The Wild Geese

Meiji Japan was modernizing at warp speed during Europe’s Victorian era. Several Tokyo medical students get caught up in the life of a beautiful young woman forced into prostitution by a policeman’s deceit. If you enjoyed Memoirs of a Geisha, this book is as good or better.

I am so happy to have found the book that my great-uncles were reading when they came up with my grandmother's name. Grandma gave the name to my mother, I took it for myself (I liked it so much) and then gave it to my daughter. I just love having the story I heard all my life come to reality.

Much of Japanese literature hasn't been translated to English so most readers will find the narrative inadequate and the ending disappointing. However, fans of Japanese literature will appreciate the style, though typical for the milieu, used in 'Wild Geese'.

In The Wild Geese, a tale set in the thirteenth year of Emperor Meiji's reign, an invisible narrator introduces the reader to the handsome Okada, a handsome medical student. During his regular walks through the city he becomes enchanted by an "oval and somewhat lonely" face that smiles at him each day from a window. That face belongs to Otama, the mistress of Suezo, a vain, parsimonious moneylender. Otama's only friend is her weak father, who depends upon her for support. One day a snake slithers into Otama's birdcage and snatches one bird fast in its jaws, while the other bird flails to escape. Okada slices the snake apart and saves the remaining bird. Otama herself is the caged bird, Mori implies; the snake not just Suezo, or her ineffectual father, but the patriarchy that traps her. Mori drives the point home when Okada kills a wild goose in a lake. Otama was infatuated by Okada's freedom to do whatever he wished. Otama's wings were crushed before she could use them, while Okada flew away. Otama formulates a plan to meet Okada, but it backfires, and Okada leaves the country the next day. The narrator called Okada the "hero" of the story, but Okada was a man who felt "a woman should be only a beautiful object, something lovable, a being who keeps her beauty and loveliness no matter what situation she is in." . The two never meet; or, do they? The author suggests there is more to the story, yet refuses to reveal the ending. The Wild Geese is full of allusions and hints, painting a watercolor tale as lovely and enigmatic as Japan herself.

Since I love classics from any country and especially enjoy novels from Japan, this was a logical choice for me. I wish it had more pages but no matter since the novel was excellent. If you are interested in Victorian Japan, this novel gives an excellent description of the people and the country during that time period. The author gives many tiny details, which are all significant since they give the reader a window into which one can view Japanese society in the nineteenth century.

It arrived ahead of time, and I couldn't wait to read this book.

perfect book for an Asian Art Museum, SF docent hoping to learn more about Japanese literature and life during the early 20th C.

Well written but dull. When I read various reviews and description of the book I formed the opinion that I would like reading this book, even the introduction makes it sound like this wonderful piece of literature where we discover how people lived in 1880 through a variety of characters. Not so. This is mostly the interchange between a man and his wife, him lying about his mistress. I found the most interesting characters, the two young men only at the beginning and ending of the book. I was sadly disappointed to NOT learn about living conditions, societal norms, dress, businesses, etc. just a mundane he said she said. If you want to learn about Japan, this is not recommended. I do read a lot of such material and this was severely lacking in what I wanted to know.

So this is my 'Book that is over 100 years old' for my reading challenge.I usually LOVE nostalgic Asian stories, but this was seriously lacking. There were a number of threads to this story, none of which actually joined together which led to a very disjointed and confusing story.I honestly have no idea what Okada had to do with the main part of the story, yet he is cast as a main character? Nah.

I needed the book for exam marking purposes. It was excellentto receive it so promptly - just what was needed.

Wild Geese is a great book. However, this particular translation of it is not. It seems to have been done by a computer, because it can't even keep the pronouns straight for I or he or she. It's appallingly bad. Find another one.

Brand new! The plot is amazing... has German literature influenced.