Thoughts on: Rouse Up O Young Men of the New Age by Kenzaburo Oe

I've never read any by Kenzaburo Oe before, but I own two of his novels.  I think subconsciously I've  been drawn to his literature, not just through the recommendations of others, but also through some innate karma harmonization between his thoughts and my own.  This is similar to the relationship that Oe has with William Blake's work, the theme in his novel "Rouse Up O Young Men of the New Age". 

In the novel, Oe describes Blake's work as follows:

"What attracts me to Blake so powerfully is that he not only formulates his own unique mythological world based on a tradition that extends Christianity to esoteric mysticism, he also empowers his mythology to develop on its own by infusing it with energy from his life and times.  And the motion he achieves in this way allows him to drive his mythological world through and beyond his motifs of contemporary politics and international relations to a place beyond time.  For me these two facets of the same achievement account for Blake's magnetic power":

In this deeply personal novel (or memoir, or critical piece, or political meditation, depending on where you drop in and how much you believe to be not fiction), Oe intricately weaves his experiences with his mentally handicapped son with his life long affinity with William Blake's poetry.  Personal anecdotes, pieces of past fiction and literary criticism and profound dream sequences flow together to create an unrelenting torrent of dissonance and joy.  I am intellectually exhausting having read this book, holy moly.  Oe is an incredibly intelligent man, not just as a writer of fiction, but also as a political activist, a father and a literary critic. 

The span of the book seems unwieldy, but Oe always brings the reader back to two main pillars that fortify the architecture of the novel.  The first is his relationship with his son, at times strained, but always profound.  The second is William Blake's poetry, which has unconsciously guided, Oe explains, some of his main works throughout his life.  From this starting point, Oe bounds up and down the timeline of his career and personal life, injecting astute comments about memory, imagination, the role of the author in society, anti-nuclear politics and imperialism in Japan.  Oh, what a whirlwind. 

Parts of this book went completely over my head.  I don't think that I have the critical capacity to intuit all of the aspects of Oe's writing.  However, what I did get will stay with me. 

I went out today and bought the complete Poetry and Prose of William Blake and Blake: Prophet Against Empire by Erdman.  I was in a frenzy.  I was just inspired, and saw a used book store and somehow ended up in the poetry section and.... oh, I know I'm weak.  But I am glad I bought it.  I can't wait to put into context some of the sampled mythology that Oe relies so heavily upon in both his writing and home life.

I'm sure I'll get to it, some day.

Ta for Now,

ET