Our 2018 Maine Humanities Council ‘Let’s Talk About It’ series is

“Family and Self: Readings In Twentieth Century Japanese Fiction”

In Japan, with its strong legacy of Confucian values and traditional emphasis of group over the individual, the family plays an exceptionally important role. This series explores five novels— two authored by women and three by men—each engaged with issues of both family and self in a changing Japan, but from widely differing perspectives. The first three books we discussed were Enchi Fumiko’s The Waiting Years , Tanizaki Junichirô's The Makioka Sisters and Dazai Osamu's The Setting Sun .

This month we will be discussing A Personal Matter by Nobel laureate Ôe Kenzaburô.

The one remaining book is:

• Good-bye Tsugumi by Yoshimoto Banana - May 14

All books in the series are available, free of charge, at our library.