The Silent Cry by Kenzaburō Ōe
Author:Kenzaburō Ōe
Language: eng
Format: azw3
Tags: Literary, Fiction
ISBN: 9780802190277
Publisher: Grove Atlantic
Published: 2016-09-19T23:00:00+00:00
Truth Unspeakable
AS Takashi and Hoshio came into the storehouse carrying the oil stove, which was totally enclosed and remote in color from any associations of warmth, I saw powdery snow, dry and hard like sand, lying on their shoulders. My wife and Momoko, excited by the snow, were late with the evening meal. By the time I went over to the main building for dinner, the front garden was already covered. So far, however, it was no more than a fragile, impermanent-looking layer. The driving snow and darkness blocked my poor vision so impenetrably that when I looked up and took the elements full in my face I seemed to be drifting in a boat on a sea of falling snow, and it was difficult to keep my balance. Fine, powdery flakes stung my eyes to mechanical tears. I seemed to remember that in the old days snow in the valley had always come in damp flakes as big as the ball of oneâs thumb. I sorted through various memories associated with snow, but my recollection of it in the valley was blurred, buried beneath a host of memories from the towns Iâd lived in. Either way, the powdery snow I felt against my skin at that moment was as remote as any that had fallen on those alien towns. I kicked aside the settled flakes with a fine carelessness as I walked. In my childhood, Iâd always rushed eagerly to devour a handful of the first snow to fall in the valley; it seemed to taste of all the minerals in the atmosphere, from the heights of the sky overlying the valley right down to the earth that I trod. Takashi and the others had left the door open, and in the faint light of the lamp that hung from the eaves were watching the white flakes streaking the darkness. They were all beginning to get drunk on the snow; but I was sober.
âHowâs the oil stove?â my wife asked. âThere werenât any in a color that would have looked better in the storehouse.â Though she might be drunk with snow, she hadnât yet started on the whisky tonight.
âIâm not taking up permanent residence there. Iâd leave tomorrow if only the snow would let up, so there wonât be time to worry whether the stove matches the room or not.â
âTaka,â she said, turning to my brother since I showed so little interest, âdonât you think itâs odd that they should bring imported stoves from Scandinavia all the way to a place like this?â
âBy displaying goods that no one here could ever hope to buy, the Emperorâs thumbing his nose at the whole village,â said Takashi.
It occurred to me that Takashi could use that kind of theory to incite the young members of his football team, but I didnât pursue the idea. Iâd lost my enthusiasm for thinking about relations between Takashi and the valley. I ate in silence, as though I werenât really there by the open fireplace at all.
Download
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.
I Have Something to Say by John Bowe(3286)
What Happened to You? by Oprah Winfrey(1476)
Doesn't Hurt to Ask by Trey Gowdy(1402)
Einstein: His Life and Universe by Walter Isaacson(1319)
Solutions and Other Problems by Allie Brosh(1033)
Disloyal: A Memoir by Michael Cohen(1024)
American Dreams by Unknown(860)
Don't Call it a Cult by Sarah Berman(842)
Infinite Circle by Bernie Glassman(831)
Home for the Soul by Sara Bird(813)
Group by Christie Tate(811)
Talk of the Ton by unknow(736)
The Silent Cry by Cathy Glass(684)
Total F*cking Godhead by Corbin Reiff(666)
Severed by John Gilmore(656)
Searching for Family and Traditions at the French Table by Carole Bumpus(650)
The Battle of Mogadishu by Matt Eversmann & Dan Schilling(615)
Before & Laughter by Jimmy Carr(607)
Things I Wish I Knew Before My Mom Died by Ty Alexander(601)