ARCHIVED IN-PERSON EVENT - Japan Society Book Club: Lion Cross Point by Masatsugu Ono

Date
Monday 9 October 2023
Time
7.00pm

Venue
The Japan Society
13 / 14 Cornwall Terrace
London NW1 4QP

Booking Details
Free for Japan Society Members

Book available from Amazon
Japanese version available here

The activities of The Japan Society are made possible thanks to the support of its members. This event is free of charge and open to all. We realise that this is a difficult time for many people. However, if you are planning to attend and do not have a membership subscription as an individual or through your employer, please consider making a donation. You can find details of membership and how to join The Japan Society community here.

How does a shy, traumatised boy overcome the shame, anger, and sadness that silence him? In Lion Cross Point, celebrated Japanese author Masatsugu Ono turns his gentle pen to the mind of ten-year-old Takeru, who arrives at his family's home village amid a scorching summer, carrying memories of unspeakable acts against his mother and brother. As Takeru befriends Mitsuko, his new caretaker, and Saki, his spunky neighbour, he meets more of his mother's old friends, discovering her history and inching toward a new idea of family and home. All the while he begins to see a strange figure called Bunji--the same name as a delicate young boy who mysteriously vanished long ago on the village's breathtaking coastline at Lion Cross Point. At once a subtle portrayal of a child's sense of memory and community, an empowering exploration of how we find the words to encompass our trauma, and a spooky Japanese ghost story, Lion Cross Point is gripping and poignant, reminiscent of Kenzaburō Ōe's best work. Acts of heartless brutality mix with surprising moments of pure kindness, creating this utterly truthful, cathartic tale of an unforgettable young boy.

Masatsugu Ono (1970- ) is one of Japan's most lauded contemporary authors. His novel Mizu ni umoreru haka (The Water-Covered Grave) won the Asahi Award for New Writers, and Nigiyakana wan ni seowareta fune (Boat on a Choppy Bay) won the Mishima Prize. He also received the Akutagawa Prize, Japan's highest literary honour, in 2015. He lives in Tokyo.

If you have any questions, please call The Japan Society office on 020 3075 1996 or email events@japansociety.org.uk.

Booking Info