
The Bear and the Paving Stone (Paperback)
Toshiyuki Horie (author), Geraint Howells (translator)
£8.99
Paperback
Published: 25/01/2018
Winner of the prestigious Akutagawa Prize, three dream-like tales of memory and war
Visiting a friend in the French countryside, a man finds himself cast into the quandaries of historical whim, religious identity, and seeing without sight; a walk along the seashore, upon the anniversary of a death, becomes a reverie on building sandcastles; and an innocent break-in at the ruins of an archbishop's residence takes a turn towards disaster.
In three stories that prove the unavoidable connections of our past, Toshiyuki Horie creates a haunting world of dreams and memories where everyone ends up where they began - whether they want to or not.
Visiting a friend in the French countryside, a man finds himself cast into the quandaries of historical whim, religious identity, and seeing without sight; a walk along the seashore, upon the anniversary of a death, becomes a reverie on building sandcastles; and an innocent break-in at the ruins of an archbishop's residence takes a turn towards disaster.
In three stories that prove the unavoidable connections of our past, Toshiyuki Horie creates a haunting world of dreams and memories where everyone ends up where they began - whether they want to or not.
Publisher: Pushkin Press
ISBN: 9781782274377
Dimensions: 198 x 129 mm
MEDIA REVIEWS
Horie weaves fables out of everyday existence in these three captivating tales of relationships and lives revisited... across these ruminative stories, Horie suddenly drops in moments of piercing wisdom and revelation, revealing that, for better or worse, there is no escape from one's memory
A treat
It is a rather beautiful, very funny, often bitter or sadly gentle book that will entice and satisfy while leaving one thirsting for more
Ethereal... Simmers with raw emotional ferocity... Horie uses descriptive imagery in a distanced narrative style. His characters maintain an inner strength and Zen-like independence that wavers under the emotional weight of shared memories, which merge in unexpected ways to convey a yearning for deeper connections
Whimsical stories, which celebrate language, friendship and life
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