| Ms.
Kotani believes in her ill-behaved and ill-kempt students, especially
the nearly autistic one with an obsession for flies. A Rabbit’s
Eyes is a touching novel about a young and idealistic first-year
elementary school teacher, her hardscrabble class of outcasts,
and the reward for her belief in them. A call to action, from
Japan’s schoolteachers’ favorite author.
Kenjiro
Haitani
Haitani's love for children is not only sincere, but grounded
in experience. The background for A Rabbit’s Eyes
is his 17 years of teaching in an elementary school. Though he
does not have a family of his own, he considers his students the
promising future of a world that doesn't deserve one. When A
Rabbit’s Eyes came out in 1974, Japanese readership
surprised him with their endorsement of his love, which is equal
parts compassion and criticism, making it not only a bestseller
but a constant reference for what the public school system in
Japan can aspire to. To this day, A Rabbit’s Eyes
and Haitani are cornerstones of popular Japanese fiction for believers
in children.
|
“This
strange and powerful little novel...has an almost awkward sincerity.
Here lurks Japan beyond manga.”
—LA Times
“Kenjiro
Haitani…starting with A Rabbit's Eyes, has fully
grasped the secret to ushering a wide readership that surpasses
children to include adults. He suffuses his work with astuteness
and accesible minutiae, still managing to convey a clear moral
message.”
—Nobel Prize-winning
author Kenzaburo Oe
|
