The Literature Book

PAROLES

(1946), JACQUES PRÉVERT

Paroles (“Words”) is the first poetry

collection by the French poet and

screenwriter Prévert (1900–77).

Comprising 95 poems of varying

length, it reveals multiple elements

of his trademark writing style, such

as wordplay, prose poems, puns,

and mini dialogues. The collection

covers a variety of subjects and

themes, entwining everyday life in

postwar Paris with sentiments of

antiwar protest, critiques of both

religion and politics, and a reflection

of the role of art in society.

CRY, THE BELOVED

COUNTRY

(1948), ALAN PATON

The masterpiece of South African

author Paton (1903–88) focuses on

Stephen Kumalo, a black Anglican

and isolation. Kawabata’s focus on

the personal, with no mention of the

fighting in World War II, which was

raging at the time of writing, may

have been a conscious artistic

response to the conflict.

THE LAGOON AND

OTHER STORIES

(1951), JANET FRAME

A collection of short stories, this

was the first publication by New

Zealand author Frame (1934–2004).

To varying extents, the texts in the

collection question their own status

as fiction, explore the author’s

agency and identity, and experiment

with narrative voice. The book’s

publication and critical reception—

including a highly regarded literary

prize—were crucial in saving

Frame from a lobotomy and a series

of atrocious practices in institutions

for the mentally ill, where she had

been committed.

FURTHER READING

priest in Johannesburg who is in

search of his son, who has been

involved in the murder of a white

activist for racial justice. It also

tells the story of the activist’s father,

and how his own prejudices and

views are changed by his son’s

death and writing, and by meeting

Kumalo. Paton’s narrative reveals

the changing reality of South Africa

on the verge of apartheid.

SNOW COUNTRY

(1948), YASUNARI KAWABATA

Japanese novelist Yasunari

Kawabata (1899–1972) is a Nobel

Laureate. One of his most famous

novels, Snow Country, tells of

doomed love amid the mountains

of western Japan. Shimamura—

a bored, wealthy businessman—

meets Komako, a beautiful but

forlorn geisha at a hot-spring resort.

The landscape becomes a metaphor

for feelings—including hopelessness

286

Ernest Hemingway

Born in Illinois, in 1899,

Hemingway discovered his

affinity for writing early in life

as a reporter for The Kansas

City Star. He later served as a

volunteer ambulance driver in

World War I in Italy, from where

he returned wounded in 1918.

His first novel, The Sun Also

Rises, was written while working

as an overseas correspondent in

Paris. Establishing himself in

Europe, Hemingway saw

increasing success from his

short stories and novels and

traveled widely to pursue—

among other interests—his love

of hunting, a subject that would

appear in many of his stories. He

returned to journalism to report

on the Spanish Civil War (1936–

39) and the Normandy landings

(1944), and won the Nobel Prize

in 1954. Hemingway committed

suicide in Idaho in 1961.

Key works

1929 A Farewell to Arms

1940 For Whom the Bell Tolls

1952 The Old Man and

the Sea (see opposite)

The train came out of the

long border tunnel—and

there was the snow

country. The night had

turned white.

Snow Country

Yasanuri Kawabata

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