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Lament in the Night, by Nagahara Shoson
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Lament in the Night collects two remarkable novellas by the author Shosun Nagahara, translated from the Japanese for the first time. The title novella, originally published in 1925, follows itinerant day laborer Ishikawa Sazuko as he prowls the back alleys and bathhouses of Los Angeles, looking for a meal, a job or just someone to hold onto. The second novella follows a young mother working her way through bars and nightclubs after being abandoned by her gambling-addicted husband. Written in a deadpan tone that is both evocative and precise, this dazzling exercise in 1920s naturalist noir promises to become a classic of American literature. This first-ever English language publication of Lament in the Night opens up a whole realm of American literature that has been woefully underpublished and unexplored--namely, the literary heritage of non-English-speaking immigrants in America. Nagahara was influenced by many Western writers--especially Knut Hamsun, whose work he translated into Japanese--and his novels combine the gritty sensibility of Los Angeles noir with elements of Japanese traditional storytelling and epistolary techniques.
- Sales Rank: #363498 in Books
- Brand: Brand: Kaya Press
- Published on: 2012-12-31
- Original language: English
- Number of items: 1
- Dimensions: 6.75" h x 5.00" w x 1.25" l, .95 pounds
- Binding: Paperback
- 456 pages
- Used Book in Good Condition
Most helpful customer reviews
9 of 11 people found the following review helpful.
Life as a dark journey in a land where we are all immigrants
By Phred
Lament in the Night is not lite escape reading. The two stories herein are dark and unrelenting. The author Shoson Nagahara makes no claim to be a polished writer, but he has the same kind of style that made Hemmingway famous. What lifted Hemmingway's deliberate simplicity were the huge issues he considered: life and death, loyalty, love, war and peace. Nagahara is exclusively focused on the life of those Japanese immigrants who would later be called the Issi Failures.
The full contents of this book include English translations of the short story Lament in the Night and the novella The Tale of Osato. These two stories represent two of three known published works by the Japanese immigrant to America: Nagahara Hideaki. These two he published under the pen name of Shoson Nagahara and as such I will refer to him. His third still existing work was a play. The translator, Andrew Leong has identified several other possible works by Shoson, but has so far not been able to locate copies. Shoson published to a small market, mostly as serial submissions to a small Japanese newspaper published in California.
Added to the book are a few period photographs, often of the actual locations mentioned in the stories. There are some very useful notes that help to explain the subtleties of Shoson's language. Leong has also added as much biographical information as he could research on Shoson including it in an insightful essay. Also included are two contemporary reviews of Lament in the Night. Both were written by Japanese American immigrants. These are interesting more for the style than the content.
These books were written in America during the early to mid-1920's. This would have been roughly between the time when , by agreement Japan made it difficult for their male expatriates to send for their wives (so called photograph wives, meaning typically arranged weddings to women only known to the husband via photograph) and an American law that forbid any Japanese immigration. This was the `Roaring `20's prohibition era for most Americans.
For the people in Shoson's books, it was a time of itinerant work at minimal salaries with most never able to work their way out of poverty. Some, by evading the law, selling themselves or selling booze could increase their chances for fiscal well being but none could achieve security.
Lament in the Night follows a very unsympathetic Ishikawa Sakuzo. He spends his short story begging, complaining and barely surviving. His few friends include his married girlfriend and someone who had suffered hard times with him, but is now earning his way into better things. Sakuzo is of little use to them and will, by the end of the story, loose both. Life for him is a where you temporize do the least you can and await death.
The Story of Osatu follows what we are told is the tale of a real woman. Osato arrives in San Francisco, age 17 and newly married to a much older man. He will prove to be worthless and will desert her. She will give birth to a son, and then loose him. She will marry a second older man, who is terminally ill.
As she is forced to deal with isolation and tragedy she always finds a reason to keep going. She works because it is her duty to work hard. She continues to work because of her son ; she has to work to provide care for her dying husband and etc.
Both Osato and Sakuzo do achieve some degree of security, he as a dishwasher, and her as the owner of a speakeasy. For both this security is uncertain. For him, it is because he is a looser and she has no luck.
At the first level, Shoson is detailing immigrant life on the edge. The immigrant narrative that we tend to prefer is the one where the newcomer faces adversity and with hard work and good will achieves greatness. Lament in the Night is a reminder that even as many did live this story, many more were consumed or merely cast off. Some failed at their own hand, some failed as a matter of luck. These are people limited to low paying often unsteady or low prestige jobs. Very few can hold these kinds of jobs and have any prospects
For both Sakuzo and Osato, return to Japan is the way out of the failure that is their American experience. We are left to believe that Sakuzo lacks the character to achieve his return. Osato is just able to pay her way back. The record is unclear, but Shoson may have returned to his native country.
At a larger level , Shoson has written a dark description of what life may be for all of us. His very dark view of life may have been a result of the literary style known as Naturalism, or he may have been expressing the hard realities of his experience in America. Either way this is a world encapsulated by the two old cliches: 'Life is hard then you die' and `everyone dies alone'. It is glib to suggest that his books merely fleshes out cliches. I make the reference to save some time.
In a similar way, Osato's story seems to be abbreviated. It may have been that he realized that this unrelenting dark story was too depressing to stretch out, or that he was under pressure from the newspaper.
These are two short reads. They chronicle a view of the immigrant experience few of us have seen before. The larger philosophy of life as a hard dark place is well presented and worthy of our time. This is part of what would be lost American culture and thanks are due to the translator and editor Andrew Leong.
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful.
depressing journeys
By monkuboy
First off, I liked both of these stories. There is nothing really exciting about them and it's more like reading a diary done in the 3rd person, and on top of that it's depressing because these characters really live on the bottom edge and are constantly in a state of despair. So why did I like it? I'm not really sure - perhaps because I'm Japanese-American and it interested me to read about the experiences of those who took the chance to immigrate to the U.S. back in the early 1900's. It certainly was not what I had expected, as most of the people portrayed in the stories are not what you'd call real admirable people. I found myself reading to find out what these characters would do and how they would end up. If you're looking for something thrilling, skip this book. Both stories portray a real, albeit depressing slice of life for the main character in each of the two books. It's sort of like stumbling upon the blog of someone you don't know and you wind up following it just to see what happens to them every day - even though it is nothing exciting you still get interested in what they do.
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful.
A wonderful sense of place
By Azazello
Phred's review provides a good overview, but I'd like to add a few additional notes. For this reader, what made the book really enjoyable was not so much the stories themselves, but the vivid portrayals of urban California in the 1920s. Nagahara presents lushly detailed scenes of early 20th century Los Angeles (and, in the second story, San Francisco as well), all from the unusual perspective of a Japanese immigrant laborer. The period atmosphere is enhanced even more by the archival photographs sprinkled throughout the text, some of which provide glimpses of the very same buildings and situations mentioned in the tales. A number of these are remarkable works of art in themselves, and they add a whole other layer to the experience of the book.
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