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A review by mikifoo
New Penguin Parallel Text: Short Stories in Japanese by Yūko Tsushima, Michael Emmerich, Kazushige Abe, Sueko Yoshida, Shinji Ishii, Banana Yoshimoto, Masayo Koike, Haruki Murakami, Hiromi Kawakami
4.0
I've read many Japanese novels and short stories (translated to English), and I'm a big fan of Yoshimoto Banana. In this collection, there are moments of serenity, profound sadness due to loss, introspection, and interesting bits about fetishes (sex toys). You know, just the usual themes in Japanese literature ;) There were times when I felt like I was reading "The Housekeeper and the Professor" (Ogawa Yoko) and "A Midsummer's Equation" (Higashino Keigo).
My favourites from this compilation are "A Little Darkness" by Yoshimoto Banana, "The Maiden in the Manger" by Kazushige Abe, "Where the Bowling Pins Stand" by Shinji Ishii (all translated by Michael Emmerich), and "Love Suicide at Kamaara" by Sueko Yoshida, translated by Yukie Ōta.
My Japanese isn't what it used to be, so I can't speak much to the translation. However, there were times when I could tell that the translation in English was lacking, but that was partially due to the fact that there are words and concepts in Japanese that can't be translated to English.
Overall, this was a great selection of short stories! I would especially recommend this to people who haven't read Japanese short stories before or to those who are looking to improve and/or practice their Japanese (like me, hahaha!).
(physical copy purchased at the Foreign Language Bookstore, Shanghai, China, 2016)
My favourites from this compilation are "A Little Darkness" by Yoshimoto Banana, "The Maiden in the Manger" by Kazushige Abe, "Where the Bowling Pins Stand" by Shinji Ishii (all translated by Michael Emmerich), and "Love Suicide at Kamaara" by Sueko Yoshida, translated by Yukie Ōta.
My Japanese isn't what it used to be, so I can't speak much to the translation. However, there were times when I could tell that the translation in English was lacking, but that was partially due to the fact that there are words and concepts in Japanese that can't be translated to English.
Overall, this was a great selection of short stories! I would especially recommend this to people who haven't read Japanese short stories before or to those who are looking to improve and/or practice their Japanese (like me, hahaha!).
(physical copy purchased at the Foreign Language Bookstore, Shanghai, China, 2016)