October 13, 2014
"To love, to be lovedâhow sad such human doings are." Such is the sentiment which lays at the heart of Inoue's (Bullfight) moving and melancholic novella. First published in Japanese in 1949, it is one of the earliest works of the celebrated writer. Inoue frames the story as epistolary: two months after publishing a small poem about a hunter in a niche publication, the writer receives a letter from Misugi Joske, a man with whom a chance enounterâwhile walking the path at the base of Mount Amagi five months earlierâinspired the poem. Yet Joske's story is far bigger than the writer could have imagined. What follows is three letters from three women, the three parties to the pain of his passion; his niece, Shoko, who discovers her mother's "love that must not be blessed"; Midori (47), the "wife in name only" who makes clear she knows of the affair; and finally Saiko, who suffers tragically under the weight of her sin, "a snake living inside me." Elegant and controlled, the work lays bare the consequences of an affair without melodramaâ"the truth, free from deception." Though the novella was written early in Inoue's career, it possesses the poise and control of a mature artist; as Inoue states in his afterword, written decades later, the work contains "something fundamental from which I have never been able to break free."
Starred review from August 15, 2014
Inoue's first book, published in Japan in 1949, recounts a tragic love triangle from the different perspectives of those affected. The book begins with a framing device that feels old-fashioned yet contemporary in its self-consciousness. The "author" explains that he recently received a mysterious letter from a man named Misugi Josuke, who claims to be the subject of a poem published by the "author." Josuke thinks the poem captured the "desolate dried-up riverbed" within him. He encloses three letters that came to him, asking that the "author" read and then destroy them. The first, addressed to Uncle Josuke, comes from a woman named Shoko, whose mother, Saiko, has recently died. Saiko divorced Shoko's father for adultery when Shoko was 5. Josuke and his wife, Midori, have been close family friends for as long as Shoko can remember, and Shoko has always felt a special closeness to gentle Midori. The day before Saiko's death, Shoko was supposed to burn her mother's diary, but she read it and was shocked to learn that Saiko and Josuke have been having an affair for 13 years and that Saiko has been wracked with guilt. While thanking Josuke for his support, Shoko tells him she never wants to see him or Midori again. She also sends along a letter Saiko left for him. But the second letter is from Midori, who writes that she wants to end their marriage, which has been a sham all along. While appearing to involve herself with other men, she's always pined for Josuke, who's remained coolly aloof. She knows he thought he was protecting her from knowledge of his affair, but she discloses her own secret: She has always known. Saiko's letter is a farewell. About to die, she tells Josuke her own guilty, passionate secret, one that Josuke has never suspected. Nor will the reader, although it makes complete sense. This slight but elegant and moving novella is a lovely introduction to a prolific Japanese writer (1907-1991) largely unknown in the West.
COPYRIGHT(2014) Kirkus Reviews, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.