I am a proud subscriber. I love this channel. I also love this community. I have loved literature for a long time. I loved it so much that I began to write, with the hopes of crafting something worth reading. But I have always felt alone in my love. This is why I love this channel and this community. It encourages me. It grows me. It points me to lovely books of the most extraordinary writing. It challenges me in my own writing. But best of all, this channel and this community point me to books that see the world as it is and see myself as I am. I actually purchased Albert Camus' "The Fall" on the recommendation of this channel. I am looking forward to reading it. What other works, like the ones recommended on this channel, would you all recommend?
Tyler Rush One Of my favorite books is Dharma Punx by Noah Levine. Sort of a memoir about his life. Kinda puts into prescriptive about how much people can change over time.
I love all you guys too ;-; I've taken a break from fiction and am now reading Deep by James Nestor, it's pretty damn deep, if you want to learn more about whales making loud ass intricate clicks in the ocean that travel miles and divers reaching dozens of feet underwater on a single breath of air and the science behind it, it's definitely worth checking out
And a little sidenote: The Stranger and The Outsider are both the same novel just translated by two different people. I learned that fact the hard way.
The Brothers Karamazov is the best book ever written, though a long one. If you love 'the fall' then look into Kafka, and Dostoyevskys shorter novels, such as Notes from Underground and The Double. What you reading?
I absolutely loved this book. I never thought about making a toilet beautiful. After reading this I filled my bathroom with plants and it completely changed everything about it. Then I wanted to get rid of all the plastic and buy bamboo accessories. His description of things is so subtle and insightful. Everything about Japan fascinates me. I find it the most appealing country and beautiful people. ❤
It's interesting to see how those two concepts of beauty appear to have switched nowadays. While modern Japanese media are extremely bright and colorful and you'll have a hard time finding even a small hint of a shadow on a typical Japanese TV show, Western media has become quite a bit darker (both optically and content-wise)
I’ve been a big fan of your content for over a year and In Praise of Shadows is, like, my favorite book on aesthetics (I’m a visual artist). Surprised I didn’t see this video sooner. What a treat it’s been to hear your thoughts on it (and on so many other literary masterpieces). The west is indeed what Derrida calls “phono-centric” and definitely has a “metaphorics of presence”. It’s a refreshing corrective to read In Praise of Shadows. Keep up the awesome work
I read 'In Praise of Shadows' a couple of weeks ago, while I was recovering from minor surgery, and the one thing which has really stuck with me about the book is how well it illustrated the divide which can exist between two cultures regarding an object which appears superficially mundane; in this case the toilet. What I gathered from reading Tanizaki is that while our western cultures tend to treat the toilet as something unpleasant and unbefitting of polite conversation - which I would certainly say is true - traditional Japanese culture placed the toilet as a place in which an individual would want to spend their time unwinding, relaxing, and pondering on whatever was occupying their mind at the time; which Tanizaki neatly illustrated by juxtaposing the shining glare of western cultures porcelain decorated bathrooms with the darkly wooden decoration of traditional Japanese bathrooms.
Regarding Dazai, Kawabata and Oe, those would be the remaining Japanese writers I'd most recommend, with particular emphasis on the latter two, Japan's two Nobel prize winners in Lit. My favorite Kawabata is Master of Go. It's a very compelling tale of the struggle between the traditional and spiritual east and the modernized and scientifically advanced west, encapsulated in a game of Go between an aging master and the best of a young breed of challenger. Kawabata based it on a true story he covered while employed as a newspaper reporter. It is also the most different of his novels, story-wise, which might be another reason I enjoyed it so much. As for Tanizaki, it's hard to go wrong, but Some Prefer Nettles might be as good a place to start as any. Great review as always - thanks!
great review. thank you. I'm a filmmaker and as I was watching / listening to you, I found myself thinking about how I would have lit the scene of you doing this review. With this book in particular, it would have been a fun exercise to work with shadows in the filming. Who should read this book, you ask. May I add visual storytellers to that list. It certainly was of huge inspiration to me!
I read Some Prefer Nettles years and years ago in college. I don't remember too much of it but I do recall east vs. west is one of the central themes of the novel like the essay you reviewed here.
i have the same bathory mug. much respect. just found your channel recently. much more up my alley than the majority of " booktube". my hope is that eventually you'll do a piece on herzog by saul bellow. looking forward to spending many hours enjoying your work and expanding my tbr list. keep going sir.
Greetings from Japan ! I'm really glad that you post such a fantastic review about Japanese novel and it's always joy to watch your videos. I highly recommend you to read Kenji Nakagami who is also one of the most amazing Japanese author. His novels literally blew me away and mede me chose literature as my major.
2:16 Funny that you mentioned this change that he went through from admiring Western culture and then growing to appreciate his own culture more. I’m about to finish a short story of his that shows a similar idea!
While I was in college I had one class where the professor had us read this, Kawabata’s “Snow Country” , 100 years of solitude, some Borges, and Things fall Apart it was an amazing semester. I have had Tanazaki’s 1000 cranes on my shelf for years might have to pick it up soon
I'm super surprised you haven't heard of Tanizaki and glad for you to have stumbled into him. I've found so much more enjoyment reading Japanese lit than I have traditional Western lit. "In praise of shadows" is a great way describe the aesthetic. Wabi-sabi and yūgen are other traditional aesthetic veins that seem to be latent in modern Japanese lit, and are super fun to read about and see their early representations in traditional Haikus. Wabi-sabi is the exact aesthetic that Tanizaki describes in that passage you quoted on fragile elegance and old objects. I recommend checking out the short story, The Tattooer by Tanizaki - it's a great example of his fascination with dark, unspoken eroticism. Also I've seen people drop Kawabata recommends - ditto that. His prose is light and dreamy, very focused on aesthetic and poetry, rather than strong plot. Probably comparable vibes to Kusamakura. Also would love to hear your thoughts on an Oē novel. I loved A Personal Matter. It was an oddly fun read, mixing light-heartedness with the customary "shadows".
I've read a few of Tanizaki's books. I started with Naomi and that seemed to be a good place to start. The last one I read was The Makioka Sisters, which I think I would put in my top ten favorite novels. He does an amazing job of letting you get to know the characters and their different situations (especially in The Makioka Sisters). His writing style is super simple and beautiful.
It reminds me that I've brought this book but I haven't started to read this yet...I mean I've read this book before (borrowed from the library at that time), just not in the mood to reread it now. Anyway, this book and the idea of wabi sabi have helped me expand my heart a little bit, to try to accept, appreciate and even find the beauty in the darkness, sadness and ugliness. There're more interesting/weird ideas in this book, some of them do speak for me.
Happy to see you enjoy the excellent In Praise of Shadows. Every commentator seems to have recommended a different Tanizaki as your next book (which just goes to show his excellence) so I'll add another: A Personal Matter. This book shows the American influence on his writing as it describes a poor excuse of a man Bird, as he deals with and tries to reject the fact that his first child might become a vegetable. It's gritty, dark, and makes you feel for a situation and this sense of fear that would not be politically correct to admit to. It's truly fantastic. Also, for the pronunciation of Meiji Era, you got the 'ji' part, but the 'mei' is pronounced like the month of May.
Tanizaki is an amazing and very consistent writer. "In Praise of Shadows" is one of my favorite books by him, and I read it in Japan. One thing I notice about contemporary Japan is that all the restaurants are very bright. Hardly any dimmed lights. Yet, the descriptions that Tanizaki gives in his book is for sure an older 'style' Japan. His "Naomi" is fantastic. And yeah, read Dazai.
Other Japanese authors of the period (well... more or less) that I think anyone who enjoys Tanizaki might also enjoy are Ryūnosuke Akutagawa, Natsume Sōseki (be prepared to attune your crazy bone to a peculiarly Japanese sense of humor) and Kyōka Izumi. I love them (and Tanizaki, of course).
I started with ‘Diary Of A Mad Old Man’ and the onward to ‘The Key’. I was originally turned onto him via a short interview with Henry Miller where he tours the artifacts of his bathroom.
Awesometacular review. Your video blog was on the "Up next" RUclips list. Lucky you, you've got a new subscriber. Careful as we will, careful as we go.
You shouldn't worry so much about how you are perceived. Be yourself. Be awkward. Be a skew line. Do what you like. You give your format enough structure and duende. No fears my friend.
Subtle, subdued and insightful, as most of his novels are. I would recommend reading it along "The Book of Tea" by Kakuzô Okakura. Together, they are a perfect introduction to classical Japanese art and aesthetics.
Tanizaki's thinly veiled mockery of the whole "return to tradition" movement of the early Showa Period is what makes In Praise of Shadows so humourous.
2 conceptual elements worthy of consideration with reference to the book discussed and eastern aesthetics generally : - wabi sabi + - mono no aware . Have a look and a think over them.
My dad refuses to read literature because, "it has no value and is vapid". He says non-fiction is the only reason to read anything at all and that it's the only way to better oneself. If anyone has any books or suggestions to have a discussion about literature with him that'd be wonderful. I've read every book he's recommended to me and discussed them with him but it felt like he was constantly talking down to me, as if I couldn't have possibly understood the material. I'd love to discuss literature with him someday.
Awesome video, but I have to point out that ohaguro was popular up until the Meiji (pronunced May-Gee) period, but it got banned in 1870 (so in the third year of the Meiji period), probably because it was feared that it could be considered a "barbaric custom" by Westerners.
I have been living in Japan for awhile now and I never really considered reading a lot of the Japanese novels. I love fact that you brought In praise of shadows to my attention. I am curious, how do you pick your books to review? Because I recently released a Poetry and Art book I would love for you to review.
I read The diary of a mad old man, the mother of captain shiguemoto and the reedcutter. The diary of a mad old man is (in my opinion) an amazing book about sex and death as you follow an old dying rich man with obsessive sexual feelings towards his daughter in law. It's fascinating to see how the man fall because of his obsession, in a way it reminds me of the house of the sleeping beauties by Kawabata. Shiguemoto is cool as a whole, as tanizaki explores the fall of yet another old man (a samurai in this case) and how his son deals with his feelings for his mother, but the book falls a bit because of how precise tanizaki wants to write it, always sourcing every piece of information he takes from history so if you are not interested in history you might feel a bit loss. The reed cutter is also interesting but I wouldn't recommend as a first.
If you've ever read any of Georges Simenon's psychological novels and enjoyed them try Tanizaki's The Key, the only Tanizaki I've read but a great novel of lust, sexual desire and the loss of sexual virility. A short read but well worth the time. Also have read Kawabata's Snow Country, very elegiac and haunting prose.
I'll pass on the "coffee lottery," but I will admit to having read "In The Praise of Shadows" back in the late 1990's from an anthology called, "The Art of the Personal Essay" by Phillip Lopate. My copy is now dog-eared and well marked and annotated from my days of underling and commentating. I too had underlined and written at the bottom of the page, "Were it not for shadows, there would be no beauty."
Yo, New to this channel so idk if we can suggest books for you to review -- but have you read Cronopios y Famas by Cortazar and Opium by Jean Cocteau? I think Opium will make for an incredible review. Cheers
I recently discovered his work as well, based on the recommendation given by a casually robed Henry Miller standing in his bathroom as seen in this documentary (ruclips.net/video/pI5Xhxce2hE/видео.htmlm15s). I started with "The Key," which I absolutely loved so I would suggest starting with that. Sexual frustration mixed with self-destruction, with an added tinge of black humor. If you're an Oshima fan you'll have no trouble finding echoes of his common themes and preoccupations.
There’s a lot of humor in the essay which I don’t think is translatable - I would submit, having gone back to the original, that Tanizaki was not entirely serious when he talked about how unsettling a single Japanese face was among a group of foreigners, and by extension, how uncomfortable Europeans or Americans must feel in a crowded room with a single black person present... You cannot read that in Japanese without laughing aloud. By the way, I was born the same day Tanizaki died (in 1965) and I also ruclips.net/video/NC7Lrk6LShU/видео.html 🎼🎹🎬
A Cat, A Man, and Two Women. Read it now, thank me later. Actually fuck it - thank me now, you might as well save yourself a trip, there's no way you won't love it.
We know some prefer nettles, but why men prefer blondes, were Marioka sisters less than they promote, let's thank for this tragedy and explain it: amino, albunin are better than yoke, than carbo.
It's a pleasant if somewhat disingenuous read..... western culture is shot through with appreciation, use and celebration of shadows and more generically, the dark side of things. Without even attempting to suggest alternative and esoteric llterature and art, most obviously the Gothic, or Caravaggio and all his followers and influences including Rembrandt
I bought this book thinking it would be about aesthetics of shadows, art etc and instead seems to be a long list of complaining and nobody mention also how racist it is when it mention the Japanese white skin vs other wite skin people.
Just finished reading this thing in Japanese. Well, it'd say it's a pretty laughable and desperate piece of poorly written and childishly xenophobic babble. What's especially unnerving is that it was actually written by a grown man of letter, not some insecure teenage know-it-all who confuses reality with his mental immaturity. All this makes "In Praise of Shadows" (talk of a pompous title...) all the more embarrassing.
I am a proud subscriber. I love this channel. I also love this community. I have loved literature for a long time. I loved it so much that I began to write, with the hopes of crafting something worth reading. But I have always felt alone in my love. This is why I love this channel and this community. It encourages me. It grows me. It points me to lovely books of the most extraordinary writing. It challenges me in my own writing. But best of all, this channel and this community point me to books that see the world as it is and see myself as I am. I actually purchased Albert Camus' "The Fall" on the recommendation of this channel. I am looking forward to reading it.
What other works, like the ones recommended on this channel, would you all recommend?
Tyler Rush One Of my favorite books is Dharma Punx by Noah Levine. Sort of a memoir about his life. Kinda puts into prescriptive about how much people can change over time.
I love all you guys too ;-; I've taken a break from fiction and am now reading Deep by James Nestor, it's pretty damn deep, if you want to learn more about whales making loud ass intricate clicks in the ocean that travel miles and divers reaching dozens of feet underwater on a single breath of air and the science behind it, it's definitely worth checking out
Oh and if you like the fall check out the stranger afterwards :)
And a little sidenote: The Stranger and The Outsider are both the same novel just translated by two different people. I learned that fact the hard way.
The Brothers Karamazov is the best book ever written, though a long one. If you love 'the fall' then look into Kafka, and Dostoyevskys shorter novels, such as Notes from Underground and The Double. What you reading?
I'm an architecture student,and this book was on our freshman year reading list.Absolutely loved it.
I absolutely loved this book. I never thought about making a toilet beautiful. After reading this I filled my bathroom with plants and it completely changed everything about it. Then I wanted to get rid of all the plastic and buy bamboo accessories. His description of things is so subtle and insightful. Everything about Japan fascinates me. I find it the most appealing country and beautiful people. ❤
it hits different when you watch this while drinking coffee
It's interesting to see how those two concepts of beauty appear to have switched nowadays. While modern Japanese media are extremely bright and colorful and you'll have a hard time finding even a small hint of a shadow on a typical Japanese TV show, Western media has become quite a bit darker (both optically and content-wise)
I’ve been a big fan of your content for over a year and In Praise of Shadows is, like, my favorite book on aesthetics (I’m a visual artist). Surprised I didn’t see this video sooner. What a treat it’s been to hear your thoughts on it (and on so many other literary masterpieces). The west is indeed what Derrida calls “phono-centric” and definitely has a “metaphorics of presence”. It’s a refreshing corrective to read In Praise of Shadows. Keep up the awesome work
I read 'In Praise of Shadows' a couple of weeks ago, while I was recovering from minor surgery, and the one thing which has really stuck with me about the book is how well it illustrated the divide which can exist between two cultures regarding an object which appears superficially mundane; in this case the toilet. What I gathered from reading Tanizaki is that while our western cultures tend to treat the toilet as something unpleasant and unbefitting of polite conversation - which I would certainly say is true - traditional Japanese culture placed the toilet as a place in which an individual would want to spend their time unwinding, relaxing, and pondering on whatever was occupying their mind at the time; which Tanizaki neatly illustrated by juxtaposing the shining glare of western cultures porcelain decorated bathrooms with the darkly wooden decoration of traditional Japanese bathrooms.
As I've gotten older, I've really grown to appreciate the beauty of silence.
Regarding Dazai, Kawabata and Oe, those would be the remaining Japanese writers I'd most recommend, with particular emphasis on the latter two, Japan's two Nobel prize winners in Lit. My favorite Kawabata is Master of Go. It's a very compelling tale of the struggle between the traditional and spiritual east and the modernized and scientifically advanced west, encapsulated in a game of Go between an aging master and the best of a young breed of challenger. Kawabata based it on a true story he covered while employed as a newspaper reporter. It is also the most different of his novels, story-wise, which might be another reason I enjoyed it so much. As for Tanizaki, it's hard to go wrong, but Some Prefer Nettles might be as good a place to start as any. Great review as always - thanks!
Dude you have a Bathory mug? You’re a pretty damn cool dude. Thanks for doing what you do
great review. thank you. I'm a filmmaker and as I was watching / listening to you, I found myself thinking about how I would have lit the scene of you doing this review. With this book in particular, it would have been a fun exercise to work with shadows in the filming. Who should read this book, you ask. May I add visual storytellers to that list. It certainly was of huge inspiration to me!
I am a Japanese high school student. I was studied In praise of shadows by Japanese class. I love it. Thank you for reading♡
I read Some Prefer Nettles years and years ago in college. I don't remember too much of it but I do recall east vs. west is one of the central themes of the novel like the essay you reviewed here.
i have the same bathory mug. much respect. just found your channel recently. much more up my alley than the majority of " booktube". my hope is that eventually you'll do a piece on herzog by saul bellow. looking forward to spending many hours enjoying your work and expanding my tbr list. keep going sir.
Greetings from Japan ! I'm really glad that you post such a fantastic review about Japanese novel and it's always joy to watch your videos.
I highly recommend you to read Kenji Nakagami who is also one of the most amazing Japanese author. His novels literally blew me away and mede me chose literature as my major.
I've never heard of Kenji Nakagami until now and you've intrigued me. Thanks for sharing.
Salomé I. Greetings! Thank you for the recommendation and for watching, I’ll be sure to look him up.
2:16 Funny that you mentioned this change that he went through from admiring Western culture and then growing to appreciate his own culture more. I’m about to finish a short story of his that shows a similar idea!
While I was in college I had one class where the professor had us read this, Kawabata’s “Snow Country” , 100 years of solitude, some Borges, and Things fall Apart it was an amazing semester. I have had Tanazaki’s 1000 cranes on my shelf for years might have to pick it up soon
Kawabata wrote A Thousand Cranes.
@@jackdomanski6758 no its shostakovich
I'm super surprised you haven't heard of Tanizaki and glad for you to have stumbled into him. I've found so much more enjoyment reading Japanese lit than I have traditional Western lit. "In praise of shadows" is a great way describe the aesthetic. Wabi-sabi and yūgen are other traditional aesthetic veins that seem to be latent in modern Japanese lit, and are super fun to read about and see their early representations in traditional Haikus. Wabi-sabi is the exact aesthetic that Tanizaki describes in that passage you quoted on fragile elegance and old objects.
I recommend checking out the short story, The Tattooer by Tanizaki - it's a great example of his fascination with dark, unspoken eroticism.
Also I've seen people drop Kawabata recommends - ditto that. His prose is light and dreamy, very focused on aesthetic and poetry, rather than strong plot. Probably comparable vibes to Kusamakura.
Also would love to hear your thoughts on an Oē novel. I loved A Personal Matter. It was an oddly fun read, mixing light-heartedness with the customary "shadows".
"Some Prefer Nettles" is a wonderful novel by Tanizaki. It's the story of a married couple in Osaka in the 1930s.
‘The Key’ was my introduction to this wonderful writer. You’re welcome 😊
i really like your Balcony! so southern comfort...
I've read a few of Tanizaki's books. I started with Naomi and that seemed to be a good place to start. The last one I read was The Makioka Sisters, which I think I would put in my top ten favorite novels. He does an amazing job of letting you get to know the characters and their different situations (especially in The Makioka Sisters). His writing style is super simple and beautiful.
It reminds me that I've brought this book but I haven't started to read this yet...I mean I've read this book before (borrowed from the library at that time), just not in the mood to reread it now. Anyway, this book and the idea of wabi sabi have helped me expand my heart a little bit, to try to accept, appreciate and even find the beauty in the darkness, sadness and ugliness. There're more interesting/weird ideas in this book, some of them do speak for me.
Happy to see you enjoy the excellent In Praise of Shadows. Every commentator seems to have recommended a different Tanizaki as your next book (which just goes to show his excellence) so I'll add another: A Personal Matter. This book shows the American influence on his writing as it describes a poor excuse of a man Bird, as he deals with and tries to reject the fact that his first child might become a vegetable. It's gritty, dark, and makes you feel for a situation and this sense of fear that would not be politically correct to admit to. It's truly fantastic.
Also, for the pronunciation of Meiji Era, you got the 'ji' part, but the 'mei' is pronounced like the month of May.
Tanizaki's "The Key" is where he's at his very best, in my humble estimation.
Tanizaki is an amazing and very consistent writer. "In Praise of Shadows" is one of my favorite books by him, and I read it in Japan. One thing I notice about contemporary Japan is that all the restaurants are very bright. Hardly any dimmed lights. Yet, the descriptions that Tanizaki gives in his book is for sure an older 'style' Japan. His "Naomi" is fantastic. And yeah, read Dazai.
Hey nice Bathory mug. Nice to see a fellow Detroiter, avid reader and metal fan.
Other Japanese authors of the period (well... more or less) that I think anyone who enjoys Tanizaki might also enjoy are Ryūnosuke Akutagawa, Natsume Sōseki (be prepared to attune your crazy bone to a peculiarly Japanese sense of humor) and Kyōka Izumi. I love them (and Tanizaki, of course).
New video! I'm happy!
New Japanese author! My day is made! Thanks.
Greetings from Colombia, country of coffee.
That book is beautiful. I will read it again taking notes. I was so falling into that book.
I started with ‘Diary Of A Mad Old Man’ and the onward to ‘The Key’. I was originally turned onto him via a short interview with Henry Miller where he tours the artifacts of his bathroom.
Sometimes what's visible isn't as important that what you can't see. Like the iceberg thing.
Thanks so much for introducing me to TANIZAKI.. & bingo ! there was a copy in the library .
Please start with Quicksand. I read it in one sitting and will never forget it. Incredibly powerful novel.
I loved the book too. Nice depiction of your thoughts on it!
hi! new here. I love your confidence and your silence was comical.
Regarding Tanizakis novels I would start with "The Key"
Awesometacular review. Your video blog was on the "Up next" RUclips list. Lucky you, you've got a new subscriber.
Careful as we will, careful as we go.
My favorite book review channel
Love your channel mate, love from Manchester, England.
Have you read "Escape from Baghdad!" It's a pretty lite and funny read. I think you'll like it.
It would be super cool if you reviewed Fanged Noumena. Or any Nick Land.
Just opened the video for the Bathory mug, and found awesome content.
Oh! Thank you for introducing Junichiro Tanizaki.;)
You shouldn't worry so much about how you are perceived. Be yourself. Be awkward. Be a skew line. Do what you like. You give your format enough structure and duende. No fears my friend.
Bathory self titled coffee mug is a huge flex.
Subtle, subdued and insightful, as most of his novels are. I would recommend reading it along "The Book of Tea" by Kakuzô Okakura. Together, they are a perfect introduction to classical Japanese art and aesthetics.
Cliff I think you would really enjoy 'This Young Monster' by Charlie Fox. It's a history of monsters and freaks in art and film and literature.
Tanizaki's thinly veiled mockery of the whole "return to tradition" movement of the early Showa Period is what makes In Praise of Shadows so humourous.
I like Naomi the best of what I have read of Tanizaki's. My first video of yours. Great review!
Trevor Noah talks about going to the bathroom in a poetic way in his book as well. Chapter 3 (Born a Crime)
2 conceptual elements worthy of consideration with reference to the book discussed and eastern aesthetics generally :
- wabi sabi
+
- mono no aware
.
Have a look and a think over them.
My dad refuses to read literature because, "it has no value and is vapid". He says non-fiction is the only reason to read anything at all and that it's the only way to better oneself. If anyone has any books or suggestions to have a discussion about literature with him that'd be wonderful. I've read every book he's recommended to me and discussed them with him but it felt like he was constantly talking down to me, as if I couldn't have possibly understood the material. I'd love to discuss literature with him someday.
Speaking of silence reminded me of Jorge Drexler's song: Silencio
Good song
Very interesting book definitely going to read it 💯👌thanks for the review
Awesome video, but I have to point out that ohaguro was popular up until the Meiji (pronunced May-Gee) period, but it got banned in 1870 (so in the third year of the Meiji period), probably because it was feared that it could be considered a "barbaric custom" by Westerners.
quick tip on pronunciation (as far as i understand):
- "ei" sounds like "ā" / long "a" sound
- "ai" sounds like "ī" / long "i'" sound
I have been living in Japan for awhile now and I never really considered reading a lot of the Japanese novels. I love fact that you brought In praise of shadows to my attention. I am curious, how do you pick your books to review? Because I recently released a Poetry and Art book I would love for you to review.
Naomi is a good book by him. Watching the main character slowly lose his sanity because of just one girl is extremely entertaining.
I read The diary of a mad old man, the mother of captain shiguemoto and the reedcutter. The diary of a mad old man is (in my opinion) an amazing book about sex and death as you follow an old dying rich man with obsessive sexual feelings towards his daughter in law. It's fascinating to see how the man fall because of his obsession, in a way it reminds me of the house of the sleeping beauties by Kawabata. Shiguemoto is cool as a whole, as tanizaki explores the fall of yet another old man (a samurai in this case) and how his son deals with his feelings for his mother, but the book falls a bit because of how precise tanizaki wants to write it, always sourcing every piece of information he takes from history so if you are not interested in history you might feel a bit loss. The reed cutter is also interesting but I wouldn't recommend as a first.
If you've ever read any of Georges Simenon's psychological novels and enjoyed them try Tanizaki's The Key, the only Tanizaki I've read but a great novel of lust, sexual desire and the loss of sexual virility. A short read but well worth the time. Also have read Kawabata's Snow Country, very elegiac and haunting prose.
Iv read “the key” it’s hilarious. Start with that one. Some prefer nettles is good too... thanks for the review I need to order that one.
I'll pass on the "coffee lottery," but I will admit to having read "In The Praise of Shadows" back in the late 1990's from an anthology called, "The Art of the Personal Essay" by Phillip Lopate. My copy is now dog-eared and well marked and annotated from my days of underling and commentating. I too had underlined and written at the bottom of the page, "Were it not for shadows, there would be no beauty."
Just an amazing author and a book everyone should read.
Will you review 'The Picture Of Dorian Gray'? ...or anything else by Oscar Wilde?
That bathory mug tho
A great review.
Sending you respects from Japan(:
Came for the Bathory mug stayed for the lit review
The Key is an amazing book from this author.
Thank you for introducing me to Bathory.
zebrahead89 You are most welcome.
Yo,
New to this channel so idk if we can suggest books for you to review -- but have you read Cronopios y Famas by Cortazar and Opium by Jean Cocteau? I think Opium will make for an incredible review.
Cheers
I recently discovered his work as well, based on the recommendation given by a casually robed Henry Miller standing in his bathroom as seen in this documentary (ruclips.net/video/pI5Xhxce2hE/видео.htmlm15s). I started with "The Key," which I absolutely loved so I would suggest starting with that. Sexual frustration mixed with self-destruction, with an added tinge of black humor. If you're an Oshima fan you'll have no trouble finding echoes of his common themes and preoccupations.
6:50
This guy listens to Bathory?
The Makioka sisters a must read
You look like you live in Montréal with that balcony.
I wish
Really ? How come ? You would like to live here ?
I am here looking for videos of a pronunciation of his name for a presentation. xD
I continued watching strictly for the Bathory mug
Die Reading 💀📖 I love it 🤙🏽
There’s a lot of humor in the essay which I don’t think is translatable - I would submit, having gone back to the original, that Tanizaki was not entirely serious when he talked about how unsettling a single Japanese face was among a group of foreigners, and by extension, how uncomfortable Europeans or Americans must feel in a crowded room with a single black person present... You cannot read that in Japanese without laughing aloud.
By the way, I was born the same day Tanizaki died (in 1965) and I also
ruclips.net/video/NC7Lrk6LShU/видео.html
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Very interesting, I wish I was better at my Japanese to read it
You my friend, have a faint Bradley Cooper-esque charm. Nice review.
Bathory mug 👌
THE BATHORY MUG!! ❤
A Cat, A Man, and Two Women. Read it now, thank me later. Actually fuck it - thank me now, you might as well save yourself a trip, there's no way you won't love it.
We know some prefer nettles, but why men prefer blondes, were Marioka sisters less than they promote, let's thank for this tragedy and explain it: amino, albunin are better than yoke, than carbo.
Review Brief Interview With Hideous Men by David Foster Wallace! Better than all the food
Review Fanon man
Black skin white masks man
It's a pleasant if somewhat disingenuous read..... western culture is shot through with appreciation, use and celebration of shadows and more generically, the dark side of things. Without even attempting to suggest alternative and esoteric llterature and art, most obviously the Gothic, or Caravaggio and all his followers and influences including Rembrandt
I bought this book thinking it would be about aesthetics of shadows, art etc and instead seems to be a long list of complaining and nobody mention also how racist it is when it mention the Japanese white skin vs other wite skin people.
In Praise of Shadows is a brilliant essay on Aesthetics. I think you have just about manage to miss the whole point of it.
Bathory!!!
Just finished reading this thing in Japanese. Well, it'd say it's a pretty laughable and desperate piece of poorly written and childishly xenophobic babble. What's especially unnerving is that it was actually written by a grown man of letter, not some insecure teenage know-it-all who confuses reality with his mental immaturity. All this makes "In Praise of Shadows" (talk of a pompous title...) all the more embarrassing.
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