Still Life and Other Stories

Download or read book Still Life and Other Stories written by Junzo Shono and published by ReadHowYouWant.com. This book was released on 2010-10-29 with total page 422 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The 13 stories in this collection by Japanese writer Junzo Shono are linked by the daily life of a husband and wife and their children. The stories are like the back of a tapestry where threads seem to cross randomly. Births, weddings, school activities, a suicide attempt - all occur out of view. Readers understand crucial events through ordinary days. But these quiet tales have a cumulative power. Toys, birds, and playing cards relate to human lives as portents, parallels, parodies. The mother, with her secret sorrows, and the puzzled, bemused father savor reveries and survive unexplained misfortunes. Shono's vivid snapshot technique, the layering of images, events, and conversations, creates an effect Western readers may find more akin to an Ozu film crossed with haiku than to traditional short stories.