In 1968 he became the first Japanese writer to receive the Nobel Prize for Literature.

The Time Literary Supplement (London) 'Kawabata's novels are among the most affecting and original works of our time.'Ībout the Author YASUNARI KAWABATA was born in Osaka in 1899. Kawabata probes a complicated human relationship.' The haiku works entirely by implication so, in this novel, using the same delicate, glancing technique, Mr. Yet, in chronicling its doomed course, one of Japan's greatest modern writers creates a novel dense in implication and exalting in its sadness.

Shimamura is a dilettante of the feelings Komako has staked her life on them. It is there, at an isolated mountain hotspring, that the wealthy sophisticate Shimamura meets the geisha Komako, who gives herself to him without regrets, knowing that their passion cannot last. In chronicling the course of this doomed romance, Kawabata has created a story for the ages-a stunning novel dense in implication and exalting in its sadness.įrom the Back Cover With the brushstroke suggestiveness and astonishing grasp of motive that won him the Nobel Prize for Literature, Yasunari Kawabata tells a story of wasted love set amid the desolate beauty of western Japan, the snowiest region on earth. She gives herself to him fully and without remorse, despite knowing that their passion cannot last and that the affair can have only one outcome. 'Kawabata's novels are among the most affecting and original works of our time.' - The New York Times Book ReviewĪt an isolated mountain hot spring, with snow blanketing every surface, Shimamura, a wealthy dilettante meets Komako, a lowly geisha. As he chronicles the affair between a wealthy dilettante and the mountain geisha who gives herself to him without illusions or regrets, one of Japan's greatest writers creates a work that is dense in implication and exalting in its sadness.īook Synopsis This masterpiece from the Nobel Prize-winning author and acclaimed writer of Thousand Cranes is a powerful tale of wasted love set amid the desolate beauty of western Japan. About the Book To this haunting novel of wasted love, Kawabata brings the brushstroke suggestiveness and astonishing grasp of motive that earned him the Nobel Prize for Literature.

Snow country book