The Grasshopper and The Bell Cricket by Yasunari Kawabata

You have much to learn, young grasshopper.

It's always exciting to discover new authors, especially those from outside of North America. Yasunari Kawabata's The Grasshopper and The Bell Cricket, is a brief, highly compressed fablelike story that is deceptively simple. The narrator is observing a group of children playing in a field with their paper lanterns, catching bugs. There is a lyrical quality to the prose that reminds me of a Miyazaki film with a beatiful score by Joe Hisaishi in the background, perfecting capturing childhood innocence with an underlying melancholy. The dramatic irony is derived from the narrator's commentary, as the young boy thinks he is excited about catching a grasshopper for one of the girls but it turns out to be a bell cricket, much to his disappointment. He doesn't fully understand the signifance of the bell cricket and why it is so meaningful to the girl. Like many fables, they usually end with a moral. In this case, the bell cricket represents a special love that might be overlooked due to conformity and conservative values. Moreover, childhood innocence is fleeting and will eventually be replaced by experiences of heartbreak, disappointment, and loss. The joys of childhood are expertly counterbalanced with cynicism, further contributing to the story's melancolic tone.

You can read this story HERE.