Description: This first full length, and long overdue, study of Kawabata, Japans first Nobel laureate for literature and the most widely known for his novels Snow Country (1960) and Sound of the Mountain (1970).
Review Quotes:
'Starrs still manages to not alienate or overwhelm the reader in verbose rhetoric as he moves form subject to subject. "Soundings" is at times an excellent piece of comparative literature, and at others an equally worthy analysis of Kawabata's diverse career. "Soundings" will inspire its readers to delve into the "ficitve art" of the great writer, Yasunari Kawabata.' - John Soltice, New Zealand Journal of Asian Studies
...the book is well worthy to be introduced not only to readers of Kawabata and Japanese literature in general, but also to wider audiences because of its broader cultural perspective. - Japanese Studies, Sakuko Matsui