Reconciliation,published here for the first time in the English language,is an understated masterpiece of the Japanese'I novel'tradition (a confessional literary form). Naoya Shiga's novella is a quietly devastating reflection on all kinds of reconciliation: from his own familial reunion,to the universal need to reconcile ourselves to the inevitability of ageing,loss and death.
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Publisher: Canongate BooksISBN: 9781838850456Number of pages: 160Weight: 113 gDimensions: 198 x 129 x 9 mmEdition: Main - Canons
MEDIA REVIEWS
Naoya Shiga's engaging and finely wrought novella of birth,death,illness and a writer's angst opens a window onto a society and milieu that are both distant and relatable. Watching the autobiographical protagonist trip over his flaws as a husband and son is painful,but the resolution still lifts the heart a century after publication. Ted Goossen's nuanced rendition of this miniature classic is a marvel of the translator's art and a service to the Republic of LettersPraise for Naoya Shiga: (Shiga wrote) a number of short stories that are nearly perfect in their simplicity,directness and mastery of subject matter
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