“People are born with their own special destiny, and it’s not something you can change just because you want to.” Chapter 1: Newlywed The story opens with a […]
Japanese literature
NP
“People die all the time. Life is a lot more fragile than we think. So you should treat others in a way that leaves no regrets. Fairly, and […]
Japanese literature
On Parole
“A man released from prison is like a ghost—neither fully alive nor entirely dead.” Chapter 1: Release Shiro Kikutani, a middle-aged man, is released from prison after serving […]
Japanese literature
The Hunting Gun
“The hunting gun is a lonely thing. It is not like a sword, which can be drawn in a moment of passion. A gun must be loaded, aimed, […]
Japanese literature
Hotel Iris
“The sea was calm that night, as if it had swallowed all the noise in the world.” Chapter 1 The novel opens in a small seaside town where […]
Japanese literature
The Key
“A woman’s diary is a mirror of her heart.” Chapter 1 The novel opens with the husband, a middle-aged professor, secretly reading his wife Ikuko’s diary. He becomes […]
Japanese literature
Seven Japanese Tales
“The cruelest lies are often told in silence.” A Portrait of Shunkin The story follows the blind musician Shunkin and her devoted servant Sasuke, who worships her despite […]
Japanese literature
Naomi
“She was like a doll, a Western doll—so delicate, so fragile, yet so bewitching.” Chapter 1: The Encounter Joji, a reserved and well-off engineer in his late twenties, […]
German literature
Young Törless
“For the sake of completeness, one must also mention the torment of the soul.” Chapter 1: Arrival at the Boarding School The novel opens with Törless, a sensitive […]
German literature
Agnes
“You said you would make up a story about me. I said you didn’t know enough about me. You said that was the point.” Chapter 1: The Meeting […]