January in Japan 2014 - Sign Up Now!

Yep, it's back - a month of J-Lit wonders in an event that does exactly what it says on the tin badge.  January in Japan returns in 2014, and today I'm here to whet your appetite and give you a little taste of what's in store early next year.

*J-Lit Giants*
Series two of J-Lit Giants will (hopefully) see the appearance of Japan's two Nobel Laureates in literature - plus a Giantess or two.  I need your help with this, so if anyone is interested in penning a guest post for posterity, please leave a comment, or e-mail me at tonysreadinglist at y7mail dot com :)

*Readalongs*
I'm planning to have two readalongs for the month - one male writer, one female writer, both contemporary(ish).  For lovers of twisted short stories, we'll be reading Yōko Ogawa's trio of tales, The Diving Pool, a book which comes highly recommended.  The other book will be one I've read several times, but not in my blogging years, namely Haruki Murakami's coming-of-age drama, Norwegian Wood.  Exact dates to be confirmed closer to January :)

*Giveaways*
I've been sending out e-mails left, right, centre and front and back too, and I've been very fortunate in finding some great partners to provide prizes for the January in Japan giveaways.  I'll be offering some great J-Lit courtesy of:

Columbia University Press

Kurodahan Press

Peter Owen Publishers

PM Press

Pushkin Press

Stone Bridge Press

Make sure you're subscribed to this blog so as not to miss out on the great books offered!

*News and Reviews*
In addition to all that, every Sunday in January will see a new edition of Nichi-Yōbi News, where Momotarō and I will round up all the latest Japanese literary gossip.  Contributions are welcome - and for the review section they're absolutely vital ;)

So, what are you waiting for?  To sign up, just leave a comment below, and don't forget to follow the blog today for your chance to share in the J-Litty goodness that awaits us all in January :)

Work in Progress

A work in progress -

By the first month of the year,

All will be revealed...

Nichi-Yōbi News: Week 5 - Sayōnara!

Parting is such sweet sorrow, but when your event is called January in Japan, there comes a time when the welcome has been well and truly out-stayed.  Sadly, that time is now, and today's Nichi-Yōbi News is the official wrap-up post for the event :(

Before we all get our hankies out though, there are still a few loose ends to tie up...

*****
Firstly, I'd like to say a big thank you to all those bloggers who have contributed reviews to our Review Page.  At time of publishing this post, there were 71 reviews listed (and I've had promises of a few more!).  That is far more than I expected :)

I haven't yet closed off the Linky, so if you're quick, you might just be able to get a sneaky last-minute post in.  Hurry though - I will be closing it off at some point over the next few days...
 
*****
Thanks also to all those who participated in the readalong of Hiromi Kawakami's The Briefcase.  While not all the opinions were the same, the overwhelming consensus was that it is a book which is well worth reading :)  Any more reviews that come in will be added to the Linky and linked from my review.

*****
Our first series of J-Lit Giants also came to an end with my piece on Haruki Murakami, leaving us with seven giants in our initial pantheon.  Naturally, in a such a select group, there are some glaring omissions.  Neither of the Japanese Nobel Laureates were covered (although I actually thought at one point that I *had* posted on Kawabata...), and - as several people pointed out - there were no female giants/giantesses in the group.

To which I can only say gomen - hopefully this will be rectified in the future...

*****
Speaking of women and writing, the recent furore over the horrendous cover for the new edition of Sylvia Plath's The Bell Jar inspired Morgan at All Wrongs Reversed to look at how the covers of some female Japanese writers (namely Risa Wataya and Hiromi Kawakami) fared in translation.  For a fascinating look at how their books look in English, French, German and Polish, please click through :)

*****
And, as promised, I have the result of my second giveaway!  Everyone who had submitted a review on the Review Page by this weekend was eligible (only one chance each!), and the winner, as chosen by Random.Org, was:

Jackie of Farm Lane Books Blog

Congratulations Jackie!  I'll be in touch soon to organise the prize :)

*****
And that's it - January in Japan is officially over :(

It's been great fun, if a little hectic at times, and I hope you all enjoyed the chance to share in the J-Lit love.  The January in Japan blog will remain online as a resource, and there's always the chance of a new J-Lit Giants post every now and then.

Next year?  We'll see ;)

J-Lit Giants: 7 - Haruki Murakami

Well, we're rapidly approaching the (calendar-dictated) end of January in Japan, but before February sweeps us off the stage, there's just enough time for one more J-Lit Giant to get up there and strut his stuff.  So, who gets the honour of closing the show?  You might just have heard of this one...

*****
Haruki Murakami (born on the 12th of January, 1949) is quite possibly the most famous Japanese writer ever.  An exaggeration?  I don't think so.  In the English-speaking world, he has no rival for the title, and I'm sure that the same is true in most other countries.  Even in Japan itself, his fame may have outstripped that of traditional writers such as Natsume Soseki or Yasunari Kawabata.  But who is Murakami?

Murakami studied drama at the famous Waseda University in Tokyo, but before even finishing his degree, he got married to his partner Yoko, and they opened a bar (Peter Cat) together.  His life consisted of bar work and translation until, in a moment which could come from one of his works, he decided at a baseball game that he should try his hand at writing a book himself.  The rest, as they say, is history...

His early works earned him healthy sales and a certain amount of respect, but with the release of Norwegian Wood (his most conventional novel), Murakami's fame skyrocketed to such an extent that he was forced to flee Japan to escape the attention.  The later release of The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle, a book many consider to be his best, brought critical acclaim to match his commercial success.  Kenzaburo Oe, who had been a critic of Murakami's work, praised the novel (which won one of Japan's most prestigious awards, the Yomiuri Prize).

The release of 1Q84 saw Murakami's fame at its peak in the west with publicity and hype at levels unheard of for a novel in translation.  However, in terms of literary success, Murakami's reputation is very much on a knife-edge.  Many believe that 1Q84 was overblown and repetitive, and that the book needed serious editing before being released in English.  Then again, many of these are probably the same people who complained that the English translation of The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle was majorly cut...

Murakami's literary legacy is uncertain (and probably best left to future generations!) - what is clear is that he has successfully crossed over into the English-language scene like few foreign writers before him.  He is prolific, and in addition to his fiction work (and his numerous translations of modern American literature), he has written volumes of non-fiction on a wide variety of topics, the majority of which are unlikely to see the light of day in English.  For anyone who has an interest in Murakami, Jay Rubin's biography (which I reviewed earlier in the month) is also a great read - but I'd recommend that you try a good few of his fiction works first ;)

*****
One of the questions I've been asked most often in all my blogging career is which Murakami work to start with, and like all good questions, it is not an easy one to answer.  I've given different answers on many occasions, but here are three that might help you to ease your way into Murakami's world:

1) The Elephant Vanishes - Although Murakami considers himself a novelist, many readers prefer his shorter work.  The stories in this collection are a great introduction to his bizarre world, and if there are any which don't really take your fancy, there is always another one just over the page :)

2) Norwegian Wood - This is a wonderful, nostalgic novel looking back at a crucial time in the main character's life.  In terms of Murakami's ability to evoke images and emotions, this is as good as it gets.  Be warned though that the realistic style adopted for this novel is very unlike the themes he explores in most of his other work.

3) A Wild Sheep Chase - I would have chosen Murakami's first two novellas (Hear the Wind Sing and Pinball, 1973) here, were it not for the fact that they are once again almost impossible to find in English.  Instead, why not join Boku and the Rat in the third-part of The Trilogy of the Rat, a mesmerising hunt for a very special sheep, taking in a woman with beautiful ears and a very special hotel.  I doubt you'll regret it :)

******
So there we have it - a very short guide to one of the biggest J-Lit Giants around!  Please feel free to contradict me, suggesting alternative titles to start with (or slamming my choices).  The floor is now yours...

Nichi-Yōbi News: Week 4

January is drawing to a close, and sadly this is the penultimate Nichi-Yōbi News - January in Japan will be officially closed in next week's edition :(  But don't despair - we still have a lot more J-Lit fun to get through before then :)

*****
As always to start off, I'd like to point you in the direction of our Reviews Page - the total is now pushing fifty, and I'm sure there's something there for everyone to enjoy.  Also, this week's J-Lit Giants post was Gary's take on Kobo Abe - if you haven't already done so, please check it out.  I'll be contributing one last post to the series on Wednesday (any guesses?!), so make sure you come back then too :)

*****
I received a couple of review copies this week, but unfortunately I won't have time to review them for our event.  However, I though this might be a good time to introduce the publisher to those of you who are unaware of their work.  Kurodahan Press is a small publisher based in Japan, with an interesting catalogue of works.  They offer a variety of genres, and perhaps the most interesting books for many people are their Speculative Japan collections (three so far) of Japanese science-fiction and fantasy stories.  I'm not such a fan of those genres myself, but one of the books I received, Osamu Dazai's Blue Bamboo (mentioned in Patrick's J-Lit Giants post!), is more to my taste :)  Take the time to browse the catalogue - you never know what you might find...

*****

I've been trying to bring you all the J-Lit news over the past few weeks, but who is going to do this when January in Japan has finished?  Well, you could do worse than follow Junbungaku, a blog which concentrates on what is going on in the world of Japanese literature.  Consider this link a public service for those of you who can't cope with going cold turkey ;)

*****
Finally, I've been doing a lot of thinking about my second giveaway for our event, and in the end I decided that rather than try to attract lots of page views and comments, I would rather use it to reward the people who have taken part.  As a result, I have decided that I will be giving away any J-Lit book (up to the value of approximately AU$15 - I won't quibble about cents!) to one lucky person, sent via the Book Depository (the book, not the person...).

How can you enter?  Many of you already have...  This contest is open (and limited) to anyone who has posted a review (or J-Lit Giants post) on the January in Japan blog.  I will be closing the Review Page linky next weekend, so if you've got your review up and posted by the end of Friday, the 1st of February, you'll be in the draw.  Good luck :)

*****
That's all for this week, except for a brief reminder about our readalong.  I'll be posting my review of Hiromi Kawakami's The Briefcase next Thursday, and I hope that some of you will be joining me.  I can't wait to see if you had similar feelings to mine...