My new Poetry - Short stories

Now that my irrational hatred of all Japanese poetry is gone after my brief acquaintance with Yosano Akiko (I'm still not a big fan of poetry, no. It's enough for me to know that I'm able to be moved by some kinds of poetry, that's all) I've been reminded of another of my literary "hates".

Short stories.

They fall in the same "nice to read but leave me cold" -category, and I've never been able to understand what's the great fuss about them. I remember we had to read them back in school, which was never really a problem since I'm an avid reader and read fast (even too fast) - but I just remember being so bored by them. Too short, nothing happens and they're over before you know. I admit that I have read some short stories that I've liked, but very very few - and often in the SciFi/Horror genres. And I know I haven't read that many short stories to begin with. But most of the times I just get this lukewarm "blaaah"-feeling. I mean, it's not pure rubbish, but somehow I just don't get it.

And to tie the post somehow to the Japan-theme I'm still trying to hold on to here, I'm writing this because I just started reading Murakami Haruki's collection of short stories, "Blind Willow, Sleeping Woman". Why read a collection of short stories if you don't like them to begin with, you might ask. Well, it's a book I happened to get just before I left to Japan a year ago - and it wasn't the only one so now I have a huge pile of books to be read that have been waiting me here (and I really shouldn't be buying any new books before I've at least tried to read some of the old ones - sad, I know). On top of that a friend started reading Murakami's 海辺のカフカ (Kafka on the shore) back in our japanese lessons, and was all the time going on about how great the book is - so, here's my chance to try some Murakami, I thought. Add to this that my lack of knowledge about modern Japanese literature is so bad that even though I've never been into literature that much, it starts to embarrass me (and yes, confessing it all in the internet is the way to go), so I really needed to get myself around my literature blocks and start reading at least some of it. And so I try to educate myself and notice that I'm reading a collection of short stories ONLY when I start wondering why all the chapters are translated by different people. Duh.

But here I am, working my way through the book.

We had to read some japanese short stories written by women on a course this spring, and even though most of them left me cold, there was one exception. And just like with Yosano Akiko and her tanka, the impact this one writer made on me kind of made it up for all the others I had to crawl through...

Higuchi Ichiyo's Takekurabe, translated as Child's Play. I just fell completely in love with it, and even more so with it's ending. And the tension between Midori and Nobu, a courtesan-to-be and a priest-to-be (yep, there had to be a young priest in there... *g* Though it's not mentioned whether he's good-looking or not. Probably not, now that I think about it, since he's just a troubled kid...). It's long and descriptive enough, and there's emotional tension in it. The language is supposed to be beautiful and flowing, but since I've only read the english version I really can't comment on that - except that I'd love to read Ichiyo in the original some day.

But even so I'm usually a "long story" -person. I like tales that don't end before they had the time to start properly. I like description. I love tension and unclear emotions - longing, confusion, love coupled with hate, desperation, excitement, mystery... And if someone can give me hints about other post-Meiji writers who seem to fit the description, short stories or not, I'd be happy to start educating myself some more. And if you can borrow me the books too, since I shouldn't be buying any books right now. Unless of course if it's a REALLY good book. ;)