Two Contemporary Japanese Stories

Two compelling novellas published within the last few months illustrate just how strong it can be.

In The Strange Library, Haruki Murakami, probably the best known of Japan’s current crop, has produced what can be best described as an adult fairy tale, which sees a young boy seeking escape from problems at home only to find himself incarcerated at his local library.  The tale grows ever darker as the boy is tricked into exploring the previously unknown confines of the library, before a shaft of light in the form of a young girl leads to the possibility of freedom and a dramatic, if enigmatic, finale.  The book is lavishly illustrated throughout.

Quite, quite different, but equally enigmatic is Takashi Hiraide’s The Guest Cat. Set in modern day Tokyo, this novel describes the various relationships between a childless couple faced with eviction from their rented property, and their neighbours, their neighbourhood, and, most important of all, their next door neighbour’s cat.  Whereas The Strange Library is no-holds-barred surreal, The Guest Cat is an exquisitely nuanced study of the reality of modern suburban relationships.