''Rouse Up O Young Men of the New Age!'' (新しい人よ、眼ざめよ; ''Atarashii hito yo mezameyo'') is a 1983

semi-autobiographical novel An autobiographical novel, also known as an autobiographical fiction, fictional autobiography, or autobiographical fiction novel, is a type of novel which uses autofiction techniques, or the merging of autobiographical and fictive elements. The l ...

by Japanese author

Kenzaburō Ōe was a Japanese writer and a major figure in contemporary Japanese literature. His novels, short stories and essays, strongly influenced by French and American literature and literary theory, deal with political, social and philosophical issue ...

, about his day-to-day life with his mentally handicapped son,

Hikari may refer to: Places * Hikari Station, a station on Sanyō Main Line in Hikari, Yamaguchi * Hikari, Chiba, a former town in Sousa District, Chiba, Japan * Hikari, Yamaguchi, a city in Yamaguchi Prefecture, Japan People * Hikari (name), people a ...

(represented by an alter ego called "Eeyore") and the effect that

William Blake William Blake (28 November 1757 – 12 August 1827) was an English poet, painter, and printmaker. Largely unrecognised during his life, Blake has become a seminal figure in the history of the Romantic poetry, poetry and visual art of the Roma ...

's poetry has had on both his life and work. The title comes from the preface to Blake's poem '' Milton''.

Plot summary

Ōe wishes to write a set of definitions to prepare handicapped children like his son for the real world. He struggles with definitions for concepts such as "death," only to learn that his son Eeyore has just as much to teach him about life. Ōe relates his interpretations of events with Eeyore in light of Blake's poetry, and discusses the influence of and similarities between Blake's work on his own.

Editions in English

(translated by

John Nathan John Weil Nathan (born March 1940) is an American translator, writer, scholar, filmmaker, and Japanologist. His translations from Japanese into English include the works of Yukio Mishima, Kenzaburō Ōe, Kōbō Abe, and Natsume Sōseki. Nathan is ...

) *hardback *paperback

References

1983 Japanese novels Novels by Kenzaburō Ōe {{1980s-novel-stub