Palm-of-the-Hand Stories - Yasunari Kawabata

Rating: ★★★★

26/04/16

a symmetrical simplicity denoting the depths of human complexity.

He understood that human beings cannot make other human beings unhappy. he murmurs, as I gaze up at the bewildered night sky.

the ephemeral life of time.
the beating of a hummingbird's wings.
a world contained in a vase filled with peonies.

death throes under the fading light of dusk.
fragments of a dream that never belonged to this place.
the atmospheric silence of an afternoon wrapped in autumnal colors.
a bowl being dashed against a rock; the sound of somebody's heart breaking.

'My novel has found a beautiful soul. How shall I write it? Put your soul in the palm of my hand for me to look at, like a crystal jewel. I'll sketch it in words. . . .' he whispers, as I hold an obstinate pen reminiscing what has never happened.

brevity that distills a universe down to its essence.
the absolute harmony between a snow-covered mountain engulfed in amber flames
and us.
a minimalist expression of beauty.

solitude in the palm of my hand.



* Quotes:
"There is a God" (Kami imasu, 1926)
"The White Flower" (Shiroi hana, 1924)

“Many writers in their youth write poetry; I, instead of poetry, wrote the Palm-of-the-Hand Stories. … The poetic spirit of my young days lives on them.” - Kawabata