Somersault by Kenzaburo Oe

Somersault by Kenzaburo Oe

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Summary

The first major novel for a decade from the winner of the 1994 Nobel Prize for Literature, addresses, inimitably, the most pressing issue of our times: terrorism. The publication of Somersault is an important cultural and literary event.

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Somersault by Kenzaburo Oe

In his first new novel since winning the Nobel, Oe makes an immense departure from the autobiographical fiction he is most famous for, in a magnificent story about the charisma of leaders, the danger of zealotry, and the mystery of faith. A decade before the story opens, two men referred to as the Patron and Guide of mankind were leaders of an influential religious movement. When a radical faction of their followers is planning to seize a nuclear-power plant, they dissolve the cult very publicly, on TV, in an act known as the Somersault. Ten years later, Patron decides to restart the fragmented movement, after the militants kidnap and murder Guide, moving the headquarters of the church into the mountains. There, with a small core of the faithful, Patron's messianic ambitions collide with his followers more violent expectations.Grand in its themes and beautifully told, Somersault illuminates the spiritual searching of modern man that makes religious cults so compelling. It is an astonishing achievement that again confirms Kenzaburo Oe's place among the world's finest writers, even as it takes his body of work in fresh and fertile new directions.
Kenzaburo Oe has won the Prix Europalia and the Nobel Prize for Literature, among many other awards. His translated works include Nip the Buds, Shoot the Kids, A Quiet Life, Hiroshima Notes , A Personal Matter and Rouse Up.... He lives in Tokyo with his wife and three children
SKU Unavailable
ISBN 13 9781843540809
ISBN 10 1843540800
Title Somersault
Author Kenzaburo Oe
Condition Unavailable
Publisher Atlantic Books
Year published 2003-07-10
Number of pages 592
Cover note Book picture is for illustrative purposes only, actual binding, cover or edition may vary.
Note Unavailable