Spring Sleepers is experimental prose – in an unmissable way. Kyoko Yoshida does not limit herself to a dialogue with the Japanese literary tradition, but freely reaches for tools and ideas from foreign literature. The style of the story seems to combine the most unreal version of Gombrowicz or Yi Sang with the somnambulistic imagination of Mia Couto and Kōbō Abe. Spring Sleepers will certainly appeal to those who like stories without compromise, trance-like, bizarre.
The main character, Yuki Minami, embarks on a journey in search of the longed-for dream. Fatigue pushes Yuki into oblivion and makes him increasingly confuse reality and fiction. Real and imagined events melt into each other, making Yuki’s journey also a journey for the readers. Strings of associations and mistakes, typical products of a tired mind, are something that many will recognize from their own experience. In addition, the story of Spring Sleepers is governed by the incomprehensible logic of insomnia, which draws you in, hypnotizes you and confuses. It’s a one-way trip to the border between sleep and reality.
Keshiki series is a collection of mini books featuring short stories and novellas. Keshiki (景色) means landscape or place, space. In the case of this series, you can think of the word keshiki as a landscape of different, unusual experiences or a space to discover a new relationship with the world. The series presents the texts of some of the most interesting Japanese writers. Its counterpart presenting writers from South Korea is Yeoyu series.
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