A Distant Journey
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Summary
Editor's review
"Distant Journey" uses a seemingly tranquil trip to a hot spring resort to lay out the turbulent undercurrents and unhealable emotional fractures within the characters. With his signature delicate brushstrokes, Kawabata depicts the alienation, loneliness, and reminiscence of the past under enormous historical change. He does not indulge in sentimental lyricism but analyzes the eternal tension between love and death, memory and reality with almost surgical precision. Reading this work requires the reader to set aside the singular expectation of "Kawabata-style aestheticism" and instead immerse themselves in his more complex, more modern portrayal of the inner landscape.
The value of this book lies in providing us with another important window into understanding Kawabata's literary universe. It is not only a key footnote to his postwar creation but also, with its intensity of introspection and profound insight into human nature, demonstrates the power of literature to transcend the predicaments of its time. For readers who wish to go beyond the surface and delve deeply into the core of Kawabata's literature and the spiritual world of postwar Japan, this is a rare "distant" and profound reading journey.
Who it's for
A good fit for
- Literary researchers hoping to gain a deeper understanding of Kawabata's postwar creation and ideological transformation
- Readers interested in postwar Japanese social psychology and literary expression
- Literature enthusiasts who appreciate calm, introspective, and philosophically rich narrative styles
- Readers seeking to go beyond the classic impressions of *Snow Country* and *The Old Capital* and explore more dimensions of Kawabata's literature
Not a good fit for
- Readers expecting Kawabata's early extreme aestheticism and picturesque storytelling
- Readers seeking light entertainment or novels with strong plot conflicts
Reading tips
- It is recommended to first read representative works such as *Snow Country* to establish a foundational impression, then read this book in comparison to appreciate the evolution of the author's style
- While reading, pay attention to the extensive descriptions of memory, time, and perception, which are key to understanding the characters' inner worlds
- Be patient and immerse yourself in the alienated atmosphere and psychological rhythm created by the text; there is no need to rush toward a clear plot direction
About the publisher
Hunan Literature and Art Publishing House is a publisher known for its literary titles, with a catalogue spanning foreign literature, world classics, classical Chinese literature, essays and miscellaneous writings, and mystery and detective fiction. Judging from the more than 1,100 books in the database, the press publishes foreign classics such as Crime and Punishment, Snow Country, The Complete Sherlock Holmes and Letter from an Unknown Woman, as well as Chinese classical and modern literary works including Lu Xun's Wandering and A Madman's Diary and Wu Jingzi's The Scholars. In terms of translators and authors, translations by Cao Guowei and Tan Jinghua appear in its foreign literature titles, and the authors involved include Dostoevsky, Kawabata Yasunari, Conan Doyle and Zweig. Its publishing character lies in introducing Chinese and foreign literary classics side by side, balancing popular and serious works and attending to both readability and literary value. Public information is limited; the above is a brief overview based solely on the books in the database.
Contents
- 版权信息
- 上部 遥远的旅行
- 凝视的少女
- 银座疑云
- 旋转椅
- 木造房屋
- 电话邀约
- 来客
- 兄妹心意
- 开店
- 尖叫声
- 伊豆的母亲
- 自己的幻影
- 夜晚的酒
- 次日清晨
- 案发之后
- 笑声
- 花季
- 认错人
- 一个女人
- 昏暗的廊下
- 盛开的蔷薇
- 伊香保
- 三人行
- 司机
- 轻井泽
- 此刻
- 雨
- 薄日
- 岔路
- 旅人
- 女人的命
- 下部 河流流经的小城故事
- 落水的男孩
- 葫芦花铁门
- 美男子大赛
- 窗口美少女
- 节日过后
- 守护公主
- 夜晚的小城
- 大衣领子
- 酒馆的女友
- 一颗小牙
- 踏霜而归
- 次日清晨
- 流行性感冒
- 一直在等你
- 女人的爱情
- 高跟鞋与木屐
- 瘦削的手指
- 清澈见底的河流
- 不知去处
- 故乡的雪
- 独角戏
- 胸前
- 花纹外套
- 手套里
- Clean Hit
- 奇怪的小城
- 像他的男子
- 东京的雪
- 上野
- 短发
- 永远，永远
- 夜晚的恐惧
- 十二点的宿舍
- 借电话
- 没办法
- 老照片
- 小偷
- 寒椿
- 临近开业
- 临近春分
- 落花
- Welcome Fussa!
- 骑摩托车的人
- 清晨的木莲
- 燕子
- 间奏曲
- 摇晃的巢
- 明亮的五月
- 昏暗的房间
- 徘徊
- 庭院的嫩叶
- 工作
FAQ
How does this book differ in style from Kawabata's most famous work, *Snow Country*?
What is the main story of *Distant Journey*?
Is this book suitable as an introductory read for Kawabata?
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About the author
Kawabata Yasunari (1899–1972) was a Japanese novelist and a leading figure of the New Sensationist school, born in Osaka. A prolific writer, he is represented on this site by 147 works, spanning essays and miscellaneous prose as well as foreign literature. His representative works include The Izu Dancer, Snow Country, Thousand Cranes, and The Old Capital; Snow Country in particular exists in multiple editions and translations, a sign of its wide circulation. Kawabata is known for his delicate prose, which interweaves human emotion with natural scenery to express the spiritual character of the Japanese people, and often conveys a sense of the beauty of impermanence in life and death. In 1968 he received the Nobel Prize in Literature, an important landmark in the global recognition of Japanese literature; he died in 1972. Beyond his novels, his essays and miscellaneous writings also deserve attention.
Lian Zixin is an author about whom relatively little public information is currently available; neither nationality, dates of birth and death, nor an English name has been clearly recorded. Five of the author's works are held in the collection: Paradise, A Distant Journey, Love from a Shipwreck, Tight Seams in the Water, and The Gifted. Judging from these titles, the writing is generally classified under foreign literature and mystery and suspense, and the subject matter appears to combine emotional storytelling with the unfolding of puzzles. The imagery in the titles also leans toward motifs such as travel, shipwrecks, water, and seams, which carry a metaphorical quality. Because reliable information about the author's life and creative background is lacking, it is difficult at present to give a complete account of the author's career and development. Readers may instead begin with these five works themselves and appreciate the narrative orientation and stylistic features that move between foreign literature and mystery and suspense.
