Boy

(Hardback)

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Description

A collection of three heart-warming stories of brotherhood, boyhood and friendship. Champion in a Padded Kimono sees two brothers, one a jock the other a nerd, individually contemplating what it would mean to win the upcoming track and field relay race. Web of Stars is about two young brothers who are into astronomy. But when their widowed mother takes them to Osaka they become the subject of the mockery of their new classmates. Finally, in Okamesan, a 16 year old boy goes on his first solo vacation and, while exploring a new city, he meets a girl who leaves him penniless...

Reviews

"The beginnings of Kitanos intense and personal style can be seen in the three early stories contained in BOY. They offer insights into the later films and they have been extremely well translated by David James Karashima, who beautifully captures both the deadpan drollery and the wistful sentimentality."
Donald Richie, The Japan Times Online

"Leave it to Vertical Publishing, magnates of Japanese pop culture in translation, to bring one of Kitanos books to English-speaking audiences. [These stories] radiate a lovely combination of affection and nostalgia, the sort of thing Kitano has mined for the best of his own movies time and again, and they both complement and extend on his other work. They show up his genius for what it is."
Serdar Yegulalp, thegline.com

"BOY's three ostensibly lighthearted tales, so personal in tone and intimate in details about drinking fathers, frightened brothers, and bullying classmates, put Kitano's identification with children in a clarifying light."
Lisa Schwarzbaum, EW.com

"Kitano tells the tales simply and directly, avoiding flowery descriptions and clichd melodrama, instead creating captivating stories that are subtle yet strongly visual.Much like the boys grow up in the boo, these tales will grow on you."
Mark Rifkin, This Week in New York

Author Bio

Takeshi Kitano is the recipient of the Golden and Silver Lion Prizes, Venice Film Festival, for Hana-bi and Zatoichi. He is also the author of many prose works ranging from memoirs and fiction to social criticism and interview collections. Before he achieved worldwide fame he was one of Japan's most popular television personalities, which he continues to be, thanks to his sharp eye and irreverent sense of humor.Boy is the first literary work by Japan's "Renaissance man" to be translated into English. Mr. Kitano lives and works in Tokyo.