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Thursday, December 23, 2010

Welcome to all Literary Book Blog Hoppers-Dec 23-

To me the Literary Book Blog Hop is a great event. I read and post on mostly classics, short stories, Asian Fiction and what I see as literary novels.    Lately I have been very into the work of Katherine Mansfield and Virginia Woolf but I am also reading through the work of Kenzaburo Oe and Junichiro Tanizaki, for example. I admit sometimes I have felt out of place on events where it seems almost all the other bloggers post on young adult books, paranormal and vampire books.

"Merry Christmas to all, my fellow book blogger cats-we rule!"-Charles
I will follow back all who follow me and return all visits.

Merry Christmas to all!!

 Every week the Literary Book Blog asks that participants answer a question-here is the question for this week


  What literary title (fiction or non-fiction) do you love that has been under-appreciated? We all know about the latest Dan Brown, and James Patterson isn't hurting for publicity. What quiet masterpiece do you want more readers to know? I return all follows from fellow literary book bloggers 


This is an interesting question 


My neglected master work is set in the jungles of Burma during WWII.    It is about the special mission of a Japanese soldier brought on by the conflict of the war with his Buddhist faith.   It is Harp of Burma by Michio Takeyama.    This book, by a Japanese soldier, is a hauntingly beautiful anti-war classic, first published in 1948.    Soon there will be no one left alive who fought in WWII.   This book will show us how one man faced the horrors he saw and at the same time tried to be a good soldier.

15 comments:

  1. I heard about this book, but never picked it up. My grandfather died while being a pilot for the Soviet army, so i love reading war books. You might also like "Faitless" by Imre Kertesz. It's actually a nobel prize winner

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  2. Orhedea-thanks so much for stopping by-my uncle for whom I am named was killed while a pilot in WWII also

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  3. I'm so glad I found a fellow blogger who's focused on the classics. Hiya and nice to meet you!

    I've never heard of Harp of Burma before, but it sounds very interesting. I'll try to look it up. :)

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  4. I'm always looking for good Japanese and Chinese authors to read...this sounds like a good bet!

    Risa

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  5. oh man, something tells me I would LOVE this book. I love books about WWII, especially ones that go against the grain a little bit.

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  6. This sounds truly fascinating, & am i right that it's a work of non-fiction which would make it doubly so.

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  7. Sounds like a worthwhile book--I will keep it in mind. Wishing you and your family a lovely Christmas!

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  8. Diane-thanks very much

    Suko-we hope all is great for you and your family this season

    parrish lantern-it is a work of fiction based on true experiences-it is a great book, in my opinion

    Ingrid-Lola-I hope you get the change to read it-

    Breadcrumbs-this is among the very best WWII novels set in the Asian theater of war-

    Darlyn-I am glad you found my blog and I thank you for your comment and hope you will be back

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  9. Fascinating. Thank you for sharing this title.

    http://readerbuzz.blogspot.com/2010/12/quiet-masterpieces.html

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  10. Readerbuzz-thanks and thanks for stopping by

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  11. Adding this to my TBR pile! Thanks!

    Merry Christmas to you and your family. Have a wonderful time with them!

    Here is my Literary Blog Hop post!

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  12. Sounds like an interesting read. Thanks for passing it along.

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  13. Mel, I trust your judgment, so I am excited to learn of this book, which I will try to find. Have a wonderful holiday season.

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  14. Sounds interesting....thanks...I have visited your blog before...wonderful site.

    I am new to this blog hop, though...nice to meet you in this blog hop.

    Elizabeth
    http://silversolara.blogspot.com

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your comments help keep us going and do a lot to make the blog more interesting.thanks