Sayonara Amerika, Sayonara Nippon

Just out this week is City Secrets Books: The Essential Insider’s Guide, edited by Mark Strand and Robert Kahn. It’s a delightful collection of short essays singing the praises of specific books, the obscurer the better, that have moved the authors. Contributors include publishers, editors, bookstore owners, novelists, playwrights, etc. To name just a few, Jane Smiley, Calvin Trillin, Buck Henry, Scott Simon, Oscar Hijuelos — and me.

I’m thrilled to be included alongside such accomplished and creative people. My entry focuses on Natsume Soseki’s 1906 novel, Kusamakura (also known as The Three-Cornered World), the book that made me want to become a scholar of Japanese literature. I managed to misspell the title of Lawrence Sterne’s Tristram Shandy (why is it that these errors remain invisible through the editing and proof-checking process, but then come attached with flashing red lights so you can’t miss them as soon as they appear in print?) in my entry. I hope that won’t keep you from seeking out a copy of Kusamakura – or of this fun little volume, which would make an excellent Christmas present for your Aunt Gertrude or Cousin Hank. Especially since part of the proceeds will be going to First Book, a worthy cause.