It was so so so,,, just,,,,,, gross. Like so yuck. Literally the worst parts of human nature. I’ll be real, not really a huge fan of pessimism porn, but I have to admit it’s well done. I’d give this like a high 3.5. A 3.6, maybe

Something that's interesting to me about this novel in translation is the difference in titles. As far as I'm aware, there's only been a single English version, published in 1974 and translated by John Bester, titled "The Silent Cry." Subsequent translations adopted the title format, although there are a few outliers, such as the French (which I unfortunately couldn't find locally) "Le jeu du siècle," Russian "Футбол 1860 года," Polish "Futbol ery Manen," Estonian "Sajandi mäng," Swedish "Tid för fotboll," and so on. So what's the truth? Is it the silent cry, the time for football, the game of the century, football in the Man'en era, or football in the 1860s?

Well... the Polish and Russian translations are closest. The Japanese title is [万延元年のフットボール], which can be broken down into 万延 (Man'en) 元年 (first year) の (of) フットボール (football). The Man'en era was a real 年号 (nengô) from 1860 to 1861. The title would literally be translated as something like, "Football in the First Year of Man'en."

Tradition is a tricky thing. Inertia is always easier, and being a salmon often ends in a bear's jaws. As Ôe Kenzaburô describes in [万延元年のフットボール], a relatively short novel in which the protagonist and his brother, each roughly representative of two extremes (I say "roughly" because they're really both representative of both extremes), return to their small rural hometown. The protagonist's brother has just returned from a trip to America; he's a political extremist, abusive, and incredibly difficult to like. The protagonist himself, on the other hand, is arrogant yet views himself as more reserved, more traditional. Neither of them is a good person, as is made increasingly evident as the novel confronts issue after issue, everything from fascism to suicide. The villagers themselves are also representative of this struggle between tradition and modernity: they're excited by the promises of cultural and technological advancement, which include the introductions of things like televisions and supermarkets, but still wary of what would ultimately turn out to be a justified fear of globalism. (It wasn't called that at the time, but that's what it would become.) And then there's the culturally specific element: written in 1967, set in the early- to mid-sixties, the book describes a culture still struggling to reconcile the authoritarian and loyalist imperial shôgunate with the rising tide of globalism and modernisation that would, consummately, efface Imperial Japan entirely. The post-war period was not exactly a time of great stability for Japan and the Japanese, and the blame could be placed solidly on America—the embodiment of all things modern and Western. But the peasant rebellion against the emperor, as described in the novel, is emblematic of both an international struggle and a uniquely Japanese conflict: society, tearing itself apart.

Or, y'know, something like that.

oh ampun.. I was a bit depressed when I read this book, and it took hella long to read the whole book because of my bad emotion and the dark feeling this book gave to me. but strangely I like this book..

Very good but very flawed

quite depressing—and i take TWO anti-depressants already

Hetkel on mul veel lootust aasta lõpuks väljakutse ära lõpetada, lugeda on veel 3 raamatut ja aega on peaaegu 2 päeva. Viimase viie aasta jooksul ilmunud raamatuks Nobeli preemia saanud kirjaniku sulest valisin Kenzaburõ Õe romaani "Sajandi mäng". Ütlen kohe ära, et see oli minu jaoks raske raamat, otseselt midagi meeldivat ma enda jaoks ei leidnud, kuid samas jättis ta sügava mulje ja emotsiooni. Meeldivuse järgi hindaksin teda hindega 2, kuid sügavuse poolest hindega 5. Seega jääb raamat seekord ilma tähekesteta

Kaks venda Mitsu ja Takashi naasevad kodukülla, sest noorim kavatseb maha müüa iidvana aidahoone ning muuseas uurida ajalugu nende vanavanaisa ja tema noorema venna kohta, kes juhtis 100 aastat tagasi toimunud talupoegade ülestõusu ning saavutas sellega legendi staatuse. Kummagi venna elutee pole olnud kerge. Mitsu on jäänud ühest silmast pimedaks, mehe poeg sündis raske puudega ning hiljuti tegi enesetapu tema sõber. Kõik need asjad painavad teda ning ta on seetõttu endassetõmbunud, sünge ja masendav tegelane. Tema vend Takashi, kelle elu traagika tuleb ilmsiks hiljem, on naasnud just Ameerikast ning, saanud sealt uut elujõudu, samastab end vanavanaisa vennaga ja plaanib oma mässu.

Ma olin raamatut lugedes äärmiselt kahe vahel, kohati meeldis raamat mulle, kuid siis hakkas jälle vastu. Eriti tülgastas mind see, kuidas peategelase mõtted pöördusid tagasi oma sõbra juurde, kes värvis oma pea punaseks, pani kurgi pärakusse ja poos end üles. Mõistan, et ta elas sõbra surma raskelt üle, kuid see faktide pidev korrutamine ei istunud mulle sugugi. Samas oli romaani lõpp väga nauditav ning kõik minu küsimused leidsid igati sobilikud vastused. Ma ei saanud eriti arugi, miks ma seda masendavat lugu loen kuni viimaste peatükkideni. Siis sai kõik selgeks.


Veel meeldis mulle külaelu kujutamine ning kuidas moderniseerumine seda mõjutas. Jaapan on väga kauge ja võõras maa ning ma ei tea sealsetest eluoludest ega kultuurist eriti midagi. Vaid nii palju, kui mõne üksiku raamatu seltsis sinna sattunud olen.

Kokkuvõtteks tundub mulle, et selline sünge jaapani kirjandus ei kuulu just minu lemmikute hulka. Sünge on just õige sõna selle raamatu kirjeldamiseks, sest puudusid helged kohad, kus tegelased oleks tundnud rõõmu. Kõik on kas negatiivne või neutraalne. Üks võimalus on ka see, et polnud lihtsalt õige aeg selle teose lugemiseks. . Raamat ei olnud "nauditav", aga see ei tähenda, et seda ei peaks lugema.

Läbivaks teemaks oli isiklikus põrgus elamine, kui kõik on valesti ja depressioon on lihtne tekkima. Veel nägin, kuidas inimesed on oma veendumustes nii kinni, et ei suudagi asju teisest vaatenurgast näha. Sõnumeid tuli ka välja mitu: isegi läbi kõige hullema tuleks leida tuge, et uuesti alustada; kes ei riski, see ei saavuta midagi ega end ajalukku ei kirjuta.