Reconciliation, published here for the first time in the English language, is an understated masterpiece of the Japanese 'I novel' tradition (a confessional literary form). Naoya Shiga's novella is a quietly devastating reflection on all kinds of reconciliation: from his own familial reunion, to the universal need to reconcile ourselves to the inevitability of ageing, loss and death.

About the Author

Naoya Shiga (1883-1971) was Japan's most celebrated practitioner of shishosetsu, or autobiographical fiction, the genre that dominated Japanese literature for much of the twentieth century; during his lifetime he was described as the 'god of prose'.

Ted Goossen has translated or co-translated five works by Haruki Murakami; he is editor of The Oxford Book of Japanese Short Stories (which includes his translation of Shiga's story 'Takibi') and co-editor of Monkey Business magazine, featuring the best of contemporary Japanese literature.

Reviews
Naoya Shiga's engaging and finely wrought novella of birth, death, illness and a writer's angst opens a window onto a society and milieu that are both distant and relatable. Watching the autobiographical protagonist trip over his flaws as a husband and son is painful, but the resolution still lifts the heart a century after publication. Ted Goossen's nuanced rendition of this miniature classic is a marvel of the translator's art and a service to the Republic of Letters -- DAVID MITCHELL
Praise for Naoya Shiga: [Shiga wrote] a number of short stories that are nearly perfect in their simplicity, directness and mastery of subject matter * * New York Times * *



Book Information
ISBN 9781838850456
Author Naoya Shiga
Format Paperback
Page Count 160
Imprint Canongate Canons
Publisher Canongate Books
Weight(grams) 113g
Dimensions(mm) 198mm * 129mm * 9mm