Authors: Murakami, Ryu
Translated by: Žalytė, Danguolė
Translated from: English
Published on: 2004

The book “69” starts like this: “Nineteen sixty-nine was the year student uprisings shut down Tokyo University. The Beatles put out The White Album, Yellow Submarine. The Rolling Stones released their greatest single ‘Honky Tonk Women’, and people known as hippies wore their hair long and called for love and peace. In Paris, De Goulle resigned. The war in Vietnam continued”. Japanese youth also participated in various political demonstrations, rebelled against their parents, teachers, and in their opinion all authorities. More

Authors: XIV Dalai Lama
Translated by: Kugevičius, Algirdas
Translated from: English
Published on: 2004

His Holiness the Dalai Lama’s XIV book “The Four noble truths” is an introduction to the basics of Buddhism. Only after realising these four truths it is possible to practice the teachings of Buddha (Dharma). The book is dedicated to the people from the western world, it addresses the main Buddhist (according to Madhjamak philosophical school of Buddhism) principles talks about the importance of religion to man in general and religious tolerance. More

Authors: Ekuni, Kaori
Translated by: Žalytė, Danguolė
Translated from: English
Published on: 2004

„Twinkle twinkle“ is one of these days most popular Japanese writer’s – Kaori Ekuni comedy masterpiece about Japanese society and customs. At first look – simple and colourful book is just an illusion, because its‘ contents way more complicated. Highly evaluated by critics this book made its‘ own glory and is a perfect example to represent today‘s Japanese various literature.

At first sight main characters of the novel  presents a typical young modern family – doctor Micuki and his wife Shioko. However  it is only a beautiful façade. But there are much more catchy little secrets inside. Although we think marriage can only be based on love, here still exists marriage who was planned by both parents. Shioko parents want to hide their daughter‘s mental illness, and Micuki parents want to hide his son‘s homosexuality. More

Authors: Mishima, Yukio
Translated by: Jomantienė, Irena
Translated from: English
Published on: 2004

“Confessions of a Mask” is a debut work of a Japanese author Yukio Mishima, which shocked Japanese society with its’ openness, sexuality, dramatic qualities and a topic which wasn’t commonly discussed – homosexuality which became the main reason the novel became so popular and acclaimed by critics. “Confessions of a Mask” is still one of the best-known works by Yukio Mishima in Japan and all over the world. The story is told from the first person‘s point of view. The author More

Authors: Akutagava, Riunoskė

The story of the famous Japanese writer Akutagawa Ryuunosuke (1892 – 1927) “Kappa” is of fantasy genre. But that fantasy is as real as France’s penguins or Swift’s lilliputs. The Country of Kappa is similar and, at the same time, is different to Japan. Kappa (Japanese old folk characters, mermans) have their own country, financial attributes, culture, religion, and their own police. Everything is like in Japan. But there is no unemployment. The unemployed ones are simply More

Authors: Murakami, Haruki
Translated by: Saukaitytė, Dalia, Daškus, Marius, Dyke, Milda, Jomantienė, Irena
Translated from: English
Published on: 2003, 2005, 2009, 2013

A Wild Sheep chase is the third of so called Trilogy of the Rat. It is a very contraversial and surrealistic story that is full of unexplained mysteries. At first, there is an ordinary daily life of divorsed 30 year old man, that is nothing special at all. Suddenly, everything messes up. There shows up a woman with magically seductive ears, also, a friend from the past. That friend sends him a picture of a sheep, actually, lots of sheeps in the mountains road valley, one of the sheeps was special. The picture was supposed to be used for the commercial of one client, also, it makes one of the biggest Japan\’s bussines mans out of his mind. After all of that, the professor which is crazy about sheeps shows up. Finally in the valley of Hokaido mountains appears a Sheepman. Everything is covered by some kind of maniacal idea of ruling the world. More

Authors: Maalouf, Amin
Translated by: Banionytė, Stasė
Translated from: French
Published on: 2003

“The Rock of Tanios” – is one boy’s story about kid Tanios from the same village as him, who lived there before and disappeared dramatically.  Storyteller uses three sources: two of them are from people, who were really close with Tanios and another document is newer. This record author is monk Elijah, who died the next day of the beginning of the First World War. This book is divided into 9 “curves”, which splits it into chapters and sections. In every chapter we can feel a different manner of talking, even storytellers note in his voice changes. Story is consistent, but sometimes into past, there are some interrupts from the present. More

Authors: Rushdie, Salman
Translated by: Žalytė, Danguolė
Translated from: English
Published on: 2003

“The Ground Beneath Her Feet” is not ordinary novel where the main heroine, famous rock singer Vina Apsara, who has a voice like a goddess, tragically dies in the earthquake in the first chapter of the book. After that, the narrator of the story, photographer Umeed “Rai”, who is Vina’s childhood friend and lover, goes back into the past and starts telling the story in a chronological order. Anyway, sometimes he gives references about what will happen in the future.

Many storylines (most of them are tragic) overlap in the novel, but the main storyline focuses on Vina’s and great musician Ormus Kama’s fatalistic love story. Their love is described in this quote: “Whereas for Ormus Cama it was just a simple matter of life and death. Love was for life, and endured beyond death. Love was Vina, and beyond Vina there was nothing but the void.” More

Authors: Ōe, Kenzaburō
Translated by: Švambarytė, Dalia

The novel is replete with imagery of death, decay and sex. Written in 1964, the novel is dark, deeply personal, and semi-autobiographical. It tells the story of Bird, a man who must come to terms with the birth of his mentally disabled son.

Bird’s son, like Ōe’s, was born with a brain hernia. Bird tries to escape his responsibility for the child and his crumbling relationship with his wife – turning to alcohol and an old girlfriend. Bird is fired from his job teaching at a cram school in the process. He half attempts to kill the child, albeit indirectly, and is forced to make a decision as to whether or not he wants to keep the child.

Authors: Rushdie, Salman
Translated by: Žalytė, Danguolė
Translated from: English
Published on: 2000

\”Shame\” was released in 1983. It is a story about the life of Omar Khayyam. About the boy who was born from one of three sisters, who lived in Nishapur, somewhere in the Pakistan-Afghanistan border. None of the sisters did not want to reveal to the world whose child is Omar. When he was born all sisters agreed that they will raise him together. The boy never knew his true mother and father. Sisters after the father’s death locked themselves in fortress and promised each other never to … More