“This was the first good look we had had of each other’s angry faces, but smiling was an impossibility. We couldn’t see our own faces, but looking at each other gave us an idea. My sister’s face was puffed up like a loaf of bread, and her eyes, normally large, black and uncannily clear, hadContinue reading “RKS Japanese Literature: Hiroshima Aftermath: Face Puffed up Like a Loaf of Bread (Yoko Ōta)”
Tag Archives: RKS literature
RKS Literature: Easily Swindled Americans at Hotel X in Paris (George Orwell)
“According to Boris the same kind of thing went on in all Paris hotels, or at least in all the big, expensive ones. But I imagine that the customers in Hôtel X were especially easy to swindle for they were mostly Americans, with a sprinkling of English-no French- and seemed to know nothing whatever aboutContinue reading “RKS Literature: Easily Swindled Americans at Hotel X in Paris (George Orwell)”
RKS Literature: The Outlook of a Waiter (George Orwell)
“The waiter’s outlook is quite different. He too is proud in a way of his skill, but his skill is chiefly in being servile. His work gives him the mentality, not of a workman, but of a snob. He lives perpetually in sight of rich people, stands at their tables, listens to their conversation, sucksContinue reading “RKS Literature: The Outlook of a Waiter (George Orwell)”
RKS Literature: The Naked Yogi of Maabar (Marco Polo)
“When other men ask them why they go naked and are not ashamed to show their members, they reply, “We go naked because we want nothing of this world; for we came naked and unclothed into this world. As for not being ashamed to show our members, the fact is that we do not sinContinue reading “RKS Literature: The Naked Yogi of Maabar (Marco Polo)”
RKS Japanese Literature: The Idiocy of Macaroons (Mieko Kawakami)
“So the day after next, I bought a pile of colourful macaroons at the macaroon shop in the arcade….I placed the box of macaroons and cherries on the coffee table with a polite bow. Thanking me with a smile, she took the two boxes to the kitchen and soon returned with some coffee and theContinue reading “RKS Japanese Literature: The Idiocy of Macaroons (Mieko Kawakami)”
RKS Literature: Too Lazy to Make His Bed (Kōji Uno)
“Every single day since then he has spent either visiting friends or sleeping. Sanasku’s style of sleeping deserves special mention. His small tatami-matted room has the standard tall, deep closet divided by a sturdy shelf into upper and lower compartments for storing his futon and covers behind a pair of sliding paper doors, but SanaskuContinue reading “RKS Literature: Too Lazy to Make His Bed (Kōji Uno)”
RKS Literature: The Roustabout Lawyer’s Fantasy (Kōji Uno)
‘I wonder why I never put more of myself into studying the law,’ thought Sanasku. ‘I think of that stiff brained, tongue- tied, unimpressive looking classmate of mine, Kakii: I see in today’s paper they’re calling him one of the up-and-coming hot young lawyers for that stupid case he’s managed to win. The public isContinue reading “RKS Literature: The Roustabout Lawyer’s Fantasy (Kōji Uno)”
RKS Literature: The Importance of Timing for a Hotel Chef (George Orwell)
“Undoubtedly the most workmanlike class, and the least servile, are the cooks. They do not earn quite so much as waiters but their prestige is higher and their employment steadier. The cook does not look upon himself as a servant; he is generally called ‘un ouvrier’ which a waiter never is. He knows his power-knowsContinue reading “RKS Literature: The Importance of Timing for a Hotel Chef (George Orwell)”
RKS Japanese Literature: A Dismal Failure Who Believes Himself Superior to All (Kōji Uno)
“As a child, Sanasaku tended to be smug and arrogant, always ready to show off his slightest ability. He was, in a word, vaguely contemptuous of just about everything and everyone. The tendency only increased with age to the point where now he has come to find it somewhat abnormal. His sense of dissatisfaction hasContinue reading “RKS Japanese Literature: A Dismal Failure Who Believes Himself Superior to All (Kōji Uno)”
RKS Literature: “Down and Out in Paris and London” (George Orwell)
“Hotel work is not particularly hard, but by its nature it comes in rushes and cannot be economized. You cannot, for instance, grill a steak two hours before it is wanted; you have until the last moment, by which time a mass of other work has accumulated, and then do it all together, in franticContinue reading “RKS Literature: “Down and Out in Paris and London” (George Orwell)”
A Bird's Eye View of Fashion, Food, Travel, Culture, Beverage and Curiosity 