One night, the wind came through and ripped all of the leaves from the tree. By morning, all that was left was one pomegranate still clinging to the tree.
“It made Kimiko think of their loneliness. The pomegranate over the veranda too seemed lonely and forgotten.”
Kimiko knocked the lone fruit from the tree.
“It was so ripe that the seeds seemed to force it open. They glistened in the sunlight when she laid it on the veranda, and the sun seemed to go on through them.”
“She felt somehow apologetic.”
That’s all I’m going to tell you, you will have to go read it for yourselves, here.
As it is said about Kawabata Yasunari’s writing, this story does not have much plot to it. It is also written in short choppy sentences. However, it works on many different levels. Yasunari’s writing is beautiful. I gave you small example of that above. The story is deep with meaning and symblism. This would be an excellent story for a book group to discuss. Finally there is deep emotion in the characters.
John of The Book Mine Set reviewed this story last week and made me curious enough to read it. He said that, “I would think of such an image as hopeful, a pomegranate hanging on despite the odds. But Kimiko sees at as a lonely image.”
I also saw it as hopeful until I read on. However, later in the story, there seemed to be hope. “She felt something pull at her, a happiness that made her want to weep.”
I really enjoyed this story and highly recommend it.
Also reviewed by:
If you would like to participate in Short Story Mondays or just find out about some great short stories, go to John of The Book Mine Set. He has a short story review every Monday and a place for you to link your short story reviews. Come join in the fun!
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