The First Snow on Fuji

I have read something different from what I have normally read. I have usually read singular stories and books, but in all that I can remember I have never read a book of short stories. So here is The First Snow on Fuji, written by Yasunari Kawabata, who was the first Japanese to receive the Nobel Prize for Literature.

All of the stories have a slight reference to WWII, being that they predominantly take place in the 50s; there is an air of deep contemplation, whether it is about death, relationships, or life. In “The First Snow on Fuji”, “”This Country, That Country”, “Yumiura”, “Her Husband Didn’t”, and “Raindrops”, the stories center around people who are in various parts of an affair: the possibility of beginning, during, and the time after. It is so interesting to read different scenarios that bring different reasoning for why things happened and the context that surrounds it, from a disappeared conceived love child during the war and the sad reflection on what could have been and if there can be, to a story of an affair that may or may not have happened depending on details that as the reader I have questioned. I loved “This Country, That Country” because it says a lot about how people take in media and allow it to influence their decisions, like that is how things become socially accepted and normalized to an extent.

“Silence” was another favorite of mine because the visitor is such a fan of the author yet there is a friendly relationship developing between the visitor and the daughter, having a side conversation within the interaction with the father, it contemplates the future even though it seems as if she speaks for her father, which is more realistic because it has to be considered; life goes on with people passing away, and the prep work and decisions need to be made.

Keeping this review short and sweet, I enjoyed Kawabata’s writing; I want to read more of his work with the impression that it is more slow and contemplative. His writing seems more simple, and will have a slow snail pace. I would read The First Snow on Fuji again; this was a good first book of short stories. If you want to check out this book, you can find it here.

8/10