A revelation
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I bought this book as I will be travelling later this year to the Kiso valley in Japan, specifically to the villages of Magome and Tsumago. I had learnt that many Japanese visit Magome because of this particular book, written by somebody born in the village and set mainly in it. What I didn't expect to find was such a gripping, well researched beautifuly bittersweet account of how Japan changed in the Meiji area. I'm afraid that when I began reading this, I found it a little difficult to keep track of the characters as the japanese names are a little disorientating at first, yet there's no difference between this and a Tolstoy novel in this regard, but all it takes is a little adjustment and the effort is more than rewarded.
This is a supremely rich and sophisticated book about what is obviously a taxing and difficult subject matter for the author (witnessing how he climbs into the heads of three generations, all with completely different viewpoints is breathtaking). My knowledge of Japanese authors is still sparse, however, there is a similar elegance in style to that shown by Yukio Mishima -and the translation seems very good.
There has been so much to take in, I am already on my second reading (like going onto a rollercoaster ride again as soon as I've gotten off).
My apologies for being so effusive, but having expected something much drier (I enjoyed the Tale of Genji, for instance, but it was a bit of a slog) it's been wonderful to immerse myself into such a fascinating patr of history with such an outstanding story teller as Tono sama for a guide. A tour de force!
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