Snow Country

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. 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.

The novel is rich in symbolism and references to Japanese traditions and mythology.

For this weeks show, we will be visiting the home of Tom and Liz Borger. We will begin discussing the book as we cross the bridge over the river of grass. We will talk about the book's themes, the author's style and why Snow Country is considered a genuine masterpiece of 20th century literature.

We will continue with how the author paints descriptive settings and we'll relate how the author's style and the book's settings relate to the setting at the gracious home of Tom and Liz Borger. What does a river of grass symbolize? Why does the Japanese culture strive for a sense of simplicity? We will also go to the kitchen and help Liz prepare small bites of special Japanese appetizers: gold bags, rolls, and onion garnish shrimp. We might even sample Shochu.

Original Air-Date: 10.20.2007