Text and the City: Essays on Japanese Modernity (Asia-Pacific)

Rating:
Summary: Streetwise Scholarship
Review: Gradually the important work of Japanese literary critics is coming to be made available to Anglophone readers, and this book constitutes a milestone in that regard. Maeda Ai combines critical theoretical insights (of which I am usually suspicious) successfully with meticulous historical research and attention to detail, an alchemical mix of the abstract and the concrete that produces startlingly original and convincing results. The translators deserve appreciation for producing exceptionally high quality translations of quite challenging material.