A Personal Matter by Kenzaburo Oe is a story about every man, every woman, every human being. It is a story of that decisive moment when we cast off our old, naive selves, and decide to move forward, become a grown up; knowing full well what it means to be a grown up, the things that need to be sacrificed, or compromised, so we can say – we did what we had to do so we can look at our image in the mirror and stand tall and hold our ground without crumpling or loathing ourselves.
A Personal Matter is indeed a very personal story of growth. The protagonist is Bird, a cram school teacher in post WWII Tokyo. His story, at first glance, is probably not all that new to anyone, not even in this 21st century. This very personal story of all human beings is still the same. Bird has been married for a few years now, and he is about to be a father. He is at the crossroads that every living human on Earth has stood at one point or another. Some may have been younger, some older. The circumstances may have been different for everyone, but the story is essentially the same. A choice is given to us. Do we stand our ground and face reality, or do we run away?
Bird has dreamed of going to Africa for a long time. This particular night, when his wife is giving birth to his son in a hospital somewhere, Bird cannot help but feel suffocated. Lost even. He wants a reprieve. Something… anything, to make him forget what life is about to mean with not only him being married and rooted, but now also now being a father.
The child is born, and the doctors give him the news. The baby has a brain hernia. It may or may not live, and even it he does, it may not grow up like a normal child.
Bird is about to lose it all.
This story hit home, really. I am not married, nor do I have a child. But the fact that I am all too familiar with the crossroads in question cannot be argued. May be for some this certain crossroads presents itself only once. For others, over and over. While I could not relate to the feelings of a father or a husband, I couldn’t help but relate to this very personal battle, if you may, that we all must fight at one point or another in our lives so that we may grow up, mature, and advance.
This was my very first Kenzaburo Oe book. While I liked this book quite a lot, I am not sure I have a proper grasp at the author’s style yet. I am at the same time intrigued to read more of his books, and also apprehensive because of the extreme descriptive nature of his writing. Even though A Personal Matterwas rather a short read, at times it seemed to drag a bit. It could very well be just me though, I have to agree. Regardless, I think I will pick up another Kenzaburo Oe book in the near future.
As for this book, I strongly suggest any lover of literary fiction to give it a shot.
A Personal Matter
By Kenzaburo Oe (Translated by John Nathan)
Paperback. 165 Pages. Grove Press. January 13, 1994.
Literary Fiction