Noon Elusive and Other Stories

9 Results He has published two collections of short stories, a highly-acclaimed memoir, a post-war history of Japan and a . Noon Elusive and Other Stories.
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For further information on all Hans Brinckmann's books and how to order, go to: The Japanese-language literary magazine Atlas, published by Nishida Shoten in Tokyo, has been featuring, since , one of Brinckmann's essays in each of their half-yearly issues, in Hiromi Mizoguchi's translation. The essays will eventually be published also in their original English version. The story is about Peter van Doorn, born inHolland, who dreams of life with a camera.

His father, Eduard - a journalist and former WWII photographer - at first supports his son's ambition and even gives him his wartime Leica. But when Peter tries to save someone from a fatal accident instead of "capturing the moment of violent death," Eduard decides that his son lacks the guts for "real" photography, the kind he practiced during the war, the only kind of photography "worthy of a man," even in peacetime. He forces Peter into overseas banking instead. Starting in , Peter's exotic career takes him from his native Holland to Singapore and on to Chicago where he marries a socialite.


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But his dream never dies, and at last, in , he sacrifices his stable career and family to embark on the life of a freelance photographer - in New York. Two years later, with his savings running out, an unexpected breakthrough: The story is a human drama, rich in dialogue, and with a healthy dose of humor and, well, 'intimacy. Written with subtlety and force, Brinckmann brings his main character to the point of no return. Crucially, from a reader perspective, it is also a damn good yarn. An examination of Japan's rise from defeat to prosperity during the post-war period , the spectacular collapse of its bubble economy at the end of Showa, and the often agonizing restructuring of its economy and society since then.

The book considers some of the options open to Japan as it tries to come to terms with the very different realities facing it in the globalized world of today. The writing is readable and concise.

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The book is impeccably organized. Brinckmann has sorted out what he wants to say and how he's going to say it. And most of all, the book is incredibly interesting. His insights on Japan are really high quality Many of the things that I have wondered about are nicely explained in this book The book should definitely be on the top-three reads on Japan.

Penguin Modern Classics Edition

A clear five star book. There is plenty of food for thought by the Japanese in this book When you read Brinckmann's description of the s' demos in Tokyo you know the writer is a witness to the facts of history This is Hiromi Mizuguchi's translation of "Showa Japan: Due to closure of the publisher, Random House Kodansha, this Japanese edition of the book is no longer on the market, but second-hand copies can be found here. Highlighting the intriguing surroundings and cultural details, each story draws the reader into an extraordinary experience.

The offerings include A Leap into the Light, the compelling tale of a Dutch businessman's secretive life with the young daughter of his late Japanese mistress; Kyoto Bus Stop, about the chance encounter between a visitor from Europe and a mysterious young French woman in Kyoto; Pets in Marriage, which chronicles a Japanese married couple and their respective preference for cats and dogs, which comes to a head at the foot of Mt.

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Fuji; Twice upon a Plum Tree, an exploration of a Dutch diplomat's ambivalence about a Japanese woman he once loved; and the title story, The Tomb in the Kyoto Hills, about a Chicago-based lawyer who moves his family to Japan to find the truth about his origins once and for all. It was, therefore, a delight to come across such well-grounded and engaging narratives.

The stories, all very strong on local detail, atmosphere and credible characterization, are structured to build anticipation and reader commitment, no easy task. In Hans Brinckman we find a seasoned writer who has spent much of his adult life in Japan, and is thereby able to summon cultural elements that immeasurably enrich the tales in this collection Unconstrained by locale or subject matter, his lines celebrate the marvel of love and ponder life's irretrievable losses. He is no stranger to whimsy either, nor to the search for life's ultimate meaning.

Where some poets, even great ones, resist the vision of anything finer than a futile individual existence, Brinckmann celebrates life's brimming energies, even as they discharge into more temperate currents with the advance of age. For the full review, "Words for All Seasons".

The Noonday Cemetery and Other Stories

This is a cosmopolitan collection of seven short stories. An American architect in Paris, a Balkan parachutist, a Dutch diplomat in Japan, a New York heart surgeon, an English undertaker - the characters are as colorful as they are diverse. What they have in common is that they are all in the throes of personal crisis, mild and manageable, or severe and harrowing. Consciously or not, they are in search of the high noon of life. Something Great and Beautiful.

Dinner at the Center of the Earth. The Best Kind of People. Henry Prize Stories Charles Bovary, Country Doctor. The End of the Moment We Had. The Silence of the Girls. A Key to Treehouse Living.

leondumoulin.nl: Hans Brinckmann: Books, Biography, Blogs, Audiobooks, Kindle

We That Are Young. Notes from the Fog. The Air You Breathe. Frances de Pontes Peebles.


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