Rouse Up O Young Men of the New Age!
Kenzaburō Ōe · 1935–2023 · Japan
Originally Atarashii Hito yo Mezameyo (Japanese) · translated by John Nathan
Why it matters
A novelist reads Blake aloud to make sense of his disabled son's sudden violence, each chapter titled from a Blake line. Ōe's most directly autobiographical late novel: literature pressed into service as a father's only usable comfort.
At a glance
psychological novelautobiographical fiction
Difficulty 6/10slow pace272 pagesInterweaves Blake exegesis with domestic narrative, demanding patience with digression.
