Japanese Literature - Marshland, by Otohiko Kaga

We shall be reading a novel by an author new to this reading group. Otohiko Kaga did not begin writing full time until 1979 at the age of 50. Previous to that, he studied psychiatry and criminology, worked in both a hospital and prison, lived in France for three years, and was a psychology professor at the Tokyo Medical and Dental University and Sophia University.

A summary is provided below:

"Otohiko Kaga’s Marshland is an epic novel on a Tolstoyan scale, running from the pre-World War II period to the turbulence of 1960s Japan. At forty-nine, Atsuo Yukimori is a humble auto mechanic living an almost penitentially quiet life in Tokyo, where his coworkers know something of his military record but nothing of his postwar past as a petty criminal. Out of curiosity he accompanies his nephew to a demonstration at a nearby university, and is gradually drawn into a friendship, then a romance, with Wakako Ikéhata, the brilliant but mentally unstable daughter of a university professor. As some of the student radical groups turn to violence and terrorism, Atsuo and Wakako find themselves framed for the lethal bombing of a Tokyo train."

Please join us for food and conversation as we discuss this novel.

I will make a reservation on the Sunday before the meetup. If you must cancel, please try to do so before this date. Reservations will also close on this day.