Customer Reviews

Boy

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I don't feel that I need to go into the back-story of Takeshi Kitano. If you are looking at this book, then you probably know him from his films. I'll start off by saying that the actual book itself is beautiful, both the cover and its jacket. Next I'll tell you that I truly did enjoy Mr. Kitano's stories. The book contains three shorts, each about childhood. If you have seen Kikujiro or Kids Return you get the idea. They are all coming of age tales. His style is very reminiscent of the great Yuko Mishima but far less flowery. Another literary link I can draw is that it is like Charles Bukowski, in the essence of its raw truthfulness and simplicity. Some parts of the stories seem like a Japanese version of `Ham on Rye', which (for me at least) is a good thing. In summation, I really did enjoy this book and if you are a genuine fan of his, or if you just want to experience a good quick read, then I fully recommend it.

Although he is primarily known in the West for his artistic albeit violent yakuza films, in his native Japan Takeshi Kitano is quite the Renaissance man. Beginning his career alongside his manzai partner Kiyoshi Kaneko, Kitano's abrasiveness and quick wit soon surpassed the ability of his partner and he began multiple careers as a television star, talk show host, and film actor. In 1989 Kitano made his directorial debut with his film Violent Cop in which he also stars as the main protagonist. However, alongside this busy schedule of acting, directing, and hosting, Kitano is also an accomplished writer producing volume after volume of social criticism and film criticism alongside an impressive output of humorous essays, short story collections, and novels.

While most of Kitano's films have reached English-speaking audiences through licensed distributors, not a single story or novel had been translated until the release of Boy earlier this year. Written in 1987, the book collects three stories with each concentrating on a young man facing either a trying time or a life changing event in his life. In "The Champion in the Padded Kimono," an older Mamoru reminisces about a field day that occurred some thirty years ago in which he had not only dreaded his brother's participation in the eighty-meter-dash, but anticipated the run of Airhead, an athletically gifted, but mentally lacking, sixth grader whose athletic abilities were known throughout the schoolyard. "Nest of Stars" tells of two brothers who have moved from Tokyo to Osaka after their father died. Their mother, always distant from the rest of the family, has found a new boyfriend. Therefore, the two brothers seek solace gazing at the stars through the telescope that their dad gave the older brother. However, such activities do not protect them from the brutalities of local bullies. The final, and in my opinion, the best story "Okamesan" centers on Ichiro Aoki who, after having an argument with his father, goes to Kyoto in order to delve deeply into his main love: ancient Japanese history. However, during his trip he meets a girl named Jun and his focus on history becomes a little skewed.

The above plot summary is intentionally brief and simple, because the collection of stories itself is quite brief and simple. Although the book numbers some 185 pages, the spacing is quite large and the book could have probably been 120 pages or less if the spacing was smaller. Also, the writing and stories within the volume itself are quite simple and a decently quick reader could probably finish the book in a couple of hours. However, despite it brevity and simplicity, the collection is a fine read because the reader, especially if he or she has viewed Kitano's films can detect an overall cohesiveness of themes within the book.

The son of a father who was absent most of his life, Kitano in his films has often displayed a mistrust of adults, especially parental figures within his films. Parents are often completely absent or are busy in other aspects of their lives. The parents within Boy are either drunk, dead, involved in new relationships, or so caught up with their own careers or the future careers of their children that they cease to be parents and are instead adults with whom the children share a home with. Instead of depending on adults, the boys within these short stories either learn to depend on themselves, siblings, or a loved one. This aspect of the novel casts a dark shadow over an overall light collection, but it is relevant in showing the shifting of the times and the importance of individuality and its struggle against group conformism.

A decent collection that will primarily appeal to fans of Kitano's films, Boy marks the introduction to Western readers to the writing skills of Japan's most internationally famous contemporary filmmaker.