/lit/ - Literature

[Anonymous No.2808197]

My girlfriend (who is part Japanese), is very interested in Japanese (and in fact just Asian in general) film, music, literature, and everything else, but she just can't stand "artsy" stories where, as she puts it, "nothing happens."

Can anyone recommend me some Japanese or Asian novels that are great but also very exciting/involving in some way? Thank you.

[Anonymous No.2808203]

I don't see how she can have much interest in Japanese literature if she doesn't like "artsy" stories where "nothing happens." Because Japanese lit in general is suggestive and sparse and "artsy."

Maybe Musashi by Eiji Yoshikawa and Rashomon and Other Stories by Ryunosuke Akutagawa for Japanese lit.

To Live by Yu Hua and Red Sorghum by Mo Yan for recent Chinese lit, though their classics like Three Kingdoms and Journey to the West are pretty much nonstop action. She probably wouldn't like Story of the Stone though.

[Anonymous No.2808218]

Sorry to break it to you, but you are dating a casual.
Hopefully her other qualities and virtues make up for this deficit.

[Anonymous No.2808239]

>>2808218
>rating females by the media they passively consume

That is our very problem today. We've become such a numb, slacking society that all we do is listen to and watch and read shit. It's become the center of our lives to the point that we rate partners by what we'll be doing together all our lives: Watching tv, listening to some shitty band and reading a book once in a while. We don't rate each other by what we produce anymore, but by what we consume. Fuck that pretty bitch helping the homeless, she listens to Lil' Wayne. Only strictly patrician core bitches who bitch about book covers, right?

[Anonymous No.2808244]

>>2808239
Pretty sure he was joking. Such frivolities are commonplace on this board.

[Anonymous No.2808246]

Battle Royal

[Anonymous No.2808247]

>but she just can't stand "artsy" stories where, as she puts it, "nothing happens."

so what you're saying is that she's exactly like all women as Shunsuke presents it in Forbidden Colors?

[Anonymous No.2808251]

>>2808203
Thank you for the suggestions. I'll tell her to look into these. I myself have read just a handful of Japanese novels, but they all did seem to embody this sparse and suggestive atmospheric approach, which personally I enjoy very much. Still, I know how tiring that can get, and between books like Battle Royale and films like Tokyo Drifter and Branded to Kill, it's obvious that the Japanese have at least some element of excitement in their culture.

>>2808218
She isn't an "intellectual" by any means, but I quite like girls that are more down to earth and personally I don't find that to be a defect in a person. I've tried dating literature majors and whatnot, and they are such a bore, honestly.

[Anonymous No.2808255]

Tokyo Story, Floating Weeds, really--anything by Yasujiro Ozu would be a safe bet.

[Anonymous No.2808265]

>>2808255
These are films, and the entire antithesis of what OP is asking for. If you look subtlety up in a dictionary it will have a picture of Ozu. What are you talking about.

[Anonymous No.2808266]

Probably gonna get called out on this, but I'd recommend any of James Clavell's Asian saga (Shogun, Gai-jin, King Rat, Tai-pan) and anything by Haruki Murakami, but especially Norwegian Wood.

[Anonymous No.2808268]

OP here, if I could add a little specificity to my request, it would probably be safest to recommend her more recent novels, as older ones are what most people tend to call "boring."

She also likes horror, if that helps with anything.

[Anonymous No.2808275]

>>2808239
>fucking five star post motherfucker

[Anonymous No.2808281]

>>2808268
Edogawa Ranpo isn't recent, but his works tend to be exciting. He's mystery/horror/crime generally.

She'd probably like Ryu Murakami. He's gory and exciting and whatever.

[Anonymous No.2808285]

>>2808239

You changed my life, thanks.

Here is a mini chainsaw on a pole. It means a lot to me.

[Anonymous No.2808296]

>>2808281
Oo, this Murakami looks very much up her alley, especially Audition, which sounds very cool. Thanks anon!

[Anonymous No.2808301]

>>2808239
that's post-fordism for you. but in a world where consumption is the main mechanism to construct identities it does serve to judge the shallow, average man. for instance, a person who like "artsy" stories where "nothing happens" would come up as a patient and contemplative person, who would probably tend to be a listener. of course that doesn't mean it is like that, it's just a silly assumption.

anyway, this is a bad thread, the sticky has pertinent info for it so you should just check it instead.

[Anonymous No.2808315]

Is that Mishima's severed head?

[Anonymous No.2808316]

Turn on the lights in here, baby
Extra bright, I want y’all to see this
Turn on the lights in here, baby
Know what I mean, want you to see everything
Want you to see this fucking guy who can't use google

[Anonymous No.2808335]

>>2808301
If you had ever checked the sticky yourself you would know there is no information about Asian literature that specifies the quality of "excitement."

>>2808315
Yes.

[Anonymous No.2808353]

>>2808239
fact is, judging someone by what they consume is completely valid, whether you like it or not, since people are going to flock to things that conform to their own personalities. you can respect that bitch that helps the homeless but that doesn't mean you have to respect her personality as a whole--I sure as fuck wouldn't enjoy conversing with her about music, and I'd assume all her aesthetic interests were just as shallow. she was probably sentenced to that duty by the courts....lol, i kid.
do you believe also that your job defines you? that would technically be a logical conclusion from the statement you made. but of course it's a ridiculous proposition, or perhaps just as logical as judging someone by their consumption--at the very least there is hardly a difference between the two.

[Anonymous No.2808354]

Try Koji Suzuki.

[Anonymous No.2808367]

>>2808239

>We don't rate each other by what we produce anymore, but by what we consume. Fuck that pretty bitch helping the homeless, she listens to Lil' Wayne.

There is something to be said for the truth behind this, to be sure. But I think you're grossly oversimplifying it.

The media people consume is often a pretty good indicator to their average level of intelligence. Or at least analytical intelligence. A college grad might have shitty taste in music and film, but at least they'll be well-read.

Call me fickle if you want, but normally the people who have shit taste in everything are dullards who aren't capable of interesting conversation. It isn't that I prefer people with good taste, it's that I'm inclined to gravitate towards people who I think will be culturally knowledgeable. They are interesting people to me because they're the type of people who often keep with with the news and current events as well. If they're culturally inquisitive then more often than not they're inquisitive about a broad spectrum of things.

And don't reduce literature to some frivolous nothing like an anti-intellectual apologist, it's OK to be a little bit discerning when it comes to the type of person you want to spend the rest of your life with, jesus..

[Anonymous No.2808383]

>>2808367
>that feel when you casually use a couple 10-dollar words and your listener's eyes glaze over
>that feel when talk about movies and applaud Kubrick, Anderson, etc and your listener applauds The Expendables
>that feel when the only other person you know with a collection of books is your friend's wife with a wall full of Nora Roberts
>that feel when these people with shitty taste also produce nothing of worth

[Anonymous No.2808389]

>>2808367
See, I personally seek out people with interests different from mine. I couldn't bare the idea of marrying a literary girl with whom every conversation would be, "Oh what are you reading?" "_____" "Ah I love that one!" "Ah me too!" Yawning to death.

People who, in a potential partner look for someone with interests identical to themselves are really in love with themselves and should just jerk off or talk into a mirror.

[Anonymous No.2808390]

>>2808197

>this

also, dump that bitch, she's clearly a pleb

[Anonymous No.2808391]

>>2808389
If all you can say about your interests are "Ah I love that one!" "Ah me too!", maybe you're just boring?

[Anonymous No.2808392]

>>2808383
You sound like a real tool.

BUT WHERE ON EARTH DID YOU HEAR ABOUT WES ANDERSON? I THOUGHT I WAS THE ONLY ONE WHO KNEW HIM! KUBRICK TOO: WE MIGHT BE SOULMATES.

Let's withhold our judgments until we get past the very earliest of entry level directors, please.

[Anonymous No.2808398]

>>2808392
There's a delightful video of Wes Anderson interviewing Bogdanovich, where WA is just incredibly nervous throughout and completely lacks any connection to B. It's really awkward.

[Anonymous No.2808399]

>>2808392
lol What a whiney faggot you are.
OP was just saying he is surrounded by people who have bad taste, not that he has amazing taste. I suppose only people who have the most obscure taste possible are worthy of posting hr\ere. Take your elitist edgy summerfag bullshit elsewhere.

[Anonymous No.2808401]

Have her read the Chushingura. That's pretty exciting.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chūshingura

[Anonymous No.2808404]

>>2808399
I meant anon, not OP

[Anonymous No.2808412]

>>2808197
You're talking about the trait openness to experience (on the Big 5).

I think >>2808239 is wrong when he says we don't rate each other by what we produce anymore. In fact, there was never a time when people were judged by what they produce for the most part. It is probably true that we are more saturated in media of all kinds today than ever before, and the ways that we relate to each other and the consumption of media might be a cause of some concern. However the post is mostly a kneejerk response looking for a close-at-hand way to feel superior to those who judge others by their choices in the consumption of culture, and to impress upon them this feeling of their moral inferiority.

[Anonymous No.2808414]

>>2808383

>>2808239

This anon also doesn't seem to understand that intellectually interesting people "produce" just as much. If not more.

But of course we should all feel bad for wanting to consume things that are intellectually stimulating and to be around others who do.

How dare we want to deviate from the lowest common denominator.

The nerve of it all.

[Anonymous No.2808424]

>>2808383

>complains about plebs
>fawns over Anderson

Got some bad news for you, kid.

[Anonymous No.2808426]

>>2808424
I ain't that guy, but I am pretty sure he meant PTA, not Wes.

[Anonymous No.2808430]

>>2808424
>taking opportunity to critique anon's passing comment about movies to assert a sense of self-superiority
Are you the same child from >>2808392

[Anonymous No.2808431]

>>2808424
There's plebs and there's plebs. This guy just wants somebody just a teeny weeny bit more snobby than those he's used to being around. He's not asking for someone from whom he can borrow a Tarkovsky box-set over the weekend.

[Anonymous No.2808435]

>>2808426

Same thing. That's like being pissed off that people don't want to talk about Scorsese.

If your film discussions are at the same level of depth as the average Empire Magazine reader then you really aren't in a position to be elitist.

[Anonymous No.2808444]

>>2808435
The whole point is that there are too many people who can't even get on the level artistic endeavor. Whatever your opinions about this particular anon's tastes are, I'm sure most people here can relate to being around people who don't even reach this level of aesthetic. To nitpick about these particular authors/directors completely misses the point and all you're doing now is playing the "i'm more elitist than you" game.

[Anonymous No.2808456]

Shusaku Endo's novels move faster than a lot of Japanese lit; "The Samurai" is probably the best for that. But they are still "arty" in that they really aren't about their action, directly.

If she's religious, suggest "Silence". If she's morbid, suggest "The Sea & Poison".

[Anonymous No.2808467]

Summer of the Ubume.
Dragon Sword and Wind Child.
Pretty much anything that was printed under the Haika Soru label.

[Anonymous No.2808501]

>>2808444
You're 100% right anon.

[Anonymous No.2808562]

>>2808244
I know, but I figured I could still make a point.

>>2808301
I've known plenty of people who only indulge in shallow media but aren't shallow people. It's just that they don't get their depth of character by what they watch, read or hear.

>>2808353
>I sure as fuck wouldn't enjoy conversing with her about music
Those are the least interesting conversations anyway, I'm sure there's more to talk about between people than what comes out of their noiseboxes. A person helping the homeless probably has more interesting stories to tell than some blasé nose pierced bitch who went to see the Post-Vegan Uniquehornz that day.

>do you believe also that your job defines you? that would technically be a logical conclusion from the statement you made. but of course it's a ridiculous proposition, or perhaps just as logical as judging someone by their consumption--at the very least there is hardly a difference between the two.
I believe that it can, but often doesn't define a person. But work is often a necessity, so I don't tend to judge people to harshly on it. Unless they're the careerist type. I mostly judge people on what they do with the time they do have for themselves. Doing nothing else but sucking in other peoples creativity like a cultural parasite isn't high on my list of approvement.

[Anonymous No.2808567]

>>2808367
You do meet a lot of dumb fucks who like dumb media, and you also get a lot of immensely pretentious but often still dumb fucks consuming the good stuff. It's all too shaky to judge someone by it though. That's why I rather judge people by what they actually do and how they justify those activities. I do think the literature consumption of a potential partner to be absolutely frivolous compared to plenty of other things.

>>2808414
I never denied that people with interesting interests can't be good people. I merely protest against judging people by their preferred flavour in consumed media. I don't find anything wrong with high brow culture, but let's not judge a doctor who does pro bono work because he likes to bust out a crip walk after a few forties instead of sitting at the opera.

It's also mostly the people who are otherwise a vacuum personality-wise who feel the most inclined to identify themselves by what culture they consume. Hence bandshirts.

[Anonymous No.2808569]

Personally, I tend to enjoy media of all kinds (music, film, literature, anime, you name it) more when I never discuss it with other people, or at least initiate a conversation about it. There are a lot of other interesting things to talk about. You wouldn't want to read a story where all the characters talked about was media (unless it was done in a very creative and subtle way), would you?

Create your own stories from your conversations with people, rather than judge them on something so subjectively shallow as taste in readily available media formats.

That being said, I often find that I enjoy the media I consume more when I do so in secret, not looking for the acceptance or rejection of others. I also find it much more inspiring creatively. It creates a sort of loneliness where you're interpretation of the other world created by the story is the only one you're exposed to. This monist interpretation of events is very important in writing, even when writing a narrative from multiple perspectives, each with their own interpretation.

Its sort of like how a very small music scene, or a film that very few people have seen, tend to be the most interesting. With all this readily available media that your peers have most likely never been exposed to, it is now easier to create your own private creative world of ideas, or "scene" all from the comfort of your room. It's a sort of "creative consumption" that will make whatever you produce and pastiche from what you've consumed much more interesting.

[Anonymous No.2808579]

>Fuck that pretty bitch helping the homeless, she listens to Lil' Wayne.
Fuck that pretty bitch who listens to Lil' Wayne, she helps homeless people.

Fixed that for you.

[Anonymous No.2808585]

>>2808579
>not feeling sympathy for the homeless

[Anonymous No.2808592]

>>2808585
>2012
>emotional involvement
Do you even enlightened?

[Anonymous No.2808604]

>>2808592
Typical pleb self-serving arhat who hasn't taken the Bodhisattva vow.