Too lazy to be a writer - Too egotistical to be quiet
Whenever I start thinking about Women in Translation Month, I take myself off to the study and rummage through my shelves to see what’s lurking at the back, forgotten and waiting to be rediscovered (it can be rather eerie back there…). I quite often come across books I’d completely forgotten about, and that’s certainly the […]
After a week in Japan, with stories new and old, it’s time for a change of destination in our Women in Translation Month travels as we head off to Germany. It’s the 1960s, and the economy is booming, meaning there are plenty of opportunities for those new to the country, including recent arrivals from across […]
After starting this year’s Women in Translation Month journey in a near-future Japan, today sees us staying in that country, but taking a leap into the past. We’re heading back a hundred years or so to catch up with a woman leading a life less ordinary, one that will see her moving from place to […]
August has rolled around once more, which means it’s time for one of my favourite events of the blogging year, Women in Translation Month! Founded by Meytal Radzinski back in 2014, it offers readers and reviewers an opportunity to celebrate the work of female and non-binary writers originally written in a language other than English. […]
July saw the FIFA World Cup finally draw to a close, and as the games dried up, more time became available for reading, which is always good. The weather has also taken a turn for the colder down in my part of the southern hemisphere, and this encouraged me to spend a little more time in […]
Early last week, I looked at Ryūnosuke Akutagawa’s Hell of Solitude, the first of a number of acquisitions inspired by a reread of Anri Yasuda’s excellent work, Beauty Matters, and I’m back today to talk about a second one, by another of my all-time favourite Japanese writers. I’m afraid, though, that this is one that […]
While I’ve been getting back to my Welsh roots (a grandparent on each side) over the past few years, completing the Duolingo course and regularly watching shows on the Welsh-language channel S4C, unfortunately, that hasn’t really spilled over into my reading. However, I’d had my eye on a certain book for a good while, finally […]
Today’s episode of our chapter-by-chapter meander through The Tale of Genji brings us closer to the end of Tamakazura’s story, with the young woman’s fate ever nearer to being settled. However, the Shining One’s young ward isn’t the only member of the next generation to be in the spotlight in this chapter. You see, Genji’s […]
As some of you may have seen on social media recently, an enjoyable reread of Anri Yasuda’s excellent Beauty Matters: Modern Japanese Literature and the Question of Aesthetics – 1890-1930 had me caving in once again and reaching for my wallet. I ended up with four new books, one for each of the main chapters, […]
I’m always on the look-out for books to add to my library of works focusing on The Tale of Genji, so when I was reminded a while back of a fairly recent addition to the field, I shot off a speculative email to Bloomsbury Australia asking for a review copy. Having got no reply, I’d […]