Evening Clouds

May 29, 2000
This episodic novel, originally published in Japan in 1964 and appearing for the first time in translation, scrupulously observes one family's experiences getting used to a new home atop a windy hill near Tokyo. As the three children and their parents discuss the intricacies of buying a new desk, or deal with curious centipedes and residential developers who threaten to destroy the surrounding landscape, they accustom themselves to the trials of moving and the necessity of accepting change as the only constant in life. Each section revolves around the observations of father Oura, whose character is loosely based on Shono himself. Oura describes without embellishment even the most banal events of daily life, like grating yams for soup and the children preparing for their midterm exams. Such quaint aper us of domestic routines, along with prolonged descriptions of harvesting gingko nuts and buying a sake vat, offer nothing but themselves. Shono's aim is to write about only what he has experienced, offering up placid slice-of-life realism. None of the vignettes, nor the novel itself, build to a climax or end in revelation. Simple, occasionally platitudinous conclusions are drawn--"there's no telling what you can learn by keeping your ears open"; "of all the things we come to know in this world, there is ultimately nothing that does not pass on." Shono's diary-like observations do not resonate or transcend the immediate narrative, but the quiet, innocuous narrative engages readers with details of Japanese domestic life.