A Personal Matter
First US edition cover
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| Author | Kenzaburō Ōe |
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| Original title | Kojinteki na taiken |
| Translator | John Nathan |
| Country | Japan |
| Language | Japanese |
| Genre | Semi-autobiographical |
| Publisher | Grove Press |
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Publication date
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1964 |
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Published in English
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1964 |
| Media type | Print (Hardcover) |
| Pages | 166 p. |
| ISBN | |
A Personal Matter (Japanese: 個人的な体験; Kojinteki na taiken) is a novel by Japanese writer Kenzaburō Ōe. Written in 1964, the novel is semi-autobiographical and dark in tone. It tells the story of Bird, a man who must come to terms with the birth of his mentally disabled son.
Bird's son is born with a brain hernia, like Ōe's was. Bird tries to escape his responsibility for the child and his crumbling relationship with his wife, turning to alcohol and an old girlfriend. He is fired from his job teaching at a cram school in the process. He half attempts to kill the child, albeit indirectly, and is forced to decide whether he wants to keep the child.
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Wikipedia