Tatsuzo Ishikawa (1905–1985)

Unnecessary Additions Bog Down This Novella

"Soldiers Alive" is a fast read. The novella itself is about 150 pages. Originally intended to be serialized in a Japanese magazine, Ishikawa Tatsuzo was jailed for a few months after its publication because it portends to show some of the random violence that the invading Japanese army wrecked on Chinese civilians and soldiers.

This edition includes a completely unnecessary introduction of almost 60 pages and an extraneous ten page bibliography with entries for "The History of Italian Literature," "The Penguin Book of World War One Prose," and Pablo Neruda's "Song of Protest." In addition, there are footnotes in the novel explaining who Chiang-Kai Shek is among others. All these extra and unhelpful elements make the book seem more like a vanity project for the translator.

As for the novella itself, it is quite heedless. It follows the march of ten or so members of the same company as they travel China toward Nanjing. There are matter-of-fact recitations of violence, including small scale murders of Chinese civilians. Compared to the true atrocities, which Ishikawa Tatsuzo may not have known about when he wrote "Soldiers Alive," the violence is quite tame. One character in the book seems to show some humanity and thoughtfulness toward the end of the novella, but that is short-lived. As such, there is little in the way of traditional character development or plot. It is mostly a recitation of place names and minor events.

Ishikawa Tatsuzo deserves credit for at least trying to tell the Japanese reading public what was happening in China, albeit on the small scale he describes. Unfortunately, this book does not give the treatment or contextualization that the atrocities deserve.… (mer)