Nobel prize-winning novelist Kenzaburo Oe's best known book is a remarkable and intimate journey through the maze of ethics, fatherhood, and responsibility. The protagonist Bird is a dreamer; he dreams of going to Africa, of undemanding love, of a perfect son - none of which are within his grasp. His child is born with a herniated brain, and his wife's obstetrician is already talking excitedly about an autopsy as the baby,...
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A Personal Matter is a powerful, engrossing read. The language (in English translation), the connections, the descriptions, and the characterizations are taut and satisfying. With the exception of a few scenes and transitions which are palpably less crisp than others, the story sparks with brilliance and urgency. Oe neither shades his protagonist from the blinding light of reality and human dilemma nor indulges in superfluous...
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Oh my, but this book is not light reading. Don't let its deceptive slimness fool you - every page is somewhat similar to being smashed in the head with a shovel. After reading Oe's description of Tokyo, you will no longer be afraid of Hell. Were this book converted into a movie, every single set of this movie would be coloured in dark shades of brown, and it would be raining in every single scene. This hellish vision makes...
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My impression is that many readers are missing a major point here! Like Oe, I am also the parent of a severely handicapped child (who is now an adult). Different people react to the unexpected, shocking and profound experience of the birth of a handicapped child in different ways, but it is not easy for anyone. Reader, if this ever happens to you, you probably won't go through exactly what the protagonist goes through or...
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Japan has lost the power to connect the principle or theory and reality. I think literature's value is in making those connections. That's the mission of literature. Morals are significant. -Kenzaburo Oe Kenzaburo Oe is probably the most highly regarded of Japan's post-war novelists and A Personal Matter is certainly his best known book. It is the harrowing, semi-autobiographical story of a parent's worst...
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