Kenji Miyazawa (1896–1933)

Also known as Night on the Galactic Railroad, this is a very famous young adult book in Japan.
Originally published in 1934, two intrepid young boys from a small Japanese village take a trip on a fantastical Milky Way Train on the night of a local festival. On the way they witness many amazing sights until they ultimately must part. It's a short book, it reminds a little of Jules Verne, but its a fun read.

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Este libro me ha dejado un extraño sabor de boca.
Decidí leerlo porque me presentaron el relato principal, que da título al libro, como el equivalente japonés de [b:El Principito|866618|El Principito|Antoine de Saint-Exupéry|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1328876389s/866618.jpg|2180358]. Y si bien existen ciertas coincidencias (el viaje onírico por el "espacio", el compañero iniciático, etc.), la comparación me ha parecido algo exagerada. Tal vez no haya captado algún simbolismo fundamental, pero no me ha llegado. Además, no podría decir que es una novela corta que recomendaría a niños y adultos por igual, más bien solo a los segundos. Y de entre ellos, a los completistas de la literatura japonesa.

De todos modos, el estilo de Miyazawa es muy bueno, se lee rápido. De hecho, la he pasado en grande con los dos cuentos que cierran la obra, en especial el último, Gauche, el violonchelista, que paradójicamente, es el menos japonés de las tres piezas incluídas.… (more)

Um, what? I was going to be unhappy - well, no, I am unhappy I read the foreword first and it had a major spoiler in it. It actually changed how I understood the story - spoilers seldom do, for me, but this one did. But the story is so full of SYMBOLISM, most of which made no sense to me, that my annoyance about the spoiler was rather diluted. I have little or no idea what was going on for most of the story - the bird catcher? The teacher and the children's origin was clear - but why did Kenji get so whiny about the girl? Walnut trees and electric squirrels, bombs(?) in the heavenly river, so what _was_ the story of the twins? Where did the professor come in? And a happy(?) ending - except Kenji's lost his one friend. I have no idea. Possibly if I were immersed in Japanese folklore I'd understand it better, but I didn't even see any of what I do know about Japanese folklore, except a brief mention of cranes, then a long discussion of herons (and why cake?). Not a winner, for me.… (more)