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brucehoward's review
5.0
As a biography of a person who has lived a fantastic life both observing, and participating as a key member of the modern Japanese literati, I consider this essential reading for anyone interested Japanese literature (modern or historic).
It's hard to overstate the impact Keene has had on making Japanese literature available not only to the non-Japanese world, but more broadly to those outside academia.
By itself that would make his biography worth reading but then there is the extraordinary range of famous authors, researchers, academics, historical places and events that his life's path has crossed, and that he documents herein.
5 stars
It's hard to overstate the impact Keene has had on making Japanese literature available not only to the non-Japanese world, but more broadly to those outside academia.
By itself that would make his biography worth reading but then there is the extraordinary range of famous authors, researchers, academics, historical places and events that his life's path has crossed, and that he documents herein.
5 stars
kazen's review
4.0
Have you ever read an obituary of a semi-famous person and think, "Hey, this person was awesome! Why didn't I know about them?" That's the way I feel about Donald Keene, though (thankfully) he's still alive and kicking.
Keene is a translator, professor, and scholar of Japanese literature. Those who know even a little bit about post-war writers like Mishima and Kawabata will love the anecdotes Keene relates. And anyone who has ever visited Japan, especially Kyoto, will enjoy his stories about what living here was like in the 1950's. (Above all, it was quiet!)
A lovely memoir by a humble, impressive man.
Keene is a translator, professor, and scholar of Japanese literature. Those who know even a little bit about post-war writers like Mishima and Kawabata will love the anecdotes Keene relates. And anyone who has ever visited Japan, especially Kyoto, will enjoy his stories about what living here was like in the 1950's. (Above all, it was quiet!)
A lovely memoir by a humble, impressive man.
lijon's review
4.0
This is the autobiography of Donald Keene, a famous scholar of Japanese literature. I found the first 2/3 of the book very interesting, especially the stories of how Keene ended up studying Japanese language and literature. I found the last third of the book kind of boring, though--there is a lot of discussion of whose books he translated and who he visited with. It seemed at the end as if he felt he had to mention everyone who might be still living, or whose families would want to be mentioned (if they were dead). I would recommend the first part of the book to anyone, but the end only to those who are really interested in writers unlikely to be known outside of Japan.
meeners's review
4.0
oh keene-sensei! i think it was nattie who once said to me how strange and amazing it is to study in an academic field whose own history is right there, staring you back in the face. this is keene's account of his role in that history, and it is fascinating on that count. people looking for more lurid personal details won't get it here; you won't find shocking revelations about famous japanese writers, either. instead, you get one very carefully crafted and very deliberately edited version (by his own admission) of a truly extraordinary life. fill in the blanks and you get maybe a more messy picture, issues of complicity and political expediency left unengaged, but i don't know if we can begrudge him that. i say "we" because even though i'm from a different generation and follow a different kind of scholarship, i am still in the same field, and that field is still indebted to and marked by its remarkable beginnings.
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