Kannani and Document of Flames: Two Japanese Colonial Novels by Yuasa Katsuei, translated with an introduction and critical afterword by Mark Driscoll

The first available translation of important fiction highlighting the Japanese colonization of Korea: Kannani exposes the brutality endured by Koreans at the hands of their Japanese oppressors – even among the children – while Document follows the changing fortunes of a divorced Japanese woman in Korea who escapes prostitution to become an oppressive landowner. The most interesting tidbit in the book, however, has to do with the mention of Dr. Seuss’s Horton Hears a Who being an allegory of the post-war relationship between the United States and Japan!

Review: “New and Notable Books,” AsianWeek, September 8, 2005

Readers: Adult

Published: 2005