Snow Country by Yasunari Kawabata (Penguin Modern Classics)

“Snow Country” is a novel by Japanese author Yasunari Kawabata, which was first published in Japanese in 1948. The novel follows the story of a young Tokyo-based man named Shimamura who travels to a remote mountain hot spring town in northern Japan to visit a geisha named Komako. Shimamura is a wealthy dilettante who has been visiting the town for many years and is drawn to the beauty of the snow country landscape.

In the town, Shimamura becomes involved in a complex love triangle with Komako and another geisha named Yoko. Shimamura’s feelings for Komako are conflicted, as he both desires her and yet remains emotionally distant from her. Meanwhile, Yoko is deeply in love with Shimamura but is unable to express her feelings to him.

The novel explores themes of love, desire, beauty, and the transience of life. The snow country setting provides a stark contrast to the more urban areas of Japan, and Kawabata’s writing captures the beauty and stillness of the snowy landscape.

“Snow Country” is widely regarded as a masterpiece of modern Japanese literature and has been translated into several languages. It won the prestigious Yomiuri Prize in 1951 and was also awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1968, making Kawabata the first Japanese author to receive this honor.