{"product_id":"9781939161109","title":"The Wasteland : A Novel (New Japanese Horizons)","description":"\u003cp\u003eThe Wasteland explores the psychology of the modern Japanese woman and her urge to realize an inner self of latent sexuality, long suppressed in Japan's male-dominated society. Nobe Michiko, the novel's narcissistic protagonist, leaves ruined lives in her wake as she pursues her lustful goals. The author, Takahashi Takako (1932-2013) earned bachelor's and master's degrees in French literature at prestigious Kyoto University, a remarkable achievement for a woman in the 1950s. There, she was influenced by the decadent poetry of Charles Baudelaire (1821-1867) and the writings of novelist and Catholic apologist François Mauriac (1885-1970). Christianity and depravity characterize both The Wasteland and many of Takahashi's other works. The novel was first published in 1980 at a time of explosive Japanese economic growth, which, in Takahashi's view, had created in Tokyo a wasteland of immorality and inhumanity. Yet it is a Christian novel, for the author was a devout Roman Catholic (indeed a one-time nun), and the title page epigraph from the Old Testament book of Hosea unmistakably mantles the narrative in a religious message: God is here to help if the wayward would but listen. But, do they listen?\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Cornell University East Asia Program","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":49039470854371,"sku":"00000_00000_00000_00000","price":54.95,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0764\/3758\/6147\/files\/9781939161109-1.jpg?v=1788419551","url":"https:\/\/usa.kinokuniya.com\/products\/9781939161109","provider":"Books Kinokuniya USA","version":"1.0","type":"link"}