Shipwrecks

Paperback / softback

Main Details

Title Shipwrecks
Authors and Contributors      By (author) Akira Yoshimura
Introduction by David Mitchell
Translated by Mark Ealey
SeriesCanons
Physical Properties
Format:Paperback / softback
Pages:176
Dimensions(mm): Height 198,Width 129
Category/GenreModern and contemporary fiction (post c 1945)
Historical adventure
ISBN/Barcode 9781786890535
ClassificationsDewey:895.635
Audience
General
Edition Main - Canons edition
Illustrations No

Publishing Details

Publisher Canongate Books
Imprint Canongate Canons
Publication Date 2 November 2017
Publication Country United Kingdom

Description

Introduced by David Mitchell In a coastal village in medieval Japan, a young boy called Isaku battles to keep his family alive against the odds. With his father gone, Isaku is forced to grow up well before his time. He must learn how to catch fish, how to distil salt, and about all the mysteries of the vast churning sea, not least the legend of O-fune-sama, of ships wrecked offshore providing the village with unexpected bounty. When a ship founders on the rocks, Isaku and the villagers rejoice. Long have they prayed for the sea's gifts. But the cargo is not at all the blessing they hoped for. At first mystifying, then terrifying, something dark is coming ashore and it's about to change their lives forever.

Author Biography

Akira Yoshimura was born in 1927. He was the prize-winning, bestselling author of twenty novels and collections of short stories and was the president of Japan's writer's union and a member of International PEN. He died in 2006.

Reviews

Exquisitely paced * * Sunday Times * * Haunting * * Guardian * * A haunting and beautifully rendered tale of enduring optimism * * Herald * * Has all the turbulent power of the sea * * Scotsman * * Set against [a] tapestry of near-nihilistic misery, Yoshimura's chiaroscuro touches of hope and love hint at something more profound * * Times Literary Supplement * *