Pathway to Japanese Literature
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| Original Title | 父の死 |
|---|---|
| Author | 久米 正雄 |
| Genre | Modern Short Fiction |
| Author Type | Male Author |
| Summary | In the tranquil spring of Shinshu, an eight-year-old boy's world is one of precocious curiosity, shaped by his father, the revered elementary school principal. But this ordinary existence is shattered when a devastating fire engulfs his father's school, destroying an irreplaceable Imperial Portrait and sparking a storm of public scrutiny. As a suffocating anxiety descends upon their home, the boy grapples with fleeting illness and a profound unease he can barely comprehend. Then, the unthinkable strikes: his father commits suicide. Plunged into a bewildering landscape of grief, hushed adult conversations, and the weight of a heroic, yet tragic, legacy, the boy must somehow reconcile the image of his stoic father with this shocking end. How does a child begin to understand a sacrifice so profound, and what will become of him as he navigates the shadow of his father's final, desperate act? |
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