Literary The MobileRead Literary Book Club November 2011 Vote

[sun surfer]

Congratulations to Hamlet53, our second lottery winner, who has been randomly selected from the nominees to choose this month's work.

First, the winner will need to select a work and post it.

To help avoid confusion among voters, the winner's first post in this thread should be of the chosen work, the winner should only post one selection and, once posted, should not change it. Any questions or discussion the winner may have about choosing a work should be posted in the nominations thread or PMed to me.

Then, the work will need TEN confirmation votes to declare it our monthly selection.

The winner may choose any work that he or she considers literature, except for any monthly selections of either book club in the last two years. Anyone else may vote to confirm that the selected work is considered or seems to be literature, whether or not one finds it appealing.

This process will be open for THREE days.

If the winner doesn't post a selection, or if the selection does not receive enough confirmation votes, then we will revert to a second-chance month. The five non-winning selections with the most votes from previous months will be put to a short vote.

What is literature for the purposes of this book club? A well-regarded work. Often (but not always) it is important, challenging, critically acclaimed, has a deeper meaning, makes one think. It may be from ancient times to today; it may be from anywhere in the world; it may be obscure or famous, short or long; it may be a story, a novel, a play, a poem, an essay or another written form.

Hamlet53, the floor is yours!

[Hamlet53]

So after a good deal of thought my selection is Spring Snow by Yukio Mishima.

About the book:



The first novel of Mishima's landmark tetralogy, The Sea of fertility

Spring Snow is set in Tokyo in 1912, when the hermetic world of the ancient aristocracy is being breached for the first time by outsiders -- rich provincial families unburdened by tradition, whose money and vitality make them formidable contenders for social and political power.

Among this rising new elite are the ambitious Matsugae, whose son has been raised in a family of the waning aristocracy, the elegant and attenuated Ayakura. Coming of age, he is caught up in the tensions between old and new -- fiercely loving and hating the exquisite, spirited Ayakura Satoko. He suffers in psychic paralysis until the shock of her engagement to a royal prince shows him the magnitude of his passion, and leads to a love affair that is as doomed as it was inevitable.

About Mishima:



Yukio Mishima was the pen name of Kimitake Hiraoka (January 14, 1925 – November 25, 1970), a Japanese author, poet, playwright, actor and film director, also remembered for his ritual suicide by seppuku after a failed coup d'état. Nominated three times for the Nobel Prize in Literature, Mishima was internationally famous and is considered one of the most important Japanese authors of the 20th century, whose avant-garde work displayed a blending of modern and traditional aesthetics that broke cultural boundaries, with a focus on sexuality, death, and political change.

As the book description indicates this is the first in a tetralogy. Book one does stand alone, but it is worth reading all four, if you like the first. It apparently is available as an ebook, just not in the United States. Inkmesh search.

[issybird]

Confirm. It's literature.

[JSWolf]

Originally Posted by issybird

Confirm. It's literature.

So what makes this literature?

[sun surfer]

I confirm.

[Bookworm_Girl]

Sounds very interesting. Only a handful available in paperback at Amazon.

[issybird]

The university library in my town has it, so I'm set.

[issybird]

Originally Posted by Hamlet53

It apparently is available as an ebook, just not in the United States. Inkmesh search.

In another thread, I saw someone say that s/he filled in his/her US address at Waterstone's but chose UK as the country, and it all went swimmingly. I haven't tried this yet, but I will. They have great ebook sales.

[Nyssa]

That sounds very interesting.....I hope I can find a copy for my Kindle.

[issybird]

Originally Posted by JSWolf

So what makes this literature?

The quality of the writing. Its exploration of the human condition. His stellar execution of the themes. "I know it when I see it." Thank you, Justice Potter Stewart.

[Bookworm_Girl]

Originally Posted by issybird

The university library in my town has it, so I'm set.

Not available at my library so I will buy the paperback. My library does have the DVD Mishima: A Life in Four Chapters which looks intriguing. It is a 1985 film which mixes flashbacks from his life with scenes from 3 of his novels. Music by Philip Glass and Kronos Quartet. Sounds very artistic.

[toomanybooks]

I confirm.

[Bookworm_Girl]

Sorry, I technically forgot to say I confirm in my first post.

[JSWolf]

Originally Posted by issybird

The quality of the writing. Its exploration of the human condition. His stellar execution of the themes. "I know it when I see it." Thank you, Justice Potter Stewart.

Sounds interesting. Not sure I'll be able to read this in time. The problem is that I'll be away and if I cannot get it before I go, I won't have much time left when I get back.

[kennyc]

I'm not finding it as an ebook. Is that not a requirement for the LBC?