Binding: Paperback
Dewey Decimal Number: 495
EAN: 9784770028990
Format: Large Print
ISBN: 4770028997
Label: Kodansha International
Manufacturer: Kodansha International
Number Of Items: 1
Number Of Pages: 240
Publication Date: 2003-03-14
Publisher: Kodansha International
Studio: Kodansha International

Reading great books in the original should be the culmination of language study, but reading Japanese literature unassisted is a daunting task that can defeat even the most able of students. Breaking into Japanese Literature is specially designed to help you bypass all the frustration and actually enjoy classics of Japanese literature.

Breaking into Japanese Literature features seven graded stories covering a variety of genres: whether it's the spellbinding surrealism of Natsume Soseki's Ten Nights of Dreams, the humor of Akutagawa Ryunosuke's fable of temple life ("The Nose"), or the excitement of his historic thrillers ("In a Grove" and "Rashomon"), you are sure to find a story that appeals to you in this collection.

The unique layout -- with the original Japanese story in large print, an easy-to-follow English translation and a custom dictionary -- was created for maximum clarity and ease of use. There's no need to spend time consulting reference books when everything you need to know is right there in front of your nose.

To make Japanese literature fun, Breaking into Japanese Literature also has some unique extra features: mini-biographies to tell you about the authors' lives and works, individual story prefaces to alert you to related works of literature or film, and original illustrations to fire your imagination. Best of all, MP3 sound files of all the stories have been made available for FREE on the Internet.

Breaking into Japanese Literature provides all the backup you need to break through to a new and undiscovered world -- the world of great Japanese fiction. All the hard work has been taken care of so you can enjoy the pleasures of the mind. Why not take advantage?

Learn
* 50% of all common-use kanji covered
* Kanji entry numbers given for follow-up study
* Japanese + English translation + custom dictionary on the same page
* Every single kanji word explained

Listen
* Free download of sound files from the Net

Look
* 7 original atmospheric illustrations

Link
* Original stories for Kurosawa's Rashomon and Dreams

All the stories in this book are available on the Internet as MP3 sound files read by professional Japanese actors.

For students who want to consolidate their understanding of kanji, the entry numbers for any of the 2,230 characters in The Kodansha Kanji Learner's Dictionary have been provided when those characters feature in Breaking into Japanese Literature. This makes cross-referencing a matter of seconds.

Customer Rating:
Summary: not for absolute beginners
Comment: This is a great book for:
1. getting into Japanese literature
2. learning some new Kanji
3. practicing your Japanese reading skills

Even though the reading passages are graded according to level, this is NOT for absolute beginners, the book only explains the Kanji - not the grammatical forms, hiragana and katakana!

You should have 6-12 months studies behind you before trying to use this book, or completed a beginner's book on Japanese such as Genki 1: An Integrated Course in Elementary Japanese 1, Colloquial Japanese: The Complete Course for Beginners (Colloquial Series (Book Only)), Japanese in Mangaland: Basic Japanese Course Using Manga or Introduction to Modern Japanese.

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Customer Rating:
Summary: Difficult but Amazing
Comment: This book is absolutely amazing. It helps you with kanji, vocabulary, reading speed, and much more. But don't think that this is easy. I've taken two semesters of college Japanese, and I find this book very difficult. This is not for a beginner. I haven't gone through one whole story yet. I reread each page probably more that 5 times. But in reading and learning the first page, I've learned over 10 new kanji and about 20 new words. Some of the kanji, though not many as far as I've seen, are old and you should make sure you learn the current kanji instead. As with everything in life, it is VERY beneficial if you are willing to put the time and effort into it (LOTS of time and effort).

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Customer Rating:
Summary: Fantastic!
Comment: Great book. Very good stories. Well translated. Easy on the eyes to read! Well done, guys!

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Customer Rating:
Summary: SOUNDS LIKE TV SHOPPING, I KNOW...
Comment: But, why didn't anyone think of this before? This book basically works like those reading segments you find in books like the Genki series. Only this time you won't find the usual stuff about Mr. Yamada's introduction to the staff of his new company, or Mr. Smith's first experience with tempura, but several selected short stories by two of the most revered masters of modern Japanese literature: Natsume Soseki and Ryunosuke Akutagawa. If you don't like literature, let me put it this way: at least one of the writers strongly inspired one of Akira Kurosawa's greatest films: Rashomon. Like those manuals to study Japanese, this volume comes with mp3 files to help you with both your reading and your listening, and you can find them for free at the website of the publishers. I've written in other reviews there's no single bulletproof method for anything. There's no such thing as a method for everyone. The great thing about this book is this: the last word that comes to mind is "method", because it's not about learning Japanese language itself as much as it is about Japanese literature. I'd suggest it for intermediate students, though, because of the basic knowledge it requires.

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Customer Rating:
Summary: Obviously done by a serious language student...
Comment: An excellent resource for intermediate students of Japanese working their way to a more advanced level. The author puts all the necessary learning tools in one convenient location. And the free MP3 files help students fine tune their reading, kanji, and pronunciation skills. I would like to see more products like this. I would buy more products like this.

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