Book dossier

山の音

by 川端康成

The anxieties and desires of an old man, Shingo, who lives with his family in a suburb of Tokyo, are shown. He hears "the sound of the mountain", the faint rumble in the hills that is a muffled hint of unknown occurrences and a foreboding of death. The affection he feels for his daughter-in-law, the increasing tensions of his relations with his wife, son and daughter are also muffled, yet disturbingly powerful.