Rouse Up O Young Men of the New Age!

If you like William Blake this could be a fun read for you. If you like K. Oe and are looking for more this is a pretty good one. If you're new to Oe and are looking to get into his works this is *not* the best place to start unless you reeeeally like William Blake. The digressions were interesting to me but they do pull you out of the narrative/thread that moves the story itself forward. The narrative is a bit disjointed along the same lines as "Pinchrunner Memorandum" but not as bad as that book (although that's still an okay book if you've read all the others already... and are eager for more Oe). I love the ending to this one though. It was a powerful image of a father considering the role of his sons in the future.If you're looking to get into this author I suggest, "The Silent Cry" for something strange and very dark or "A Quiet Life" for something tender and accessible. Maybe "Nip the Buds, Shoot the Kids" for something in between. "A Personal Matter" is probably his most popular work about a man who comes to accept a more mature "reality" while opting to discard what he sees as youthful "fantasy"...and while it's a good book I felt it wasn't as good as the ones I initially mentioned. His short story, "The Catch" (aka "Prize Stock) is one of the best short stories I've ever read so that could be a great place to start too. Anyhow, my two cents on this book and a few of Oe's other works.