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Summary: Synopsis of the story
Review: Written by Nobel-prize winning author Y. Kawabata, "The Sound of the Mountain" is a stunning and complex novel about the family life of Ogata Shingo. Shingo, head of the household, is deeply troubled by the moral decay of his children's families. Shuichi, his son, is married to Kikuko, but carries on an affair for a year, which results in a....... child by his lover and an abortion by his wife. Fusako, Shingo's daughter, separates and later divorces her drug-addicted husband to live with her two young children at her parents' house. Both of Shingo's children disrespect him and think little of him because of his absent-mindedness. These periods of thoughts are filled with beautiful imagery of nature's sounds, smells, and scenes. However, increasingly Shingo's dreams bring him anguish over his moral responsibilty, his hidden love for his daughter-in-law, Kikuko, and his desire for the beauty of his wife's younger sister, his late first wife. In the end, family ties hold this microcosm of Japanese life together--for better or for worse.
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