Book description
"Written with precise skill and beautifully controlled power. The translation by Ivan Morris is outstanding." -The New York Times
**Winner of the 1952 Yomiuri Prize**
This haunting novel explores the complete degradation and isolation of a man by war. Fires on the Plain is set on the island of Leyte…
Why read it?
1 author picked Fires on the Plain as one of their favorite books. Why do they recommend it?
This year, revisiting this book drove me deep into a madness that, at its center, is rooted in empathy for “hostiles” and “enemies.”
The novel was written in 1952, and its protagonist's been conscripted into World War II, but what Private Tamura endures is the insanity of every war. Booted out of his platoon due to a lack of resources, Tamura withstands and commits atrocities including cannibalism, amid a conflict he never sought.
From Soma's list on The best books to leave you shook and questioning.
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