Nakagi, an ex-con painter who has sequestered hismself in a mountain cabin, is trying to elevate his art. An artist's quest for growth from one of the world's greatest stylists. The legendary Japanese master's Winter Sleep take you into the hardboiled world of art - where ex-cons are philosophers, young lovers are combustible, and aesthetics is life. “Superbly translated into English by Emi Shimokawa, Ashes is a gritty, hard-boiled mystery…Ashes depicts yakuza life with a unique understanding and edge-of-your seat reality.2 Victoria V. Like Tony Soprano…this man, whose name is Tanaka, attracts our interest and sometimes our sympathy.” “Male brutality suffuses Kenzo Kitakata’s portrait of a middle-aged gangster in Ashes. “Best enjoyed in a dimly lit, smoky room with a glass of whisky on the rocks close at hand… Kitakata has crafted a complex and contradictory character in Tanaka.”
“Brilliantly contradictory… a refreshing crime novel from a notable Japanese author.” “Kitakata… part Spillane, part Dostoevsky, but always hard-boiled.” “Kitakata manages his nihilistic climax with consummate control… It’s absolutely compelling to read.” “( Winter Sleep) gives new meaning to the term ‘splatter.’” Cain’s novels hovers over Winter Sleep, a bleak but compelling slice of deadpan noir.” Kitakata is recently the recipient of the Eiji Yoshikawa Award, given to revered veteran entertainment authors. Mark Schilling is the author of The Yakuza Movie Book: A Guide to Japanese Gangster Films. His first, Ashes, was one of Las Vegas Mercury’s 10 Best Novels of 2003, a BookSense Selection, and a Village Voice Summer Read. Of his over one hundred novels, Winter Sleep is his second to appear in English. Kenzo Kitakata is the undisputed don of hardboiled and mystery writing in Japan.
When Nakagi welcomes an escaped felon into the emotionally fraught fold, and begins to teach him to paint as well, Winter Sleep awakens to a literally incendiary climax. The only thing breaking his solitude are the visits of two women: an art dealer who wants him to produce the sort of paintings that she would like to buy from him, and a young, aspiring, and soulful apprentice. Nakagi, an ex-con painter who has sequestered himself in a mountain cabin, is trying to elevate his art. The legendary Japanese master’s Winter Sleep takes you into the hardboiled world of art-where ex-cons are philosophers, young lovers are combustible, and aesthetics is life.
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