcore Japanese literature. It's a densely written, philosophically loaded story that deals with the darkness of living in a personal hell. Suicide and shame continuously haunt the characters, punctuated by outbursts of raw violence. The danger extends beyond fiction through Oe's writing that refuses to leave the reader as a faraway bystander. We are faced with the naked suffering of every character, from all angles, until we become soiled.
Though The Silent Cry is disturbing, it communicates its message: Despite the worst humiliations and failures, we can generate the strength to begin again. Isn't this the story of Japan and the atomic bombs? The Silent Cry allegorized the shame of Imperial Japan’s defeat into a family that must face an existential horror akin to nuclear annihilation. The pain becomes communal. That is why this book turns so many people off.
Oe delivers a literary blow across the face that leaves us to solemnly reflect on our own personal hell and the will to start again, from nothing if need be.
(And now for some funny Japanese existentialism.)
May 8, 2009
Silent Cry, by Nobel Prize winner Kenzaburo Oe, takes place in Japan in the late 1960s, following Mitsusaburo, his wife Natsumi and his brother, Takashi as they return to the rural valley community where Mitsu's family has lived for over a century. Mitsu is an anti-hero of the lowest calibre -- weak-willed, ugly and inert -- and from the beginning of the novel there is a significant amount of tension in his marriage as Natsu has succumbed to alcoholism.
The opening of the novel sees Mitsu finding himself crouched at the bottom of a hollowed-out pit formed for a Septic Tank, ruminating on the recent suicide of his friend. Alone and pitiful, he tells of his infant son locked away in an institution after an operation to remove a tumour from his head left him a near vegetable. Like so much refuse, he has no job and no one in which he can confide. He is called a rat, and he adopts the persona, becoming rat like in his behaviour.
When his brother returns from America they travel, along with his brother's teenaged protégées, to the valley of their ancestors. Mitsu spurns Takashi for his juvenile behaviour, though Takashi is confident and charismatic, as his brother wants to follow in the footsteps of their great-great-uncle who, in 1860, started a rebellion in the village.
A main notion in Silent Cry is that of truth and the consequences of it. Truth is hard to come by in the novel, with Taka and Mitsu often remembering their childhoods differently, correcting one another over and over as they relate their past experiences. In the same way, the truth about the affair in 1860 is revised constantly throughout the novel as more facts are revealed to the brothers. This is combined with an extensive use of dream imagery to deliberately mislead the reader, along with the main characters, so that the morality of their actions is never solidly identified. Gravely, Mitsu's entire view of history and his brother comes into question by the end of the novel, and the reader is brought into this upheaval in a very real way. Throughout the entire story, we are made, despite his imperfections, to sympathise with Mitsusaburo. Though pitiable, he is also the pillar of reason among the strange cult-like behavior of the other characters following his brother. In this way, not only do we blindly agree with his interpretation of the past, but we also spurn his brother -- both in action and in philosophy -- and consider him petulant, impulsive and ineffectual. By the end of the novel, however, this perspective is made to change. Just as Mitsu must re-evaluate his entire way of thinking about his brother, so too must we, as Mitsu's complicit followers, re-evaluate what we have read thus far, and how we feel about the characters.
In one sense, it is extremely effective as the reader is led to believe certain truths exactly as the characters. In another, however, it's frustrating because by the end of the novel we are so ingrained in our repulsion towards Takashi that to change our opinions is nearly impossible. Looking for Mitsu to succeed for such a long time only to be disappointed when his success is dependent on his brother's philosophies is tough to swallow.
More frustrating still is, aptly, the issue of the writing of the novel itself. Kenzaburo Oe writes exclusively in Japanese, and as such the novel is translated by a Western author. In a way that eerily parallels the passage of truth in the novel, we must read the text through the eyes and words of an interloper, an observer to the chaos we're reading. It is impossible to know what liberties have been taken -- what images are created by this third-party that are not, perhaps, what Oe intended. Due in part to the paranoid pursuit of truth demonstrated by Mitsu and Takashi, we also yearn for truth, both in the story and in its very construction. And yet, just as Mitsusaburo, we must place our faith in the words of another in order to do so.
Though chaotic and dense, the novel is well-written and the characters are lively and numerous. The setting of the quiet valley town torn apart by modernization and a new generation is fleshed out well, and throughout the novel the internal monologue of the self-described rat, Mitsu, provides a framework through which we can relive events in his life and the lives of his ancestors in a unique and effective way.
The opening of the novel sees Mitsu finding himself crouched at the bottom of a hollowed-out pit formed for a Septic Tank, ruminating on the recent suicide of his friend. Alone and pitiful, he tells of his infant son locked away in an institution after an operation to remove a tumour from his head left him a near vegetable. Like so much refuse, he has no job and no one in which he can confide. He is called a rat, and he adopts the persona, becoming rat like in his behaviour.
When his brother returns from America they travel, along with his brother's teenaged protégées, to the valley of their ancestors. Mitsu spurns Takashi for his juvenile behaviour, though Takashi is confident and charismatic, as his brother wants to follow in the footsteps of their great-great-uncle who, in 1860, started a rebellion in the village.
A main notion in Silent Cry is that of truth and the consequences of it. Truth is hard to come by in the novel, with Taka and Mitsu often remembering their childhoods differently, correcting one another over and over as they relate their past experiences. In the same way, the truth about the affair in 1860 is revised constantly throughout the novel as more facts are revealed to the brothers. This is combined with an extensive use of dream imagery to deliberately mislead the reader, along with the main characters, so that the morality of their actions is never solidly identified. Gravely, Mitsu's entire view of history and his brother comes into question by the end of the novel, and the reader is brought into this upheaval in a very real way. Throughout the entire story, we are made, despite his imperfections, to sympathise with Mitsusaburo. Though pitiable, he is also the pillar of reason among the strange cult-like behavior of the other characters following his brother. In this way, not only do we blindly agree with his interpretation of the past, but we also spurn his brother -- both in action and in philosophy -- and consider him petulant, impulsive and ineffectual. By the end of the novel, however, this perspective is made to change. Just as Mitsu must re-evaluate his entire way of thinking about his brother, so too must we, as Mitsu's complicit followers, re-evaluate what we have read thus far, and how we feel about the characters.
In one sense, it is extremely effective as the reader is led to believe certain truths exactly as the characters. In another, however, it's frustrating because by the end of the novel we are so ingrained in our repulsion towards Takashi that to change our opinions is nearly impossible. Looking for Mitsu to succeed for such a long time only to be disappointed when his success is dependent on his brother's philosophies is tough to swallow.
More frustrating still is, aptly, the issue of the writing of the novel itself. Kenzaburo Oe writes exclusively in Japanese, and as such the novel is translated by a Western author. In a way that eerily parallels the passage of truth in the novel, we must read the text through the eyes and words of an interloper, an observer to the chaos we're reading. It is impossible to know what liberties have been taken -- what images are created by this third-party that are not, perhaps, what Oe intended. Due in part to the paranoid pursuit of truth demonstrated by Mitsu and Takashi, we also yearn for truth, both in the story and in its very construction. And yet, just as Mitsusaburo, we must place our faith in the words of another in order to do so.
Though chaotic and dense, the novel is well-written and the characters are lively and numerous. The setting of the quiet valley town torn apart by modernization and a new generation is fleshed out well, and throughout the novel the internal monologue of the self-described rat, Mitsu, provides a framework through which we can relive events in his life and the lives of his ancestors in a unique and effective way.
October 5, 2016
الرواية الوجودية (كامو وسارتر)...رواية تيار الوعي (فوكنر وجويس)..رواية التوثيق النفسي (لويس فرديناند سيلين)..كل هذا بنكهة يابانية خالصة تنفتح على الإنسان
February 23, 2013
Acclaimed by the 1994 Nobel Prize in Literature committee for its dealing "with people's relationships ... in a confusing world" (back cover), this novel is psychologically complex due to its context primarily related on "the clash between village life and modern culture in postwar Japan" (Paris Review: The Art of Fiction No. 195) as perceived and involved by the narrator temporarily living there with his wife, his brother and a few followers. One of the complex issues is that Oe has tried to explore such life and culture by means of ‘I’ called Mitsu as the key protagonist who duly observes and reacts. Moreover, writing a comment on this complex novel by a formidable Japanese author is demanding and could be controversial, therefore, I would like to share my views with my Goodreads friends on some good points so that we can understand more on why we should read him enjoyably, that is, any one of his works to which we incline.
First, reading this novel needs our concentration; it is observed by one of his translators that Oe has famously written his works in short sentences similar to those in foreign novels, presumably in English ones, so they are relatively convenient for translation. As far as I know, he accepts this comment and says it’s natural for him to write his novels with short Japanese sentences. This aspect of writing poses a problem to his readers since whenever they browse through some pages in his novels, they tend to assume that they seem readable and simple. However, that’s necessary for us to be aware of the first obstacle that we need to learn not to be trapped by their seeming simplicity.
Second, Mitsu portrayed as a man aged twenty-seven (p. 1) having a child born mentally handicapped (p. 34) with his no sight regarding his right eye (p. 2) is an ordinary, not god-like man who realizes his weaknesses and does his best to cope with his everyday life before meeting his brother called Taka while living in the village and after the unthinkably tragic incident. His wife named Natsumi (p. 274) having started her whiskey-drinking (p. 29) reads Soseki Natsume (p. 107) while he reads the Penguin books (p. 108), translates and has his English teaching job (p. 272). He is also unfairly looked upon by a youth who bluntly complains, “You’re not a bit like him. You’re just a rat. What did you come to meet Taka today?” (p. 29). With his dark humor, he simply says, "I'm ugly." (p. 2) These suggest his bitter tormented life deep inside and we wonder how he should manage such looming unpredictable problems.
Third, I think this novel is one among the few that require our rereading for more understanding and interpretation. One of the reasons is that we may find reading it quite simple, that is, understandable at face value. Indeed, Oe has written to expose Mitsue’s adversities in dealing with social/ethical issues adopted by Taka, his brother to commit such an abominable sin while living in the village till he can’t find any sensible solution and that’s why he’s still left some problems to other people to solve. However, we can notice that Mitsue’s wife has become more sober and sensible toward the end of the novel. This initiative wisely implies drinking whisky isn’t the good means in solving any problem and she’s told Mitsue about “bringing up the two babies together” (p. 272) and I found this excerpt moving:
“I was thinking about that for ages last night, Mitsue, and I began to feel that if only we have the courage we can make a start on it at least,” she said in a voice pathetic in its obvious physical and spiritual exhaustion. … Then, as I walked toward her, I heard a voice inside me reciting quite simply what Takashi’s bodyguards had said when they announced their plan to get married: “Now that we don’t have Taka, we’ll have to manage by ourselves” And I had no mind to squash the voice into silence.
… (p. 273)
Therefore, ‘courage’ is the key and we need to learn to keep going by ourselves, in other words, living by mostly depending on others is not wise, they may not be amused since everyone is busy working, QED.
In short, this novel is worth reading and rereading for reinterpretations for the sake of our fellow humans that, more or less, need compassion, resilience and wisdom.
First, reading this novel needs our concentration; it is observed by one of his translators that Oe has famously written his works in short sentences similar to those in foreign novels, presumably in English ones, so they are relatively convenient for translation. As far as I know, he accepts this comment and says it’s natural for him to write his novels with short Japanese sentences. This aspect of writing poses a problem to his readers since whenever they browse through some pages in his novels, they tend to assume that they seem readable and simple. However, that’s necessary for us to be aware of the first obstacle that we need to learn not to be trapped by their seeming simplicity.
Second, Mitsu portrayed as a man aged twenty-seven (p. 1) having a child born mentally handicapped (p. 34) with his no sight regarding his right eye (p. 2) is an ordinary, not god-like man who realizes his weaknesses and does his best to cope with his everyday life before meeting his brother called Taka while living in the village and after the unthinkably tragic incident. His wife named Natsumi (p. 274) having started her whiskey-drinking (p. 29) reads Soseki Natsume (p. 107) while he reads the Penguin books (p. 108), translates and has his English teaching job (p. 272). He is also unfairly looked upon by a youth who bluntly complains, “You’re not a bit like him. You’re just a rat. What did you come to meet Taka today?” (p. 29). With his dark humor, he simply says, "I'm ugly." (p. 2) These suggest his bitter tormented life deep inside and we wonder how he should manage such looming unpredictable problems.
Third, I think this novel is one among the few that require our rereading for more understanding and interpretation. One of the reasons is that we may find reading it quite simple, that is, understandable at face value. Indeed, Oe has written to expose Mitsue’s adversities in dealing with social/ethical issues adopted by Taka, his brother to commit such an abominable sin while living in the village till he can’t find any sensible solution and that’s why he’s still left some problems to other people to solve. However, we can notice that Mitsue’s wife has become more sober and sensible toward the end of the novel. This initiative wisely implies drinking whisky isn’t the good means in solving any problem and she’s told Mitsue about “bringing up the two babies together” (p. 272) and I found this excerpt moving:
“I was thinking about that for ages last night, Mitsue, and I began to feel that if only we have the courage we can make a start on it at least,” she said in a voice pathetic in its obvious physical and spiritual exhaustion. … Then, as I walked toward her, I heard a voice inside me reciting quite simply what Takashi’s bodyguards had said when they announced their plan to get married: “Now that we don’t have Taka, we’ll have to manage by ourselves” And I had no mind to squash the voice into silence.
… (p. 273)
Therefore, ‘courage’ is the key and we need to learn to keep going by ourselves, in other words, living by mostly depending on others is not wise, they may not be amused since everyone is busy working, QED.
In short, this novel is worth reading and rereading for reinterpretations for the sake of our fellow humans that, more or less, need compassion, resilience and wisdom.
March 13, 2012
You can read Oe's books without visiting his hometown (obviously) but I'm still so ashamed that I visited his hometown without having read "Prize Stock", "Nip the Buds, Shoot the Kids" or "The Silent Cry". What did I think I was doing?
"The Silent Cry" was brutal. Kenzaburo must be the most honest man on the planet. I have no idea how his friends and family can live with his writing. Yukio Mishima said something nice for the dust jacket, but I bet he winced his way through this. Ouch. It's like Oe knew.
I haven't found anything by Oe secondhand, so he's cost me a fortune and I can't afford anymore. It's probably best to have a break. But I really want to read "Seventeen"! I also really want to read all of "Seventeen", and that's impossible because the rightists won't let us. Tsk.
====
"Escape from the Wasteland" introduced me to the Japanese title: 万延元年のフットボール (mannen gannen no futtoboru). But I've just realised that I don't know whether they are playing association football, which I thought Japan called "sakka" (soccer), or American football. Isn't John Nathan American ... so wouldn't he use "football" to mean American football? The Wikipedia article links to American football.
But I've just read: "The ball came rolling out of the circle of youths in my direction. I tried to kick it back", which doesn't sound like an American football does it? And Taka played American football at University? And he managed to buy loads of American footballs in Ehime in the 1960s? Can you even buy an American football in Ehime now?
=====
It's not John Nathan, it's John Bester! And he's English! So it must be soccer. Wikipedia's just wrong.
=====
"The Silent Cry" was brutal. Kenzaburo must be the most honest man on the planet. I have no idea how his friends and family can live with his writing. Yukio Mishima said something nice for the dust jacket, but I bet he winced his way through this. Ouch. It's like Oe knew.
I haven't found anything by Oe secondhand, so he's cost me a fortune and I can't afford anymore. It's probably best to have a break. But I really want to read "Seventeen"! I also really want to read all of "Seventeen", and that's impossible because the rightists won't let us. Tsk.
====
"Escape from the Wasteland" introduced me to the Japanese title: 万延元年のフットボール (mannen gannen no futtoboru). But I've just realised that I don't know whether they are playing association football, which I thought Japan called "sakka" (soccer), or American football. Isn't John Nathan American ... so wouldn't he use "football" to mean American football? The Wikipedia article links to American football.
But I've just read: "The ball came rolling out of the circle of youths in my direction. I tried to kick it back", which doesn't sound like an American football does it? And Taka played American football at University? And he managed to buy loads of American footballs in Ehime in the 1960s? Can you even buy an American football in Ehime now?
=====
It's not John Nathan, it's John Bester! And he's English! So it must be soccer. Wikipedia's just wrong.
=====
Read
August 9, 2015Everything around me—the dark brown stretches of withered grassland where the snow had completely vanished, leaving the soil parched and powerless as yet to put forth new life, even the somber evergreen heights of the forest beyond the groves of great deciduous trees—had an air of indefinable loss, like the dead ruin of a human being, that awoke an obscure uneasiness in me as my gaze roved across the hollow.This is one of those novels where all the characters are miserable and bad things are constantly happening to each of them. Meanwhile, the text is suffused with an oppressive foreboding that even worse events and/or revelations lurk in the distance. To complicate reading matters, the first third or so of the book moves at a glacial pace, smothering everything in its slow-moving wake. I almost abandoned it after about 100 pages but then I read reviews reporting that the action picks up later on. And so I heaved the yoke back up across my shoulders and trudged on, only to be rewarded with even more suffering and misery, but at least it started arriving faster.
The setting is a rural valley in post-WWII Japan where two brothers have returned to their family homestead, one from living abroad in America and the other, the narrator, from his middle-class life as a translator in Tokyo. Narrator is depressed, triggered by his best friend's ominous suicide, and his wife is descending into alcoholism following the birth of their genetically impaired child. The ghosts of dead siblings haunt the two brothers upon their return to the valley. What follows is borne out by the long-lasting effects of war and family history.
No star rating seems appropriate here. Ōe's style is more ornate than I typically prefer, but it fits the subject matter. Some books are not 'enjoyable reads' per se, but that does not necessarily mean they should not be read. This book delves deep into human nature and human experience, which for me provided reason enough not to look away. It's worth it alone for the rush of revelations that come in the final chapter.
January 16, 2023
A man named Mitsusaburo is married to Natsumi, they have a newborn son who is mentally disabled. She is coping with alcohol. Then Mitsu's friend commits suicide (it involves a cucumber) which only further sends the two of them spiraling into uncertainty. Mitsusaburo's brother Takashi returns from America and convinces them to go back with him to their childhood home. Here we learn about the brothers' great grandfather and his brother, the latter a major figure in an 1860 peasant uprising. Takashi wants to inspire a similar uprising and, after creating a football team, slowly builds an army which loots the local supermarket owned by a Korean...
I'd go into more detail (and there is a lot more to go into) but I suspect you've already switched off a little. The fact is the book is very good, wonderfully written (and translated), and delves into as many dark and painful recesses of the human mind that you can imagine (fascinatingly so). But it's very convoluted, very dense, and very oppressive at times. After a while, I felt like I had a bag of stones around my neck. Which is a shame because the writing is indeed great. It just feels like he's put far too much into this (did I mention that Takashi seduces Mitsu's wife Natsumi, that there's a murder, an obese gargoyle, an attempted rape, incest, more suicide, a cucumber🥒).
As much as I enjoyed the book, I could have done without being so utterly overwhelmed by so much heavy and stolid language (often when addressing the most mundane aspects of the story). Had the book been half as long (with significantly shorter chapters) I might have embraced it as a masterpiece. But it drags on a little and I never felt any sense of redemption or hope. And when I start to dread reading the next chapter because it just won't let me breathe, I have to take that into account when reviewing the piece (even when, as was the case here, I predominantly enjoyed it and acknowledged the writer's craft).
It was wonderful. But somehow it was also too much. Very Japanese.
I'd go into more detail (and there is a lot more to go into) but I suspect you've already switched off a little. The fact is the book is very good, wonderfully written (and translated), and delves into as many dark and painful recesses of the human mind that you can imagine (fascinatingly so). But it's very convoluted, very dense, and very oppressive at times. After a while, I felt like I had a bag of stones around my neck. Which is a shame because the writing is indeed great. It just feels like he's put far too much into this (did I mention that Takashi seduces Mitsu's wife Natsumi, that there's a murder, an obese gargoyle, an attempted rape, incest, more suicide, a cucumber🥒).
As much as I enjoyed the book, I could have done without being so utterly overwhelmed by so much heavy and stolid language (often when addressing the most mundane aspects of the story). Had the book been half as long (with significantly shorter chapters) I might have embraced it as a masterpiece. But it drags on a little and I never felt any sense of redemption or hope. And when I start to dread reading the next chapter because it just won't let me breathe, I have to take that into account when reviewing the piece (even when, as was the case here, I predominantly enjoyed it and acknowledged the writer's craft).
It was wonderful. But somehow it was also too much. Very Japanese.
March 13, 2016
مجدداً يثبت اليابانيون قدرتهم العجيبة في خوض سبر النفس البشرية وأغوارها الدفينة عند كتابة الرواية بطريقة تجعل من الأدب الياباني الأكثر عمقاً والأقل تقديراً على الإطلاق، كما لاحظت ذلك في مؤلفي فترة الانحطاط اليابانية – أوساموا دازاي وناتسومي سوسكي -، لم يختلف كاتب الحقبة الجديدة كينزابورو اوي، يتضح لي أن الياباني لا يكتب إلا علة الروح.
لا أنكر شعوري بالملل عند بعض المواضع، السبب في ذلك هو عنصر الكوميديا السوداء الذي كان باهتاً للغاية بسبب الترجمة - والتي كانت جيدة – فبدت الحوارات بشكل ما غير منطقية ومزعجة، إلا أن الرواية قائمة على اللامنطقية فلا لوم هنا، من بداية الانتحار المازوشي غريب تعلم أنك في رواية غريبة الأطوار خارجة عن التصانيف الاعتيادية.
رحلة أسرة ينقلنا فيها أوي إلى مخاوفه الشخصية – كعادة المؤلفين اليابانيين لا تخلو كتاباتهم من صراعاتهم الذاتية- يتضح ذلك من قراءة السيرة الذاتية للمؤلف، إلا أنه أيضاً نقل مخاوف مجتمع بأسره، مجتمع أنغلق على ذاته فترة طويلة تلتها صراعات وحروب نالت بالأرواح قبيل الأجساد وعندما توقفت الحروب عجزت تلك الأشلاء الهالكة عن الشعور بالسلام.
يصعب تفسير فلسفة الرواية فهي أشد عمقاً مما تكفيه الكلمات ولا عجب أن هذه الرواية كانت السبب الرئيسي في نيل كينازبورو أوي لنوبل الأدبية، من أكثر الروايات عمقاً.
الغريب في الرواية هو التشابه في الفحوى مع رواية " نادي القتال " الشهيرة لتشاك بولانيك مما يجعلني أشك في أصلية العمل الأخير لاختلاف الفترة الزمنية، رغم أن التشابه قد لا يبدو جلياً حد التطابق، فلسفة "العنف البشري والنزوع للعنف" هي أكثر النقاط التي تجعل الروايتين متشابهتين، اختلفت المعالجة فقط.
تجربة سوداوية رائعة للغاية.
لا أنكر شعوري بالملل عند بعض المواضع، السبب في ذلك هو عنصر الكوميديا السوداء الذي كان باهتاً للغاية بسبب الترجمة - والتي كانت جيدة – فبدت الحوارات بشكل ما غير منطقية ومزعجة، إلا أن الرواية قائمة على اللامنطقية فلا لوم هنا، من بداية الانتحار المازوشي غريب تعلم أنك في رواية غريبة الأطوار خارجة عن التصانيف الاعتيادية.
رحلة أسرة ينقلنا فيها أوي إلى مخاوفه الشخصية – كعادة المؤلفين اليابانيين لا تخلو كتاباتهم من صراعاتهم الذاتية- يتضح ذلك من قراءة السيرة الذاتية للمؤلف، إلا أنه أيضاً نقل مخاوف مجتمع بأسره، مجتمع أنغلق على ذاته فترة طويلة تلتها صراعات وحروب نالت بالأرواح قبيل الأجساد وعندما توقفت الحروب عجزت تلك الأشلاء الهالكة عن الشعور بالسلام.
يصعب تفسير فلسفة الرواية فهي أشد عمقاً مما تكفيه الكلمات ولا عجب أن هذه الرواية كانت السبب الرئيسي في نيل كينازبورو أوي لنوبل الأدبية، من أكثر الروايات عمقاً.
الغريب في الرواية هو التشابه في الفحوى مع رواية " نادي القتال " الشهيرة لتشاك بولانيك مما يجعلني أشك في أصلية العمل الأخير لاختلاف الفترة الزمنية، رغم أن التشابه قد لا يبدو جلياً حد التطابق، فلسفة "العنف البشري والنزوع للعنف" هي أكثر النقاط التي تجعل الروايتين متشابهتين، اختلفت المعالجة فقط.
تجربة سوداوية رائعة للغاية.
September 8, 2022
96th book of 2022.
3.5. Feels like a mishmash of Mishima, Faulkner and Dostoyevsky. Sweet, bleak nihilism. At times like a dystopian novel. At its core, it's about our ancestors, history and how we can lie to ourselves and others. It's filled with suicide, incest, rape, adultery and murder. The writing in my edition was Bible-sized which made the density of it far worse. There are a number of oddball characters, hermits, "Japan's Fattest Woman", the memory of the narrator's friend who hanged himself with his head painted red and a cucumber up his arse. The brother, Takashi, feels like Mishima's Isao, with his radicalised views and expectations. The memories of an 1860 uprising taint the present day for all the characters involved. Though not always enjoyable, Ōe has incredible command and authority on the page. This is considered his masterpiece.
3.5. Feels like a mishmash of Mishima, Faulkner and Dostoyevsky. Sweet, bleak nihilism. At times like a dystopian novel. At its core, it's about our ancestors, history and how we can lie to ourselves and others. It's filled with suicide, incest, rape, adultery and murder. The writing in my edition was Bible-sized which made the density of it far worse. There are a number of oddball characters, hermits, "Japan's Fattest Woman", the memory of the narrator's friend who hanged himself with his head painted red and a cucumber up his arse. The brother, Takashi, feels like Mishima's Isao, with his radicalised views and expectations. The memories of an 1860 uprising taint the present day for all the characters involved. Though not always enjoyable, Ōe has incredible command and authority on the page. This is considered his masterpiece.
February 29, 2020
The Silent Cry [1967/88] – ★★★★★
Full of uneasiness and foreboding, The Silent Cy is a subtly powerful work that masterfully evokes the unsaid, the forbidden and the terrifying, getting us close to the real Truth and to the final Hope.
In The Silent Cry, we are presented with the early 1960s and Mitsu, a disillusioned husband to an alcoholic wife and a father to a child who is now in an institution. Mitsu sees his life changing when his estranged brother Takashi arrives from America and together they travel to their native village in Shikoku, one of the main islands in Japan. There, they find that there is a shift in local power and one rich Korean magnate is proposing to buy what remains of Mitsu and Takashi’s land inheritance – their storehouse. Reluctantly, Mitsu finds himself drawn into a complicated political situation of the village, while also realising that Takashi starts to wield the unprecedented power over the village inhabitants. The Silent Cry is a slow-paced descent into one kind of a nightmare where the violent history of the village is about to be re-enacted and other grim discoveries made as the relationship between the two brothers takes an unexpected turn.
There is a curious narration coming from a pitiful, nearly blind husband Mitsu, whose wife Natsumi is suffering from alcoholism. Mitsu is a person stuck in his existential crisis and afraid to face reality. “Awakening in a predawn darkness, I grope among the anguished remnants of dreams that linger in my consciousness, in search of some ardent sense of expectation”, starts the book...“I’ve been sleeping with arms and legs askew, in the posture of a man reluctant to be reminded either of his nature or of the situation in which he finds himself” [Ōe/Bester, 1967/88: 1]. Recently, Mitsu and Natsumi put their only disabled child in an institution and are still in shock because of the recent death of Mitsu’s close friend who died after he painted his head red and hanged himself. When Mitsu’s brother Takashi arrives from America, the mood of Mitsu and Natsumi is momentarily lifted, and we witness a strange internal competition and tension between the brothers. The trio, together with Takashi’s “teenage bodyguards”, then travel to the home village of the brothers, populated by some eccentric characters. There, there is “a delicate balance of power between people and authorities” [Ōe/Bester, 1967/88: 263], and one rich businessman from Korea plans to buy the land of Takashi and Mitsu’s ancestors. Inspired by the history of the village, Takashi tries to rebel, gathering his followers around him. In turn, his brother Mitsu feigns indifference until he can no longer ignore the affairs of the village or his brother’s wild actions which are increasingly directed specifically at him.
Perhaps one way to understand The Silent Cry would be to draw connections between – (i) one person (Mitsu) – (ii) a family unit (Mitsu’s family) – (iii) a village (the one in Shikoku) and – (iv) a nation (Japan). The history, experience, feelings and thoughts of each of those entities/units are reflected in all the rest. The brothers in the story appear opposites of each other: one – a passive, unpopular introvert, another – a dominant, popular extrovert; one – beautiful and another – ugly; one – repressed and wants to forget his family/village past, and another wants to face and “re-enact it”, while marching forward; one wants to deny his state of being human, and another wants to embrace his “creatureness”. So, these brothers and their polar opposite characteristics also represent two sides of Japan after the war. One side of Japan or a village in Shikoku is forward-looking and craves change, while another part wants to stick to tradition and inaction.
The story becomes one where different people are trying to employ different means to come to terms and accept one’s past or seek justification for their previous actions (Japan tries to come to terms with its participation in the WWII; the village tries to acknowledge its past silent acceptance of brutal feudal regimes and violent revolts, and one family (that of Mitsu) tries to understand the deaths of its family members). People in the village are portrayed as so used to pain, that they are no longer realising or recognising this experience -“they fuss for ages over trivialities, with the irresponsible notion that when things finally get quite out of hand the situation will somehow change and solve their difficulties for them” [Ōe/Bester, 1967/88: 69]. In turn, Mitsu is trying to deal with his guilt and shame associated with his disabled son (and also with his brother). Alcohol, sex, sport, active re-enactments of past events, solitude and withdrawal – many means are employed to understand and come to terms with what was going on and still ongoing in the lives of the characters.
In the village of Shikoku, history may just about to repeat itself as the Korean businessman’s supermarket becomes the object of awe and the person behind it is soon associated with some “foreign” evil. Since everyone in Mitsu’s immediate family is a societal outcast (Mitsu has a facial deformity, his wife is an alcoholic and his brother has ties with “foreign” America), they become unlikely “heroes” or central figures in the growing collective madness and depravity, as they see feelings of violence, anarchy and death descent onto the village. One village disaster or perversion follows another in a swift succession to unsettle everyone. It is at this point that Ōe brings the depressive, the ugly and the grotesque to the surface in his story and makes everyone acknowledge that it is also the humanity, and the denying of this truth for too long will have dire consequences. In that way, Ōe tries to heal the collective wounds through his narrative or at least to expose the wounds to the fullest so that they would have a chance of healing.
There is much in the novel about death. There is a human tendency to obsess over those who have died and the dead are often accorded the reverence since they are perceived as being the people who already gained the “ultimate knowledge”, but paid the highest and ultimate price for it, too:
“Death cuts abruptly the warp of understanding. There are things which the survivors are never told. And the survivors have a steadily deepening suspicion that it is precisely because of the things incapable of communication that the deceased has chosen death. The factors that remain ill defined may sometimes lead a survivor to the very site of the disaster, but even then the only thing clear to anyone concerned is that he has been brought up against something incomprehensible” [Ōe/Bester, 1967/88: 1].
The forest in the story possesses one dreamy atmosphere that helps to erase the line between the past and the present, sinking us deep into that memory, dream or past history which is often told through second-hand accounts (“the power of the forest is growing” [1967/88: 55]). These second-hand accounts put a distance between us and what was or is happening, giving a strong impression of a now forgotten fable. Whether something is true/reality or false/a myth becomes hard to say. What really happened to the older brother of Takashi and Mitsu or to their sister? And, who started the uprising of 1860? How these events relate to the present? One cannot escape from something that has already become part of one, and all the characters experience this at some point. Japan, the village and the characters are still nursing the wounds of the past, which are bathed in shame. Unlike the western concept of “guilt”, the Japanese concept of “shame” cannot be just “cleansed through penance” or be “forgiven by the Lord”. Shame takes its root deep in the human psyche and often can only be dealt with by taking public, violent actions (self-annihilation). By and by, personal considerations and history in the novel necessarily and seamlessly fuse with a broader communal history and consciousness, and such elements as the forest and the storehouse start to stand for something else, such as consciousness or a safe-haven, making the novel rich with thinly-disguised symbolism.
The way Kenzaburō Ōe writes, it seems that the full meaning is within our reach only to escape us at the very last second, leaving us bewildered but also intrigued. The same happens with the characters in this novel, who are always being just on the brink of realisation and understanding, but, at the very last moment, end up too preoccupied with trivialities, taking a step back. The Silent Cry probably has too “comfortable” of an ending, but Ōe must still be applauded for making the experience and the narrative so transformative.
⛰️ It is impossible not to fall under the haunting spell of Kenzaburo Ōe. The Silent Cry is a dark existential novel filled with unpleasantness and sorrow, but it is also an incredibly fulfilling and deep work with a spark of hope somewhere at its heart. While evoking unsettling and vivid images, the book grapples with the Truth at every corner, trying to find it in the darkness of the forest and through the relationship between the two brothers that, in turn, sheds light on the very meaning of life and the human condition.
Full of uneasiness and foreboding, The Silent Cy is a subtly powerful work that masterfully evokes the unsaid, the forbidden and the terrifying, getting us close to the real Truth and to the final Hope.
In The Silent Cry, we are presented with the early 1960s and Mitsu, a disillusioned husband to an alcoholic wife and a father to a child who is now in an institution. Mitsu sees his life changing when his estranged brother Takashi arrives from America and together they travel to their native village in Shikoku, one of the main islands in Japan. There, they find that there is a shift in local power and one rich Korean magnate is proposing to buy what remains of Mitsu and Takashi’s land inheritance – their storehouse. Reluctantly, Mitsu finds himself drawn into a complicated political situation of the village, while also realising that Takashi starts to wield the unprecedented power over the village inhabitants. The Silent Cry is a slow-paced descent into one kind of a nightmare where the violent history of the village is about to be re-enacted and other grim discoveries made as the relationship between the two brothers takes an unexpected turn.
There is a curious narration coming from a pitiful, nearly blind husband Mitsu, whose wife Natsumi is suffering from alcoholism. Mitsu is a person stuck in his existential crisis and afraid to face reality. “Awakening in a predawn darkness, I grope among the anguished remnants of dreams that linger in my consciousness, in search of some ardent sense of expectation”, starts the book...“I’ve been sleeping with arms and legs askew, in the posture of a man reluctant to be reminded either of his nature or of the situation in which he finds himself” [Ōe/Bester, 1967/88: 1]. Recently, Mitsu and Natsumi put their only disabled child in an institution and are still in shock because of the recent death of Mitsu’s close friend who died after he painted his head red and hanged himself. When Mitsu’s brother Takashi arrives from America, the mood of Mitsu and Natsumi is momentarily lifted, and we witness a strange internal competition and tension between the brothers. The trio, together with Takashi’s “teenage bodyguards”, then travel to the home village of the brothers, populated by some eccentric characters. There, there is “a delicate balance of power between people and authorities” [Ōe/Bester, 1967/88: 263], and one rich businessman from Korea plans to buy the land of Takashi and Mitsu’s ancestors. Inspired by the history of the village, Takashi tries to rebel, gathering his followers around him. In turn, his brother Mitsu feigns indifference until he can no longer ignore the affairs of the village or his brother’s wild actions which are increasingly directed specifically at him.
Perhaps one way to understand The Silent Cry would be to draw connections between – (i) one person (Mitsu) – (ii) a family unit (Mitsu’s family) – (iii) a village (the one in Shikoku) and – (iv) a nation (Japan). The history, experience, feelings and thoughts of each of those entities/units are reflected in all the rest. The brothers in the story appear opposites of each other: one – a passive, unpopular introvert, another – a dominant, popular extrovert; one – beautiful and another – ugly; one – repressed and wants to forget his family/village past, and another wants to face and “re-enact it”, while marching forward; one wants to deny his state of being human, and another wants to embrace his “creatureness”. So, these brothers and their polar opposite characteristics also represent two sides of Japan after the war. One side of Japan or a village in Shikoku is forward-looking and craves change, while another part wants to stick to tradition and inaction.
The story becomes one where different people are trying to employ different means to come to terms and accept one’s past or seek justification for their previous actions (Japan tries to come to terms with its participation in the WWII; the village tries to acknowledge its past silent acceptance of brutal feudal regimes and violent revolts, and one family (that of Mitsu) tries to understand the deaths of its family members). People in the village are portrayed as so used to pain, that they are no longer realising or recognising this experience -“they fuss for ages over trivialities, with the irresponsible notion that when things finally get quite out of hand the situation will somehow change and solve their difficulties for them” [Ōe/Bester, 1967/88: 69]. In turn, Mitsu is trying to deal with his guilt and shame associated with his disabled son (and also with his brother). Alcohol, sex, sport, active re-enactments of past events, solitude and withdrawal – many means are employed to understand and come to terms with what was going on and still ongoing in the lives of the characters.
In the village of Shikoku, history may just about to repeat itself as the Korean businessman’s supermarket becomes the object of awe and the person behind it is soon associated with some “foreign” evil. Since everyone in Mitsu’s immediate family is a societal outcast (Mitsu has a facial deformity, his wife is an alcoholic and his brother has ties with “foreign” America), they become unlikely “heroes” or central figures in the growing collective madness and depravity, as they see feelings of violence, anarchy and death descent onto the village. One village disaster or perversion follows another in a swift succession to unsettle everyone. It is at this point that Ōe brings the depressive, the ugly and the grotesque to the surface in his story and makes everyone acknowledge that it is also the humanity, and the denying of this truth for too long will have dire consequences. In that way, Ōe tries to heal the collective wounds through his narrative or at least to expose the wounds to the fullest so that they would have a chance of healing.
There is much in the novel about death. There is a human tendency to obsess over those who have died and the dead are often accorded the reverence since they are perceived as being the people who already gained the “ultimate knowledge”, but paid the highest and ultimate price for it, too:
“Death cuts abruptly the warp of understanding. There are things which the survivors are never told. And the survivors have a steadily deepening suspicion that it is precisely because of the things incapable of communication that the deceased has chosen death. The factors that remain ill defined may sometimes lead a survivor to the very site of the disaster, but even then the only thing clear to anyone concerned is that he has been brought up against something incomprehensible” [Ōe/Bester, 1967/88: 1].
The forest in the story possesses one dreamy atmosphere that helps to erase the line between the past and the present, sinking us deep into that memory, dream or past history which is often told through second-hand accounts (“the power of the forest is growing” [1967/88: 55]). These second-hand accounts put a distance between us and what was or is happening, giving a strong impression of a now forgotten fable. Whether something is true/reality or false/a myth becomes hard to say. What really happened to the older brother of Takashi and Mitsu or to their sister? And, who started the uprising of 1860? How these events relate to the present? One cannot escape from something that has already become part of one, and all the characters experience this at some point. Japan, the village and the characters are still nursing the wounds of the past, which are bathed in shame. Unlike the western concept of “guilt”, the Japanese concept of “shame” cannot be just “cleansed through penance” or be “forgiven by the Lord”. Shame takes its root deep in the human psyche and often can only be dealt with by taking public, violent actions (self-annihilation). By and by, personal considerations and history in the novel necessarily and seamlessly fuse with a broader communal history and consciousness, and such elements as the forest and the storehouse start to stand for something else, such as consciousness or a safe-haven, making the novel rich with thinly-disguised symbolism.
The way Kenzaburō Ōe writes, it seems that the full meaning is within our reach only to escape us at the very last second, leaving us bewildered but also intrigued. The same happens with the characters in this novel, who are always being just on the brink of realisation and understanding, but, at the very last moment, end up too preoccupied with trivialities, taking a step back. The Silent Cry probably has too “comfortable” of an ending, but Ōe must still be applauded for making the experience and the narrative so transformative.
⛰️ It is impossible not to fall under the haunting spell of Kenzaburo Ōe. The Silent Cry is a dark existential novel filled with unpleasantness and sorrow, but it is also an incredibly fulfilling and deep work with a spark of hope somewhere at its heart. While evoking unsettling and vivid images, the book grapples with the Truth at every corner, trying to find it in the darkness of the forest and through the relationship between the two brothers that, in turn, sheds light on the very meaning of life and the human condition.
May 28, 2021
1994 m. literatūros Nobelio premijos laureato Kenzaburo Oe romanas 'The Silent Cry' arba pažodžiui išvertus 'Football in the First Year of Man'en' pasakoja dviejų brolių, senos samurajų giminės palikuonių, istorija.
Romano veiksmas vyksta 1960-ųjų pradžioje, kai jaunesnysis brolis grįžta iš JAV ir kviečia pasakotoja - vyresnįjį, vienaakį universiteto profesorių, visiškai palūžusį po neįgalaus vaiko gimimo ir draugo savižudybės, žmogų ir jo alkoholikę žmoną vykti kartu į seną giminės dvarą, kuris yra kaime, vienoje iš salų. Dramatiški (ir net tragiški) įvykiai kaime, kurie seka po to ir kurių fone, seniai nesimatę broliai bando (dažnai nesėkmingai) atkurti seniai prarastą santykį, susišaukia su šimto metų senumo įvykiais tame pačiame kaime. 1860 metais ten įvyko kruvinas valstiečių maištas, kurio lyderiu buvo pagrindinių personažų prosenelio jaunesnysis brolis - pusiau mitinė asmenybė.
Romanas tai yra šeimos istorija vyresnio brolio akimis, Japonijos istorijos, politinio ir socialinio gyvenimo kvintesencija. Romane autorius taip pat analizuoja žmogaus tapatybės koncepciją, smurto ištakas ir žmogaus ryšį su gamta.
Man atrodo, kad tai yra viena iš knygų, kurios įsimena ir įstringa atmintyje dėl savo vizualumo (bent jau man). Matau ją kaip ryškių vaizdų seriją. Ir, žinoma, ši knyga padėjo man daugiau sužinoti apie tokią paslaptingą ir nesuprantamą šalį, kaip Japonija ir jos žmones, kurie, atrodo, kartais mąsto visai ne taip kaip mes.
P.S. Kaip supratau, į lietuvių kalbą išversta tik vienas Kenzaburo Oe romanas "Asmeninė patirtis". O gaila.
Romano veiksmas vyksta 1960-ųjų pradžioje, kai jaunesnysis brolis grįžta iš JAV ir kviečia pasakotoja - vyresnįjį, vienaakį universiteto profesorių, visiškai palūžusį po neįgalaus vaiko gimimo ir draugo savižudybės, žmogų ir jo alkoholikę žmoną vykti kartu į seną giminės dvarą, kuris yra kaime, vienoje iš salų. Dramatiški (ir net tragiški) įvykiai kaime, kurie seka po to ir kurių fone, seniai nesimatę broliai bando (dažnai nesėkmingai) atkurti seniai prarastą santykį, susišaukia su šimto metų senumo įvykiais tame pačiame kaime. 1860 metais ten įvyko kruvinas valstiečių maištas, kurio lyderiu buvo pagrindinių personažų prosenelio jaunesnysis brolis - pusiau mitinė asmenybė.
Romanas tai yra šeimos istorija vyresnio brolio akimis, Japonijos istorijos, politinio ir socialinio gyvenimo kvintesencija. Romane autorius taip pat analizuoja žmogaus tapatybės koncepciją, smurto ištakas ir žmogaus ryšį su gamta.
Man atrodo, kad tai yra viena iš knygų, kurios įsimena ir įstringa atmintyje dėl savo vizualumo (bent jau man). Matau ją kaip ryškių vaizdų seriją. Ir, žinoma, ši knyga padėjo man daugiau sužinoti apie tokią paslaptingą ir nesuprantamą šalį, kaip Japonija ir jos žmones, kurie, atrodo, kartais mąsto visai ne taip kaip mes.
P.S. Kaip supratau, į lietuvių kalbą išversta tik vienas Kenzaburo Oe romanas "Asmeninė patirtis". O gaila.
January 29, 2016
رواية تغوص في أعماق النفس الإنسانية
صادمة في سوادويتها وتفاصيلها التي تنطلق من واقعة انتحار غريبة قبل أن يتضح أن محورها هو حياة شقيقين يعودان إلى قريتهما غربي اليابان
وهناك تنفتح جروح الماضي والحاضر معا
الرواية تحتاج صبراً ودأباً من القارئ، لكنها ممتعة وتفاجئك بتحولات شخصياتها وترسم لك ملامح يابان أخرى لا تعرفها.
صادمة في سوادويتها وتفاصيلها التي تنطلق من واقعة انتحار غريبة قبل أن يتضح أن محورها هو حياة شقيقين يعودان إلى قريتهما غربي اليابان
وهناك تنفتح جروح الماضي والحاضر معا
الرواية تحتاج صبراً ودأباً من القارئ، لكنها ممتعة وتفاجئك بتحولات شخصياتها وترسم لك ملامح يابان أخرى لا تعرفها.
July 1, 2026
The Silent Cry by Kenzaburō Ōe is a challenging, layered novel that rewards patience. Blending family drama, history, myth, and psychological exploration, the story follows two brothers returning to their rural hometown, where long-buried tensions and unresolved grief begin to surface. The novel raises thought-provoking questions about identity, memory, guilt, and the ways individuals and communities grapple with the past.
The audiobook narration did an excellent job capturing the novel's shifting emotional tones and helped me stay engaged with a work that is intentionally dense and introspective. While some sections felt deliberately slow and occasionally difficult to follow, the immersive narration made the complex relationships and emotional weight more accessible.
This isn't an easy read (or listen) and I can understand why it may not resonate with every reader. However, those who appreciate literary fiction that embraces ambiguity and asks big philosophical questions will find much to reflect on. Although I occasionally struggled with the pacing and some of the symbolism, I found the novel's emotional depth and lasting impact well worth the effort.
Thank you to the Kenzaburō Ōe estate, John Bester, Bolinda Audio and NetGalley for the audio ARC in exchange for an honest review.
The audiobook narration did an excellent job capturing the novel's shifting emotional tones and helped me stay engaged with a work that is intentionally dense and introspective. While some sections felt deliberately slow and occasionally difficult to follow, the immersive narration made the complex relationships and emotional weight more accessible.
This isn't an easy read (or listen) and I can understand why it may not resonate with every reader. However, those who appreciate literary fiction that embraces ambiguity and asks big philosophical questions will find much to reflect on. Although I occasionally struggled with the pacing and some of the symbolism, I found the novel's emotional depth and lasting impact well worth the effort.
Thank you to the Kenzaburō Ōe estate, John Bester, Bolinda Audio and NetGalley for the audio ARC in exchange for an honest review.
October 29, 2017
A novel infused with darkness and despair, Oe’s prose eschews the ethereal style which is so inherent in Japanese literary aesthetics in favour building a of a nightmarish and phantasmagorical atmosphere, dominated by darkness and shadows, of delirious russets and refulgent with death and despair. The style is disconcerting and unsettling, a collection of mirages beneath the half-light within which he disaffected and unreliable narrator presents the novel-some, such as this description of a snow-bound garden are surrealy beautiful;
“The lamp hanging from the eaves, aided by the reflection of the snow lying on the ground, roof and various small shrubs beneath the eaves, suffused the white garden with a luminescence that recreated the vague light of dusk”.
Yet even the apparent peace of this garden is hampered by the sight of the narrator’s half-mad brother, Takashi, running around naked beneath the gentle fall of snow-flakes, acting as a sharp blade cutting through the idyllic view. The characters are, largely, grotesque, from the narrator, Mitsusaburo, who suffers from various degrees of mental unrest, to his cynical, alcoholic wife Natsumi, with whom the narrator is unable to entertain any sexual relations following the birth of their mentally handicapped son. Various characters hover on the periphery, such as “The Emperor”, a Korean immigrant who has managed to become a successful businessman and holds the area tightly in his vice-like grip, or the many followers of the narrator’s brother Takashi. Yet the central relationsip in the novel is between Takashi and Mitusaburo, who act as the ying to one another’s yang; Mitsusaburo is cold and aloof, bogged down in intellectual musings, whilst there is something vital about Takashi, whose character is infused with a kind of mad-cap energy and a desire to re-create a conflict which took place between their great-grandfather and his brother, who led a peasant rebellion. Takashi’s desire to ferment rebellion is a mix of this sense of fatalism and his ebullience and desire to overthrow social norms and conventions, which Takashi, despite his cynicism and sense of alienation, strives to hold onto.
The novel can-at times-grate on the reader-in particular the constant monologues and dialogues discussing increasingly bizarre aspects of human nature, and Ōe is perhaps less accessible than the other great Japanese novelists, yet his works remain and important part of the Japanese cannon, as an exploration of the darker elements of Japanese society.
“The lamp hanging from the eaves, aided by the reflection of the snow lying on the ground, roof and various small shrubs beneath the eaves, suffused the white garden with a luminescence that recreated the vague light of dusk”.
Yet even the apparent peace of this garden is hampered by the sight of the narrator’s half-mad brother, Takashi, running around naked beneath the gentle fall of snow-flakes, acting as a sharp blade cutting through the idyllic view. The characters are, largely, grotesque, from the narrator, Mitsusaburo, who suffers from various degrees of mental unrest, to his cynical, alcoholic wife Natsumi, with whom the narrator is unable to entertain any sexual relations following the birth of their mentally handicapped son. Various characters hover on the periphery, such as “The Emperor”, a Korean immigrant who has managed to become a successful businessman and holds the area tightly in his vice-like grip, or the many followers of the narrator’s brother Takashi. Yet the central relationsip in the novel is between Takashi and Mitusaburo, who act as the ying to one another’s yang; Mitsusaburo is cold and aloof, bogged down in intellectual musings, whilst there is something vital about Takashi, whose character is infused with a kind of mad-cap energy and a desire to re-create a conflict which took place between their great-grandfather and his brother, who led a peasant rebellion. Takashi’s desire to ferment rebellion is a mix of this sense of fatalism and his ebullience and desire to overthrow social norms and conventions, which Takashi, despite his cynicism and sense of alienation, strives to hold onto.
The novel can-at times-grate on the reader-in particular the constant monologues and dialogues discussing increasingly bizarre aspects of human nature, and Ōe is perhaps less accessible than the other great Japanese novelists, yet his works remain and important part of the Japanese cannon, as an exploration of the darker elements of Japanese society.
Read
October 31, 2017Nov. 22: Y ahora, a buscar una verdad.
Nov. 21 (más tarde): JUEPUTAAAA!!!
Nov. 21: ¡AY, MARICA, SE CALENTÓ ESTE PARCHE!
Cuando un libro tiene el poder de hacer que uno grite llegada una sección queda poco que hacer aparte de gritar llegada esa sección. En esta novela siempre están pasando cosas.
Conforme progreso me doy cuenta de que este puede ser uno de los mejores libros que lea este año. Oē no sólo desnuda los artificios de la ficción a los que está acostumbrado el lector y se rehúsa a aplicarlos, además les niega esas salidas a sus personajes obligándolos a revisar sus comportamientos frente a nuestros ojos. La introspección que ocurre en este libro tiene tantos niveles de necesaria incomodidad que lo que más engancha en la obra es su honestidad.
Hasta ahora, y siendo la primera vez que leo a Oé en inglés, The Silent Cry tiene que ser uno de sus mejores libros. A la par de la 'novella' "El día que Él se digne enjugar nuestras lágrimas".
Nov. 21 (más tarde): JUEPUTAAAA!!!
Nov. 21: ¡AY, MARICA, SE CALENTÓ ESTE PARCHE!
Cuando un libro tiene el poder de hacer que uno grite llegada una sección queda poco que hacer aparte de gritar llegada esa sección. En esta novela siempre están pasando cosas.
Conforme progreso me doy cuenta de que este puede ser uno de los mejores libros que lea este año. Oē no sólo desnuda los artificios de la ficción a los que está acostumbrado el lector y se rehúsa a aplicarlos, además les niega esas salidas a sus personajes obligándolos a revisar sus comportamientos frente a nuestros ojos. La introspección que ocurre en este libro tiene tantos niveles de necesaria incomodidad que lo que más engancha en la obra es su honestidad.
Hasta ahora, y siendo la primera vez que leo a Oé en inglés, The Silent Cry tiene que ser uno de sus mejores libros. A la par de la 'novella' "El día que Él se digne enjugar nuestras lágrimas".
December 24, 2025
'The Silent Cry' - The review in English is below.
Một cuốn sách ngập tràn đau thương, vậy mà sao mình lại thấy đẹp đến thế? Chẳng lẽ những hành động điên cuồng — như việc người bạn thân tự tử, người vợ ngang nhiên ngủ với em chồng trước mặt người khác, người chồng thích xuống hầm hố ngồi để ngặm nhấm nỗi đau của mình, hay cách người em trai tự trừng phạt bản thân — tất cả đều là những tiếng thét?
Đau đến mức không thể thét thành lời, nên chỉ còn lại những tiếng thét câm lặng. Và chỉ những người đã từng cất lên những tiếng thét câm lặng ấy mới có thể nghe và thấu hiểu tiếng thét câm lặng của người khác. Có lẽ vì thế mà giữa những bốn nhân vật ấy đã hình thành một sự đồng cảm, thấu hiểu nhau sâu sắc.
Lần sau, khi chứng kiến những hành động tưởng chừng rất điên rồ của người xung quanh, hay của chính mình, mình sẽ tự hỏi: liệu đó có phải là một tiếng thét câm lặng hay không?
Book Review for ’The Silent Cry’
A book drenched in sorrow and deep guilt and pain—yet why does it feel so beautiful to me? Could it be that the seemingly deranged actions—the best friend’s spectacular suicide, the wife’s blatant affair with her brother-in-law in full view of others, the husband retreating into a pit to sit and gnaw on his own pain, and the younger brother’s acts of despairing self-punishment—are all cries?
The pain is so overwhelming that it cannot be screamed aloud, leaving only silent cries. And perhaps only those who have once released such silent cries can truly hear and understand the silent cries of others. That may be why a deep sense of empathy forms among these four characters.
The next time I witness what appears to be blatant and irrational behavior in those around me, (and of myself), I will ask: could this be one of those silent cries?
Một cuốn sách ngập tràn đau thương, vậy mà sao mình lại thấy đẹp đến thế? Chẳng lẽ những hành động điên cuồng — như việc người bạn thân tự tử, người vợ ngang nhiên ngủ với em chồng trước mặt người khác, người chồng thích xuống hầm hố ngồi để ngặm nhấm nỗi đau của mình, hay cách người em trai tự trừng phạt bản thân — tất cả đều là những tiếng thét?
Đau đến mức không thể thét thành lời, nên chỉ còn lại những tiếng thét câm lặng. Và chỉ những người đã từng cất lên những tiếng thét câm lặng ấy mới có thể nghe và thấu hiểu tiếng thét câm lặng của người khác. Có lẽ vì thế mà giữa những bốn nhân vật ấy đã hình thành một sự đồng cảm, thấu hiểu nhau sâu sắc.
Lần sau, khi chứng kiến những hành động tưởng chừng rất điên rồ của người xung quanh, hay của chính mình, mình sẽ tự hỏi: liệu đó có phải là một tiếng thét câm lặng hay không?
Book Review for ’The Silent Cry’
A book drenched in sorrow and deep guilt and pain—yet why does it feel so beautiful to me? Could it be that the seemingly deranged actions—the best friend’s spectacular suicide, the wife’s blatant affair with her brother-in-law in full view of others, the husband retreating into a pit to sit and gnaw on his own pain, and the younger brother’s acts of despairing self-punishment—are all cries?
The pain is so overwhelming that it cannot be screamed aloud, leaving only silent cries. And perhaps only those who have once released such silent cries can truly hear and understand the silent cries of others. That may be why a deep sense of empathy forms among these four characters.
The next time I witness what appears to be blatant and irrational behavior in those around me, (and of myself), I will ask: could this be one of those silent cries?
April 8, 2023
خواندن این رمان بعد از خواندن دو اثر از اوئه برایم تبدیل به حسرت شده بود.
نه در کتابخانه و نه در کتابفروشی های آنلاین پیدا میشد، نه خود ناشر خبری از تجدید چاپش میداد.
ادبیات ژاپن(همانند سینمای کلاسیکش) برای من همیشه حیرتانگیز بوده است. از کاواباتا تا آکوتاگاوا, از میشیما تا دازای، از کوبوآبه تا اوئه، از رانپو تا تانیزاکی و الخ...
نویسندههایی که بیم انتحار از سراسر آثارشان به بیرون میتراود اما با تضادی غریب دربرابر زندگی و زیبایی تعظیم نیز میکنند.
ارادت من به «کنزابورو اوئه» با کتاب روزی که او خود اشکهای مرا پاک خواهد کرد، آغاز شد و با کتاب گلها را بچین کودکان را بکش به اوج رسید.
تکهای از گریهی آرام را جایی خواندم و بعد از آن حیراناش شدم.
بالاخره بعد از چند سال، دو هفته پیش دیدم سایتی علاوه بر گریهی آرام، یک زندگی آرام و یک مسئلهی شخصی را هم برای فروش گذاشته! درست میدیدم نشر رادمهر دو اثر جدید از اوئه ترجمه و منتشر کرده است.
«سعی کردم تا این تجسم هولناک را از خودم دور کنم و به نهایتِ آرامش ممکن حیوانی و سپس به آرامش کامل گیاهی برسم.»
زندگی نباتی، در جای جای آثار اوئه حضور دارد و این اثرِ ویرانگرِ کودک معلولش است که محور بیشتر رمانهای او را شکل میدهد.
یادت بخیر باشد کنزو بورو اوئه
دوستان نمدونم چرا من نمیتونم کامنت بذارم یا پاسخ کامنت یدم.
دربارهی ترجمه باید بگم که تمام آثاری که از کنزوبورو اوئه ترجمه شدند یا با ترجمهی جلال بایرام هستند یا با ترجمهی سید حبیب گوهری راد یا شخصی به نام مهسا علی کاهی.
سید حبیبگوهری راد که گمان میکنم مدیر انتشارات رادمهر و جمهوری هم باشد مترجم تازه کاری نیست. کتابها را اکثرن از زبان انگلیسی برمیگرداند اما اینکه بگویم مترجمی سطح یک باشد نه نیست و اگر ترجمهی معتبر دیگری چاپ شده بود حتمن سراغش میرفتم. اما چهار_پنج اثر مهم اوئه و دو سه اثر کاواباتا توسط نشر رادمهر چاپ شده که طرح جلدی مبتدی دارند اما برای مطالعه بد نیستند. چیز جالب این نشرها سانسور کمیست که در آثارشان صورت گرفته گویی اصلا مورد توجه نیستند. ترجمهها روان هستند اما خب نیاز به ویراستاری قهار و سختگیر دارند در بعضی موارد.
برای من که دربهدر به دنبال تمام آثار کنزوبورو اوئه میگشتم این کتب مانند گنجی به غایت ارزشمند بودند.
کتاب کودکان را بکش گلها را بچین و یک زندگی آرام و یک مسئله شخصی و گریهی آرام را از نشر رادمهر تهیه کردم و خواندم. اما کتاب روزی که او اشکهای مرا پاک خواهد کرد را چند سال قبل از نشر نیلوفر تهیه کرده بودم که باب آشنایی من با اوئه بود.
نه در کتابخانه و نه در کتابفروشی های آنلاین پیدا میشد، نه خود ناشر خبری از تجدید چاپش میداد.
ادبیات ژاپن(همانند سینمای کلاسیکش) برای من همیشه حیرتانگیز بوده است. از کاواباتا تا آکوتاگاوا, از میشیما تا دازای، از کوبوآبه تا اوئه، از رانپو تا تانیزاکی و الخ...
نویسندههایی که بیم انتحار از سراسر آثارشان به بیرون میتراود اما با تضادی غریب دربرابر زندگی و زیبایی تعظیم نیز میکنند.
ارادت من به «کنزابورو اوئه» با کتاب روزی که او خود اشکهای مرا پاک خواهد کرد، آغاز شد و با کتاب گلها را بچین کودکان را بکش به اوج رسید.
تکهای از گریهی آرام را جایی خواندم و بعد از آن حیراناش شدم.
بالاخره بعد از چند سال، دو هفته پیش دیدم سایتی علاوه بر گریهی آرام، یک زندگی آرام و یک مسئلهی شخصی را هم برای فروش گذاشته! درست میدیدم نشر رادمهر دو اثر جدید از اوئه ترجمه و منتشر کرده است.
«سعی کردم تا این تجسم هولناک را از خودم دور کنم و به نهایتِ آرامش ممکن حیوانی و سپس به آرامش کامل گیاهی برسم.»
زندگی نباتی، در جای جای آثار اوئه حضور دارد و این اثرِ ویرانگرِ کودک معلولش است که محور بیشتر رمانهای او را شکل میدهد.
یادت بخیر باشد کنزو بورو اوئه
دوستان نمدونم چرا من نمیتونم کامنت بذارم یا پاسخ کامنت یدم.
دربارهی ترجمه باید بگم که تمام آثاری که از کنزوبورو اوئه ترجمه شدند یا با ترجمهی جلال بایرام هستند یا با ترجمهی سید حبیب گوهری راد یا شخصی به نام مهسا علی کاهی.
سید حبیبگوهری راد که گمان میکنم مدیر انتشارات رادمهر و جمهوری هم باشد مترجم تازه کاری نیست. کتابها را اکثرن از زبان انگلیسی برمیگرداند اما اینکه بگویم مترجمی سطح یک باشد نه نیست و اگر ترجمهی معتبر دیگری چاپ شده بود حتمن سراغش میرفتم. اما چهار_پنج اثر مهم اوئه و دو سه اثر کاواباتا توسط نشر رادمهر چاپ شده که طرح جلدی مبتدی دارند اما برای مطالعه بد نیستند. چیز جالب این نشرها سانسور کمیست که در آثارشان صورت گرفته گویی اصلا مورد توجه نیستند. ترجمهها روان هستند اما خب نیاز به ویراستاری قهار و سختگیر دارند در بعضی موارد.
برای من که دربهدر به دنبال تمام آثار کنزوبورو اوئه میگشتم این کتب مانند گنجی به غایت ارزشمند بودند.
کتاب کودکان را بکش گلها را بچین و یک زندگی آرام و یک مسئله شخصی و گریهی آرام را از نشر رادمهر تهیه کردم و خواندم. اما کتاب روزی که او اشکهای مرا پاک خواهد کرد را چند سال قبل از نشر نیلوفر تهیه کرده بودم که باب آشنایی من با اوئه بود.
September 16, 2022
A novel in the most inexplicable sense. Totally sui generis.
Oe feels like a master of tone, because this novel is somehow a dream, a horror novel, a political treatise, a fascist allegory, a pacifistic representation of violence, a post-nuclear bomb banshee shriek, and a glacial narrative that constantly upends the foundations you stand on. There are so many themes that are given enough space without distorting the novel into an essay.
Our lives are but echoes of our forefathers', and our struggle to become our own people becomes a struggle to escape history, which happens to seem to be an implausible impossibility. The Silent Cry feels like the most brutal and direct (and yet indirect?) handling of the postwar Japanese consciousness I've ever read. This novel is relentlessly honest about Japan's imperialist history and the Japanese military's horrifying WWII tactics. His leftist, anti-nuclear perspective leads him down a narrative path that attempts to untangle the consciousness of those that are passive to humanitarian atrocities alongside those that actively believe in an artificial heroism that fosters more and more suffering for all. The domestic becomes the political and the political infects the domestic. Everyone is embroiled in a metaphysical battle between the self and the fractured reality of contemporary life, because how can someone live knowing that we are all residing on bone-ridden earth. How can a person or a culture hold themself/itself accountable? How can you hold yourself accountable when the idea of "truth" is crumbling at the seems? In doing so, Oe adopts an uncanny tone that is, at once, both Lynchian and French existentialist, utterly surreal yet oh so heartbreakingly, viscerally otherwise.
Totally incredible work that it feels like no one else has ever been able to conceive and execute except Kenzaburo Oe, and no one will craft a book like this one ever again. Essential reading.
Oe feels like a master of tone, because this novel is somehow a dream, a horror novel, a political treatise, a fascist allegory, a pacifistic representation of violence, a post-nuclear bomb banshee shriek, and a glacial narrative that constantly upends the foundations you stand on. There are so many themes that are given enough space without distorting the novel into an essay.
Our lives are but echoes of our forefathers', and our struggle to become our own people becomes a struggle to escape history, which happens to seem to be an implausible impossibility. The Silent Cry feels like the most brutal and direct (and yet indirect?) handling of the postwar Japanese consciousness I've ever read. This novel is relentlessly honest about Japan's imperialist history and the Japanese military's horrifying WWII tactics. His leftist, anti-nuclear perspective leads him down a narrative path that attempts to untangle the consciousness of those that are passive to humanitarian atrocities alongside those that actively believe in an artificial heroism that fosters more and more suffering for all. The domestic becomes the political and the political infects the domestic. Everyone is embroiled in a metaphysical battle between the self and the fractured reality of contemporary life, because how can someone live knowing that we are all residing on bone-ridden earth. How can a person or a culture hold themself/itself accountable? How can you hold yourself accountable when the idea of "truth" is crumbling at the seems? In doing so, Oe adopts an uncanny tone that is, at once, both Lynchian and French existentialist, utterly surreal yet oh so heartbreakingly, viscerally otherwise.
Totally incredible work that it feels like no one else has ever been able to conceive and execute except Kenzaburo Oe, and no one will craft a book like this one ever again. Essential reading.
March 28, 2021
Wow. I definitely need a very light book to read after this. It is very heavy, dense and dark. A look into dysfunctionality of human personalities, relationships and society.
Set in a Japanese village some time after WW2 with a lot of look-backs to the events in 1860 relating their family that affect the current events and and brother's lives it involves a lot of history and attitudes that are foreign to me but were very interesting to read. There is so much in this book that make it pretty heavy and outstanding. Suicide, alcoholism, revolutions, mentally disabled kids, guilt, shame etc. Not much of it is a good thing which makes this book so exhausting and depressing. As I said one really needs something to relax after. But the complexity of the main character's world and the slow but very detailed build up to the very late climax make this book really powerful and special.
Set in a Japanese village some time after WW2 with a lot of look-backs to the events in 1860 relating their family that affect the current events and and brother's lives it involves a lot of history and attitudes that are foreign to me but were very interesting to read. There is so much in this book that make it pretty heavy and outstanding. Suicide, alcoholism, revolutions, mentally disabled kids, guilt, shame etc. Not much of it is a good thing which makes this book so exhausting and depressing. As I said one really needs something to relax after. But the complexity of the main character's world and the slow but very detailed build up to the very late climax make this book really powerful and special.
April 10, 2012
هى قصة أخوين يعودان إلى وطنهم الأصلي، وهي قرية في غرب اليابان , يحاول احد الاخوين ميتسو تخطى احزانه بعد انتحار اعز أصدقاءه وولادة ابن متخلف عقليا بينما ،تاكاشي الاخ الاصغر يسعى لتحقيق بطولة وهمية ، من خلال تحريضه الشباب. للقيام بعمليات من النهب و السلب لتاجر كوري يسمى بالإمبراطور فى محاوله منه لإحياء روح الانتفاضة الإقطاعية لعام 1860
هذا بعدما استامنه هذا التاجر على بضاعته و تعهد هو بشرف اسرته ان يحافظ عليها
هذا بعدما استامنه هذا التاجر على بضاعته و تعهد هو بشرف اسرته ان يحافظ عليها
July 4, 2023
If I had a cent for every time the narrator mentions that his friend painted his head crimson, put a cucumber up his anus and hanged himself, I would never need to work again.
May 9, 2026
Για λόγους ενδεχομένως κατανοητούς σε άλλους, το μυθιστόρημα αυτό θεωρείται ένα σύγχρονο, ιαπωνικό και υπαρξιστικό αριστούργημα. Είναι πυκνό, απαιτητικό και συχνά σκοτεινό έργο που εξερευνά βαθιά υπαρξιακά, κοινωνικά και ιστορικά ερωτήματα. Και ξεκινάει με κάποιον που έχει αυτοκτονήσει με ένα αγγούρι στον κώλο του.
Τώρα, οι συμβολισμοί που ανοίγονταιεκτός από τα κωλομάγουλα του θανόντος είναι αρκετοί και ενδιαφέροντες. Θα σταθώ βασικά όμως στο ότι στην Ιαπωνία, κατά την περίοδο του Obon (επέτειος των νεκρών), φτιάχνονται μικρά προσφορικά ζώα από αγγούρια (και μελιτζάνες), γνωστά ως shōryō uma (βόδια ή άλογα των ψυχών). Συγκεκριμένα, το αγγούρι συμβολίζει ένα γρήγορο άλογο (kyūri uma), για να ταξιδέψουν οι ψυχές των προγόνων γρήγορα στον κόσμο των ζωντανών (η μελιτζάνα, αντίθετα, συμβολίζει ένα αργό βόδι).
Αλλά ας μην πάμε εκεί…
Η κύρια πλοκή περιστρέφεται γύρω από δύο αδελφούς που επιστρέφουν στο απομονωμένο χωριό της καταγωγής τους στο νησί Σικόκου, ένας εκ των οποίων είναι ο Mitsu (Mitsusaburo) που είναι και ο διανοούμενος αφηγητής μας, που έχει "παραλύσει" ψυχολογικά. Τον στοιχειώνει η παράξενη αυτοκτονία του κολλητού του φίλου (χώρια το αγγούρι στον κώλο) και η γέννηση του παιδιού του με νοητική αναπηρία. Αν αυτό είναι μια αλληγορική νύξη για τη σύγχρονη Ιαπωνία, υπάρχουν άλλοι που θα το κρίνουν, εγώ θα προχωρήσω στον έτερο αδελφό, τον νεότερο Takashi (Taka) που είναι το εντελώς αντίθετο: χαρισματικός, παρορμητικός και βίαιος, πρώην φοιτητής-ακτιβιστής που θέλει να "αρχίσει μια νέα ζωή". Παράλληλα, στο πρόσωπο του Takashi, ο Oe σατιρίζει το αδιέξοδο της νεανικής εξέγερσης και της βίας χωρίς όραμα (ιδίως σε κάποια εξαιρετικά κακόγουστα -κατ’ εμέ- σκηνικά, όπως όταν χρησιμοποιεί τη μασέλα μιας άρτι θανούσης για να κόψει τα ίδια του τα δάχτυλα ώστε να αυτοενοχοποιηθεί για μια σεξουαλική παρενόχληση που… ποτέ δεν διέπραξε), ενώ παράλληλα αναμετριέται κριτικά με την περίφημη "ιαπωνική αισθητική του θανάτου". Και ίσως χάνει.
Τα δύο αδέλφια, μέσα από την προσπάθειά τους να ανακαλύψουν τις ρίζες τους, έρχονται αντιμέτωποι με την ιστορία της οικογένειάς τους, ειδικά με μία αποτυχημένη εξέγερση των αγροτών που έγινε το 1860, έτος "Man'en". Να πούμε εδώ για τους αμύητους περί τα Ιαπωνικά, ότι η Ιαπωνία ήταν ένας κλειστός κόσμος μέχρι τη δεκαετία του 1850 και μέχρι που εκτελούσαν ναυαγούς που ξεβράζονταν στις ακτές τους. Τότε, το 1853, ο Αμερικανός αρχιπλοίαρχος Πέρι, έφτασε με 5 κανονιοφόρους στον κόλπο του Έντο (σημερινό Τόκιο) και τους είπε «κομμένη η πλάκα, μπαίνετε στο χάρτη, κάνετε εμπόριο,τέρμα οι μαλακίες και γενικώς θα σέβεστε γιατί αλλιώς “μπουμ” και ίσως και “μπουμ μπουμ”». Τους έδωσε ένα χρόνο να το χωνέψουν και επέστρεψε τον Φεβρουάριο του 1854 με ακόμη περισσότερα πλοία και ίσως πιο αυτάρεσκο χαμόγελο. Έκτοτε, συνειδητοποιώντας πόσο πίσω είχαν μείνει μπήκαν σε μια περίοδο ταχύτατης ανασυγκρότησης, εκβιομηχάνισης και εκσυγχρονισμού (έμεινε γνωστή ως «περίοδος Μέιτζι»).
Καλά όλα αυτά, αλλά τι παίζει ακριβώς με το βιβλίο;
Φίλε αναγνώστη… ζορίστηκα, στριμώχτηκα, σφίχτηκα χειρότερα κι απόπαρθένα σε κωλάδικο θυγατέρα καλής οικογενείας σε rave party, και αυτά που έχω να πω είναι τα εξής, ‘σχωρνάτε με αν πέφτω έξω και κάνω λάθος, το πετωχό μου το μυαλό εκεί κατέληξε:
Η σύγχρονη Ιαπωνία (και ο σύγχρονος άνθρωπος) μετά τον Β' Παγκόσμιο Πόλεμο και την αμερικανική κατοχή είναι μια παράλυτη, υποκριτική, ευνουχισμένη κοινωνία. Δεν υπάρχει πραγματική επανάσταση, μόνο μιμητική βία και μεθύσι από το παρελθόν, ενώ το παρόν είναι ένας βάλτος, από τον οποίο δραπετεύεις μόνο μέσω της αυτοκαταστροφής (και ενδεχομένως με ένα αγγούρι στον αφεδρώνα για πιο δραματική έξοδο, ή για να δροσίζεσαι/ζορίζεσαι).
Σε μια κοινωνία που η θολή, ελώδης και χυδαία αποδόμησηεκσπερματώνει στα μούτρα (ου μην και τα «μεριά») επιβάλλεται άνετα επί της εναργούς δημιουργικότητας, η μόνη "αυθεντική" πράξη είναι η καταστροφή. Μπροστά στην αδυναμία για αληθινή αλλαγή, ο συγγραφέας (μέσω του «τρελού» αδελφού, Takashi) εξερευνά τη σκέψη ότι το μόνο που απομένει είναι η ανόητη, ανούσια, σχεδόν τελετουργική βία για χάρη της ίδιας της βίας. Μια εξέγερση χωρίς σκοπό. Ένα κλάμα χωρίς λόγο. Αυτή είναι η "σιωπηλή κραυγή": η απελπισία που δεν μπορεί καν να αρθρωθεί, γι' αυτό γίνεται πράξη (τρελό ποδόσφαιρο, λιντσάρισμα, αυτοκτονία, καμπούκι με κυάνιο και ουρλιαχτά πόνου, μπαστούνι του γκολφ λυγισμένο από τη μανία των χτυπημάτων, ό,τι σας αρέσει τελοσπάντων).
Και, βέβαια, δεν υπάρχει διέξοδος. Ούτε ο παραλυτικός διανοούμενος (Mitsu) που προσπαθεί να καταλάβει, ούτε ο εν συνεχή βρασμώ παράφρων δράστης (Takashi) που προσπαθεί να ενεργήσει, κερδίζουν. Ο ένας μένει στην ακινησία, ο άλλος καταστρέφεται. Τέλος. Δεν «έζησαν αυτοί καλά». Κανένα μάθημα. Κανένα φως στο τούνελ, μόνο η ταχεία των 5’17” που έρχεται να σου χώσει ένα αγγούρι… αλλά ναι, τα είπαμε αυτά.
Να το θέσω πιο ωμά; Θα το θέσω, δεν είναι ότι θα μου κόψει κανείς το μεροκάματο αν το κάνω.
Η Σιωπηλή Κραυγή είναι η λογοτεχνική εκδοχή ενός ανθρώπου που φωνάζει μέσα σε ένα ηχομονωμένο δωμάτιο. Τον βλέπεις να ουρλιάζει, οι φλέβες στον λαιμό του σκάνε, αλλά δεν βγαίνει ήχος. Ο συγγραφέας λέει: "Αυτό είμαστε εμείς. Και η φωνή σου δεν ακούγεται πουθενά. Και δεν υπάρχει θεός, ούτε Ιστορία, ούτε Νόημα που να σε ακούει. Απλώς, κοιτάξτε πώς παραμορφώνεται το πρόσωπό μας την ώρα της βουβής κραυγής."
Αν ολοκληρώσεις την ανάγνωση και νιώσεις ότι δεν κατάλαβες τίποτε, δε φταις εσύ, εν μέρει γιατί το νόημα του βιβλίου δεν είναι να καταλάβεις κάτι, αλλά να νιώσεις την απουσία νοήματος.
Ο Όε σου απλώνει ένα κουλό χέρι πασαλειμμένο με γράσο για να πιαστείς, ενώ αντηχεί μια παρανοϊκή ηχώ δυσφορίας και κοινωνικής αναφυλαξίας στα σωθικά σου.
Να το πω; Θα το πω. Εξαιρετικό βιβλίο ίσως, ορόσημο κ.λπ., αλλά ΔΕΝ μου άρεσε. Με άφησε μια αίσθηση αποπροσανατολισμού, ένιωθα ότι διάβαζα κάτι που λειτουργεί με εντελώς διαφορετικούς "κώδικες", σαν να έχεις μάθει να οδηγείς βενζινοκίνητο με συμπλέκτη και ταχύτητες και κάποιος σου δίνει μια ηλεκτρική κουζίνα με τετράγωνες ρόδες.
Εμποτισμένος από τη δυτική λογοτεχνία, η οποία έχει ρίζες σε έναν ψυχολογικό ή κοινωνικό ρεαλισμό που μας είναι οικείος από τον 19ο αιώνα, ήρθα σε μετωπική σύγκρουση με τον Όε που γαλουχήθηκε με το ιαπωνικό κλασικό μυθιστόρημα, στο οποίο ο εσωτερικός μονόλογος, η διάλυση του γραμμικού χρόνου και η σύνδεση παρόντος με μύθο και (διατί να το κρύψωμεν άλλωστε) πνεύματα είναι αυτονόητες.
Ας το δούμε μέσα από το παράδειγμα. Ο Τζόυς π.χ. κάνει το μικρό Δουβλίνο παγκόσμιο. Ομοίως ο Μαν τη Lübeck (ή την Ελβετία). Ο Όε παίρνει ένα απομονωμένο χωριόστου βοδιού τομπούτσο στο Σικόκου και το μετατρέπει σε έναν τόπο όπου ο δυτικός ορθολογισμός καταρρέει, σαν πύργος από ελέφαντες που έπαθε μελιτζανί αυτανάφλεξη μετά από σύγκρουση με άγριο υμένα, και όπου η ιστορία δεν εξελίσσεται γραμμικά, αλλά επαναλαμβάνεται σαν εφιάλτης (μια εξέγερση το 1860, μια άλλη το 1945, μια άλλη στο παρόν). Δεν υπάρχει η ευρωπαϊκή έννοια της "προόδου" ή της "ατομικής τραγωδίας" κατά τον δυτικό τρόπο, αλλά μια συλλογική, σχεδόν τελετουργική κατάρα. Ανάθεμα τα νιάτα μου.
Άλλο παράδειγμα. Όταν ο Σαραμάγκου γράφει για τύφλωση ή ο Μαν για αρρώστια, είναι συχνά αλληγορίες, ενίοτε και εξόφθαλμες, για την πολιτική ή την τέχνη. Ο Όε σε βυθίζει σε μια σχεδόν αφόρητα σωματική, ακατέργαστη βία (τη γέννα του ανάπηρου παιδιού, την αυτοκτονία, την αθλητική προετοιμασία για την εξέγερση), κι αν δε σε βυθίζει, σε χτυπάει με αυτή στο κεφάλι ενώ είσαι δεμένος, μέχρι να πάθεις διάσειση. Η βία εδώ δεν συμβολίζει κάτι άλλο πέρα από τον εαυτό της: την παρακμή, την ενστικτώδη ώθηση προς τον αφανισμό. Αν πω ότι το βρήκα «βαθιά αντι-ψυχολογικό», είναι το understatement της χρονιάς. Δε λέω ότι το να βρει κανείς κάθαρση ή νόημα στο τέλος του βιβλίου είναι απαραίτητο, αλλά θα ήθελα λιγότερες κλωτσιές στο πάγκρεας.
Ο προαναφερθείς Τζόυς, όσο δύσκολος κι αν είναι, σου δίνει έναν οδικό χάρτη: τον μύθο της Οδύσσειας, τη ροή συνείδησης ενός συγκεκριμένου ανθρώπου (Λέοπολντ Μπλουμ). Ο Όε σού αρνείται έναν έστω σταθερό αφηγητή. Ο Mitsu είναι παράλυτος και αναξιόπιστος. Δεν υπάρχει "ήρωας", ούτε καν αντιήρωας. Υπάρχει μια χορωδία αποτυχημένων βουλήσεων. Και διαδοχικά χαστούκια βίας. Χαίρεσαι που αυτοί οι τύποι δεν κέρδισαν τον Β’ΠΠ.
Ο Μαν στο Μαγικό Βουνό διαλέγει ένα πεδίο ιδεών (το σανατόριο) και συγκρούει φιλοσοφίες, σαν μεγάλο παιδί που παίζει με τα αυτοκινητάκια του. Ο Όεστα παπάρια του δεν ενδιαφέρεται για τις ιδέες καθαυτές. Ο Takashi δεν εκπροσωπεί μια φιλοσοφία, αλλά μια πράξη. Το μυθιστόρημα είναι πιο κοντά σε ένα έθιμο δολοφονίας παρά σε μια διαλογική συζήτηση. Το λες και «αντίποδα του ρωμαλέου γερμανικού πνεύματος», και απορείς πώς αυτοί οι λαοί συμμάχησαν στον Β’ΠΠ με τόσο διαφορετικές παραφροσύνες. Και χαίρεσαι που έχασαν.
Ο έτερος ευρωπαίος που έπιασα στα χέρια μου και το στόμα μου στην παρούσα, ο Σαραμάγκου, παραμένει βαθιά ορθολογιστής και ουμανιστής ακόμα και στην τρέλα του. Οι αλληγορίες του είναι διαφανείς, η κριτική του στην εξουσία είναι καθαρή. Ο Όε είναι παράλογος και προ-λογικός, με πολύ πιο ξεπεταγμένο προμήκη μυελό και αμυγδαλή από ό,τι θα θεωρούσες πιθανό, πιο αρχέγονος στο συναίσθημα και την αντανακλαστική βία κι από νωπογραφία σε σπήλαιο. Δεν μπορείς εύκολα να βγάλεις ένα ηθικό δίδαγμα από το Σιωπηλή κραυγή. Αυτό που απομένει είναι μια αίσθηση ρίγους, όχι κατανόησης. Ο ερπετικός εγκέφαλος κάνει rave πάρτι. Και εσύ είσαι στον αποκάτω όροφο.
Σε γενικές γραμμές, ο Όε κάνει εμένα (δηλαδή και εσένα, δηλαδή, τον δυτικό αναγνώστη) να νιώθω ότι βρίσκομαι μπροστά σε κάτι ριζικά ξένο, όπου οι δικές μου κατηγορίες και νόρμες (ήρωας, πλοκή, ανάπτυξη, κάθαρση, νόημα) προφανώς και δεν λειτουργούν. Όταν με το καλό πιάσεις στα χέρια σου αυτό το βιβλίο, θα καταλάβεις πόσο συνιστά μια πολιτισμική και λογοτεχνική πρόσκληση να αφήσεις στην άκρη τον δυτικό φακό για λίγο και να διαβάσεις κάτι που… αντιστέκεται στην ευχαρίστηση. Που έχει γραφτεί για… να το υποστείς, όχι να το απολαύσεις.
Τώρα, οι συμβολισμοί που ανοίγονται
Αλλά ας μην πάμε εκεί…
Η κύρια πλοκή περιστρέφεται γύρω από δύο αδελφούς που επιστρέφουν στο απομονωμένο χωριό της καταγωγής τους στο νησί Σικόκου, ένας εκ των οποίων είναι ο Mitsu (Mitsusaburo) που είναι και ο διανοούμενος αφηγητής μας, που έχει "παραλύσει" ψυχολογικά. Τον στοιχειώνει η παράξενη αυτοκτονία του κολλητού του φίλου (χώρια το αγγούρι στον κώλο) και η γέννηση του παιδιού του με νοητική αναπηρία. Αν αυτό είναι μια αλληγορική νύξη για τη σύγχρονη Ιαπωνία, υπάρχουν άλλοι που θα το κρίνουν, εγώ θα προχωρήσω στον έτερο αδελφό, τον νεότερο Takashi (Taka) που είναι το εντελώς αντίθετο: χαρισματικός, παρορμητικός και βίαιος, πρώην φοιτητής-ακτιβιστής που θέλει να "αρχίσει μια νέα ζωή". Παράλληλα, στο πρόσωπο του Takashi, ο Oe σατιρίζει το αδιέξοδο της νεανικής εξέγερσης και της βίας χωρίς όραμα (ιδίως σε κάποια εξαιρετικά κακόγουστα -κατ’ εμέ- σκηνικά, όπως όταν χρησιμοποιεί τη μασέλα μιας άρτι θανούσης για να κόψει τα ίδια του τα δάχτυλα ώστε να αυτοενοχοποιηθεί για μια σεξουαλική παρενόχληση που… ποτέ δεν διέπραξε), ενώ παράλληλα αναμετριέται κριτικά με την περίφημη "ιαπωνική αισθητική του θανάτου". Και ίσως χάνει.
Τα δύο αδέλφια, μέσα από την προσπάθειά τους να ανακαλύψουν τις ρίζες τους, έρχονται αντιμέτωποι με την ιστορία της οικογένειάς τους, ειδικά με μία αποτυχημένη εξέγερση των αγροτών που έγινε το 1860, έτος "Man'en". Να πούμε εδώ για τους αμύητους περί τα Ιαπωνικά, ότι η Ιαπωνία ήταν ένας κλειστός κόσμος μέχρι τη δεκαετία του 1850 και μέχρι που εκτελούσαν ναυαγούς που ξεβράζονταν στις ακτές τους. Τότε, το 1853, ο Αμερικανός αρχιπλοίαρχος Πέρι, έφτασε με 5 κανονιοφόρους στον κόλπο του Έντο (σημερινό Τόκιο) και τους είπε «κομμένη η πλάκα, μπαίνετε στο χάρτη, κάνετε εμπόριο,
Καλά όλα αυτά, αλλά τι παίζει ακριβώς με το βιβλίο;
Φίλε αναγνώστη… ζορίστηκα, στριμώχτηκα, σφίχτηκα χειρότερα κι από
Η σύγχρονη Ιαπωνία (και ο σύγχρονος άνθρωπος) μετά τον Β' Παγκόσμιο Πόλεμο και την αμερικανική κατοχή είναι μια παράλυτη, υποκριτική, ευνουχισμένη κοινωνία. Δεν υπάρχει πραγματική επανάσταση, μόνο μιμητική βία και μεθύσι από το παρελθόν, ενώ το παρόν είναι ένας βάλτος, από τον οποίο δραπετεύεις μόνο μέσω της αυτοκαταστροφής (και ενδεχομένως με ένα αγγούρι στον αφεδρώνα για πιο δραματική έξοδο, ή για να δροσίζεσαι/ζορίζεσαι).
Σε μια κοινωνία που η θολή, ελώδης και χυδαία αποδόμηση
Και, βέβαια, δεν υπάρχει διέξοδος. Ούτε ο παραλυτικός διανοούμενος (Mitsu) που προσπαθεί να καταλάβει, ούτε ο εν συνεχή βρασμώ παράφρων δράστης (Takashi) που προσπαθεί να ενεργήσει, κερδίζουν. Ο ένας μένει στην ακινησία, ο άλλος καταστρέφεται. Τέλος. Δεν «έζησαν αυτοί καλά». Κανένα μάθημα. Κανένα φως στο τούνελ, μόνο η ταχεία των 5’17” που έρχεται να σου χώσει ένα αγγούρι… αλλά ναι, τα είπαμε αυτά.
Να το θέσω πιο ωμά; Θα το θέσω, δεν είναι ότι θα μου κόψει κανείς το μεροκάματο αν το κάνω.
Η Σιωπηλή Κραυγή είναι η λογοτεχνική εκδοχή ενός ανθρώπου που φωνάζει μέσα σε ένα ηχομονωμένο δωμάτιο. Τον βλέπεις να ουρλιάζει, οι φλέβες στον λαιμό του σκάνε, αλλά δεν βγαίνει ήχος. Ο συγγραφέας λέει: "Αυτό είμαστε εμείς. Και η φωνή σου δεν ακούγεται πουθενά. Και δεν υπάρχει θεός, ούτε Ιστορία, ούτε Νόημα που να σε ακούει. Απλώς, κοιτάξτε πώς παραμορφώνεται το πρόσωπό μας την ώρα της βουβής κραυγής."
Αν ολοκληρώσεις την ανάγνωση και νιώσεις ότι δεν κατάλαβες τίποτε, δε φταις εσύ, εν μέρει γιατί το νόημα του βιβλίου δεν είναι να καταλάβεις κάτι, αλλά να νιώσεις την απουσία νοήματος.
Ο Όε σου απλώνει ένα κουλό χέρι πασαλειμμένο με γράσο για να πιαστείς, ενώ αντηχεί μια παρανοϊκή ηχώ δυσφορίας και κοινωνικής αναφυλαξίας στα σωθικά σου.
Να το πω; Θα το πω. Εξαιρετικό βιβλίο ίσως, ορόσημο κ.λπ., αλλά ΔΕΝ μου άρεσε. Με άφησε μια αίσθηση αποπροσανατολισμού, ένιωθα ότι διάβαζα κάτι που λειτουργεί με εντελώς διαφορετικούς "κώδικες", σαν να έχεις μάθει να οδηγείς βενζινοκίνητο με συμπλέκτη και ταχύτητες και κάποιος σου δίνει μια ηλεκτρική κουζίνα με τετράγωνες ρόδες.
Εμποτισμένος από τη δυτική λογοτεχνία, η οποία έχει ρίζες σε έναν ψυχολογικό ή κοινωνικό ρεαλισμό που μας είναι οικείος από τον 19ο αιώνα, ήρθα σε μετωπική σύγκρουση με τον Όε που γαλουχήθηκε με το ιαπωνικό κλασικό μυθιστόρημα, στο οποίο ο εσωτερικός μονόλογος, η διάλυση του γραμμικού χρόνου και η σύνδεση παρόντος με μύθο και (διατί να το κρύψωμεν άλλωστε) πνεύματα είναι αυτονόητες.
Ας το δούμε μέσα από το παράδειγμα. Ο Τζόυς π.χ. κάνει το μικρό Δουβλίνο παγκόσμιο. Ομοίως ο Μαν τη Lübeck (ή την Ελβετία). Ο Όε παίρνει ένα απομονωμένο χωριό
Άλλο παράδειγμα. Όταν ο Σαραμάγκου γράφει για τύφλωση ή ο Μαν για αρρώστια, είναι συχνά αλληγορίες, ενίοτε και εξόφθαλμες, για την πολιτική ή την τέχνη. Ο Όε σε βυθίζει σε μια σχεδόν αφόρητα σωματική, ακατέργαστη βία (τη γέννα του ανάπηρου παιδιού, την αυτοκτονία, την αθλητική προετοιμασία για την εξέγερση), κι αν δε σε βυθίζει, σε χτυπάει με αυτή στο κεφάλι ενώ είσαι δεμένος, μέχρι να πάθεις διάσειση. Η βία εδώ δεν συμβολίζει κάτι άλλο πέρα από τον εαυτό της: την παρακμή, την ενστικτώδη ώθηση προς τον αφανισμό. Αν πω ότι το βρήκα «βαθιά αντι-ψυχολογικό», είναι το understatement της χρονιάς. Δε λέω ότι το να βρει κανείς κάθαρση ή νόημα στο τέλος του βιβλίου είναι απαραίτητο, αλλά θα ήθελα λιγότερες κλωτσιές στο πάγκρεας.
Ο προαναφερθείς Τζόυς, όσο δύσκολος κι αν είναι, σου δίνει έναν οδικό χάρτη: τον μύθο της Οδύσσειας, τη ροή συνείδησης ενός συγκεκριμένου ανθρώπου (Λέοπολντ Μπλουμ). Ο Όε σού αρνείται έναν έστω σταθερό αφηγητή. Ο Mitsu είναι παράλυτος και αναξιόπιστος. Δεν υπάρχει "ήρωας", ούτε καν αντιήρωας. Υπάρχει μια χορωδία αποτυχημένων βουλήσεων. Και διαδοχικά χαστούκια βίας. Χαίρεσαι που αυτοί οι τύποι δεν κέρδισαν τον Β’ΠΠ.
Ο Μαν στο Μαγικό Βουνό διαλέγει ένα πεδίο ιδεών (το σανατόριο) και συγκρούει φιλοσοφίες, σαν μεγάλο παιδί που παίζει με τα αυτοκινητάκια του. Ο Όε
Ο έτερος ευρωπαίος που έπιασα στα χέρια μου και το στόμα μου στην παρούσα, ο Σαραμάγκου, παραμένει βαθιά ορθολογιστής και ουμανιστής ακόμα και στην τρέλα του. Οι αλληγορίες του είναι διαφανείς, η κριτική του στην εξουσία είναι καθαρή. Ο Όε είναι παράλογος και προ-λογικός, με πολύ πιο ξεπεταγμένο προμήκη μυελό και αμυγδαλή από ό,τι θα θεωρούσες πιθανό, πιο αρχέγονος στο συναίσθημα και την αντανακλαστική βία κι από νωπογραφία σε σπήλαιο. Δεν μπορείς εύκολα να βγάλεις ένα ηθικό δίδαγμα από το Σιωπηλή κραυγή. Αυτό που απομένει είναι μια αίσθηση ρίγους, όχι κατανόησης. Ο ερπετικός εγκέφαλος κάνει rave πάρτι. Και εσύ είσαι στον αποκάτω όροφο.
Σε γενικές γραμμές, ο Όε κάνει εμένα (δηλαδή και εσένα, δηλαδή, τον δυτικό αναγνώστη) να νιώθω ότι βρίσκομαι μπροστά σε κάτι ριζικά ξένο, όπου οι δικές μου κατηγορίες και νόρμες (ήρωας, πλοκή, ανάπτυξη, κάθαρση, νόημα) προφανώς και δεν λειτουργούν. Όταν με το καλό πιάσεις στα χέρια σου αυτό το βιβλίο, θα καταλάβεις πόσο συνιστά μια πολιτισμική και λογοτεχνική πρόσκληση να αφήσεις στην άκρη τον δυτικό φακό για λίγο και να διαβάσεις κάτι που… αντιστέκεται στην ευχαρίστηση. Που έχει γραφτεί για… να το υποστείς, όχι να το απολαύσεις.
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