David,
I just finished the book. Thanks for referring it to us.
I was especially interested in the matter of how current generations
deal with past injustices. I just read an article on Lafcadio Hearn,
"Far From the Realm of the Real" (from the June 10, 2021 issue of the
NYROB) in which Christopher Carroll examines three "recent" books by
Lafcadio Hearn. Hearn died in 1904 but there has been an ongoing
interest (by the Japanese) in and reverence for the writings of Hearn
who repudiated the industrialized ways of America and moved to Japan
before it became industrialized.
Carroll writes, "Perhaps the best and best known of the tales from
/Kwaidan /[which Hearn wrote] -- and according to Setsu [Hearn's wife]
one of Hearn's favorites -- is 'The Story of Mimi-Nashi-Hoichi' . . .
about a blind biwa player famous for his musical recitation of the epic
history of the Heike and the Genji, two rival clans fighting for control
of twelfth-century Japan. 'Mimi-Nashi-Hoichi' opens with a brief
account of the final battle between the clans -- the Battle of
Dan-no-ura, one of the most significant in Japanese history -- in which
'the Heike perished utterly, with their women and children, and their
infant emperor likewise.' . . .
Even if there were descendants of the Heike. (There could be. Historians
back then weren't very civilized either.) I doubt they would be
resenting the Gengi for what they did in the twelfth century. It isn't
that Hitler did anything without precedent. Lots of generals in Europe
as well as in Japan a thousand years ago, did that sort of thing. It is
that the predominate of Western Europeans was that they were now too
civilized to do that sort of thing. The proper way we (who are more
civilized than Hitler) fight a war is to fight until the other side
gives up. Then everyone gets to go home. We no longer attempt to
slaughter all of our enemies.
Kaiser, as did most of the people he encounters, seems to believe that
we in the West (and probably the world) are past wanting to destroy our
enemies utterly. We are now more secure in our civilization, whether
German, Pole or Jew. Kaiser likes the tenants living in Unit 12 (during
the time he thought it was his grandfather's building). The Poles
living there now aren't prejudiced against Jews. Kaiser likes them
(even though he doesn't like those living in the actual building his
grandfather owned) which makes it easy for him to later on let things go
when the implacable Polish bureaucracy can't abandon its procedures in
order to do what is right.
The bit about the ten golden eggs is amusing and a good way for Kaiser
to end his book. While he and Steve are surreptitiously digging into an
attic wall, with the permission of the apartment owner, their guilt is
mounting. As they are getting close to discovering whether the eggs are
really there, the apartment owner sends up word that they can buy the
whole apartment for $10,000. Heck, Steve says, I don't want her
apartment, but if the eggs are there I'll give her $10,000 (the golden
eggs are worth $120,000).
Earlier Kaiser tells Steve he won't put anything in his book about the
egg search that Steve doesn't approve of. Steve tells him that if they
find the eggs, Kaiser isn't to say so in his book. So instead, as
Kaiser digs the bricks out of the way, Steve looks in and exclaims "Oh
my god!"
Lawrence