Somersault (宙返り Chūgaeri) is a 1999 novel by Kenzaburō Ōe. It is about two former leaders of a religious cult as they try to establish a new movement, a possible nuclear catastrophe, and religious sects in everyday society. [1] It received inspiration from the Aum Shinrikyo cult and their Tokyo subway sarin attack of 1995. The English translation, by Philip Gabriel, [2] first appeared in 2003. [3] It was Ōe's first novel since he won the 1994 literature Nobel Prize. [4] It was published in the United States by Grove Press. [5] The book was published in the United Kingdom by Atlantic Books. [4]
Reception
Scott Esposito of the Los Angeles Times said that the translation "wasn't much admired by English-speaking reviewers". [3] Christopher Tayler of The Guardian said that the "sprawling" Somersault received "widespread criticism". [1] Publishers Weekly said "Oe [ sic] has attempted to create a sprawling masterpiece, but American readers might decide there's more sprawl than masterpiece here." [2] Steven Poole of The Guardian said, "And yet, for all its longueurs, one finishes Somersault [ sic] convinced that buried within the sprawling text is a brilliant, much shorter novel. Perhaps even Nobel laureates occasionally need ruthless editing." [4] Eric Hanson of the Star Tribune said the novel "would be an underwhelming and unsatisfying read, no matter the writer. But coming from a novelist of Oe's immense stature, it's beyond disappointing. It's depressingly sad [ sic]." [5]
References
- ^ a b Tayler, Christopher. " The Changeling by Kenzaburo Oe." The Guardian. Friday June 11, 2010. Retrieved on November 9, 2012.
- ^ a b " SOMERSAULT." (978-0-8021-1738-0) Publishers Weekly. Retrieved on November 9, 2012.
- ^ a b Esposito, Scott. " 'The Changeling' by Kenzaburo Oe." Los Angeles Times. March 7, 2010. Retrieved on November 9, 2012.
- ^ a b c Poole, Steven. " The RS Thomas cult." The Guardian. Friday August 1, 2003. Retrieved on November 9, 2012.
- ^ a b Hanson, Eric. " Review: 'Somersault' by Kenzaburo Oe Archived 2015-01-21 at the Wayback Machine." Star Tribune. April 26, 2003. Retrieved on November 9, 2012.
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