The Three-Cornered World (Peter Owen Modern Classic)

Rating:
Summary: Glenn Gould's Favorite Book
Review: Glenn Gould lived the "hermit lifestyle" after his retreat from the concert stage in 1964. Just a little later the English translation of Soseki's book appeared, and the "Oracle from Toronto" considered it a great inspiration for his life as an artist. He used it as a subject in one of his radio programs and kept referring to it until the end of his life.

The subject of the three-cornered world (TCW) is the relationship between the artist and his environment. While the book's Japanese title can be best translated as "Grass Pillow", a symbol for a journey, the translator chose the current title based on the book's statement that the artist inhabits a three-cornered world from which the one corner that is part of all non-artists' life, the rationality, has been removed. Apart from the obvious interest that a Gould devotee may get out of reading the book that inspired the world's greatest recording artist, this book is a remarkable bridge between the traditional Japanese literature and it's modern counterparts.

The TCW describes a symbolic trip of the painting/writing protagonist up a mountain and his stay at a deserted inn, where he "interacts" with the innkeeper's daughter. Soseki wrote in a very precise and poetic style and this book has been properly characterized as a word-painting. The initial trip up the mountain greatly reminded me of a similar trip in Murakami's "Norwegian Wood". During the ascent the artist reflects upon life, society and the artist. He puts forward the notion that an artist interacts with the "real world" as if it were a two-dimensional picture, that he himself is not really part of. Through interaction with characters he encounters during his trip and subsequent stay this notion is worked out in more detail and receives comments from the outsiders. In the second part of the book the artist is mesmerized by the innkeeper's daughter, who is a favorite subject of local gossip. While I am not quite sure that the author intended to give the ensuing "distant interaction" humorous overtones, I thought that the lack of action following the lady's sharing of the steamy hot tub downright funny. Yet, the girl becomes the symbol of the artist's subject and the book ends in a beautiful finale stressing the importance of compassion in art.

In all this is a short, very worthwhile read. The story flows seemingly effortless in a way that reminds one of the famous liner notes that Bill Evans wrote for Miles' Davis "Kind of Blue" album. All characters are truly three-dimensional and the writing style is fluent and evocative. I addition, this book gives a unique Eastern perspective on the relationship between art(ists) and society.

Just after finishing this book, I received Kevin Bazzana's superb new Gould biography from Amazon Canada, which mentions this book on several occasions. Let's hope that the TCW may get a revival, both for it's own great merits and the effect the writer continues to have on contemporary Japanese literature.

Rating:
Summary: A beautiful meditation on art and the artist
Review: This book is not just a wonderful introduction to the differences between Western and Eastern views of art. It is a lovely exploration of art in general -- the need for art, the demands made on an artist, and especially the place of artists and their work in the world.