{"title":"Keiichiro Hirano","description":"Keiichiro Hirano is an acclaimed Japanese novelist who has published fifteen major works of fiction in a variety of genres and styles. His other books in English translation are A Man (2020) and At the End of the Matinee (2021). Brent de Chene is professor emeritus at Waseda University. Charles De Wolf is professor emeritus at Keio University.","products":[{"product_id":"eclipse-paperback-3","title":"Eclipse - Paperback","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eWinner, 2025-2026 Lindsley and Masao Miyoshi Translation Prize, Donald Keene Center of Japanese Culture at Columbia University\u003c\/b\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eIn the late fifteenth century, a young Dominican friar sets out on a journey from Paris to Florence in search of manuscripts of pre-Christian philosophy. Along the way, he encounters an ascetic alchemist in a small village. As the young man falls under the spell of the alchemist's quest for enlightenment, a series of disasters--culminating in a total solar eclipse--strikes the village, with profound consequences. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eKeiichiro Hirano's \u003ci\u003eEclipse\u003c\/i\u003e was a meteoric literary sensation when it first appeared in 1998. Its author, still an undergraduate, was hailed as a prodigy; the book received Japan's most prestigious literary award, the Akutagawa Prize, and became a bestseller. Set on the eve of the Renaissance in Europe, \u003ci\u003eEclipse\u003c\/i\u003e depicts a society that is on the surface vastly different from modern-day Japan. Yet its account of a challenge to dualistic binaries and ossified worldviews holds striking contemporary resonance and philosophical depth. Taking the form of a memoir, \u003ci\u003eEclipse\u003c\/i\u003e brings together an evocative portrayal of its historical setting, including the lore of medieval alchemy, with a rich literary lexicon, lush imagery, and psychological intricacy. This vivid translation offers Anglophone readers a vital work by one of Japan's most distinctive voices.","brand":"BooksCloud","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":51374744895711,"sku":"9780231214919","price":36.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0813\/8958\/4607\/files\/EZgL5Pv2Jm9780231214919.webp?v=1789186004"}],"url":"https:\/\/blackandbarhe.com\/collections\/keiichiro-hirano.oembed","provider":"Black \u0026 Barhe Bookstore","version":"1.0","type":"link"}