Farewell, my books!

Author: (Japanese) Daisaku Ikeda, translated by Xu Jinlong
Publisher:
Publishing Date: 2006-09-01
Features: A new long by the renowned Japanese writer and Nobel Prize laureate Daisaku Ikeda, The Farewell, My Book! The protagonist, Chikami Koyuki, is based on Ikeda himself, an internationally acclaimed writer. His long-lost friend, the architect Tsubaki Kazuo, suddenly returns from the United States with a secret plan, attempting to awaken people to the violent tendencies in the course of human societal development through what seems like a nearly action. Tsubaki tries to pull Koyuki into the plan, but Koyuki is deeply conflicted. This is a work filled with a sense of foreboding. The militaristic in Japan and the violence spreading globally under the guise of terrorism and counter-terrorism after "9/11" serve as the real-world backdrop for the novel, as the author expresses his profound concern through the story. The novel sparked a strong response in Japan upon its publication. The renowned writer Shima Tadashi wrote in Asahi Shimbun that the novel was no less than "a bomb thrown at today's society." Yomiuri Shimbun praised Daisaku Ikeda for daring to confront the chaotic world with his "foolish act." In an era where the unease over terrorist incidents has become "normalized," the novel holds profound significance. Literary critic and Tokyo University professor Noma Kazuyoshi hailed the work as "the grand finale of Daisaku Ikeda's literary career." The title of the novel, The Farewell, My Book!, comes from the ending of the work Invitation to a Beheading by the Russian-American writer Vladimir Nabokov, whom Ikeda admires: "The farewell, my book! The shadow of my world has crossed the aerial outline of the pages, like the blue morning haze of the next day—the story is not over." Ikeda himself has stated that this will be his last long. Considering the author's advanced age, this statement is likely to prove true. The Farewell, My Book!, therefore, carries a deeper meaning. This is an foreign translation of the book. This is a new long by the renowned Japanese writer and Nobel Prize laureate Daisaku Ikeda. The protagonist, Chikami Koyuki, is based on Ikeda himself, an internationally acclaimed writer. His long-lost friend, the architect Tsubaki Kazuo, suddenly returns from the United States with a secret plan, attempting to awaken people to the violent tendencies in the course of human societal development through what seems like a nearly action. Tsubaki tries to pull Koyuki into the plan, but Koyuki is deeply conflicted. This is a work filled with a sense of foreboding. The militaristic in Japan and the violence spreading globally under the guise of terrorism and counter-terrorism after "9/11" serve as the real-world backdrop for the novel, as the author expresses his profound concern through the story. The novel sparked a strong response in Japan upon its publication. The renowned writer Shima Tadashi wrote in Asahi Shimbun that the novel was no less than "a bomb thrown at today's society." Yomiuri Shimbun praised Daisaku Ikeda for daring to confront the chaotic world with his "foolish act." In an era where the unease over terrorist incidents has become "normalized," the novel holds profound significance. Literary critic and Tokyo University professor Noma Kazuyoshi hailed the work as "the grand finale of Daisaku Ikeda's literary career." This is an foreign translation of the book.