The Woman in the Dunes (Kobo Abe)

Having begun to brush the surface of modern Japanese literature, it's very interesting to notice certain common themes and even images that represent particularly Japanese ways of looking at things (and some rather confounding obsessions). Most prominent of these themes so far is the loss of the self, or the loss (or redefinition) of a conception of existence that once was taken for granted. As in The Wind up Bird Chronicle, the main character of this book is thrown into a situation against his will and finds himself the pawn of some odd fate that cannot be explained satisfactorily. In both books, the metaphor of being trapped in a hole is used to represent this theme. Now as for the writing...this is probably the most quirky and simply strange prose I have found so far in Japanese literature...and I'm not entirely sure what factor ought to be held responsible: is it that the Japanese think about things in an essentially different way, to the point that Western readers are simply confused by passages that make perfect sense to Japanese readers? Is it that the translation is a bit too literal (or something)? Or is it that the main character's mind becomes clouded and unable to think coherent thoughts? In any case, the writing often intrigued me and also made me scratch my head.

Cosmicomics (Italo Calvino)

This book was kind of charming. My favorite story was the first, in which the narrator tells of the time in the history of the Earth when the moon was close enough for Earth-dwellers to access with a ladder. This book really demonstrates the aspect of Calvino's writing for which he is known, which is that particularly quaint and whimsical imagination. Sort of like a juvenile "Brief History of Time" for adults...however, some of the stories made me think to myself "ok, here he goes, and I know what this is, and it's kind of tiresome." I guess that's the danger of writing like this: although it's very amusing, it has the capacity to annoy.