This is a beautiful, beautiful book. It's, I suppose, a novella. But it's more than that!
It's the story of Hanta, an old man who has worked for decades compacting waste paper. It's such an inner journey. Hanta is living a solitary existence, compacting his paper...going home...not much else. The first part of the book delves into his personal solitary existence...the way he goes about building his bundles of compacted paper, the books he saves from certain death, the colors of the world. Then the whole book opens up. He finds he is becoming obsolete...he will soon be out of a job. He is a character you will love...as he relates his simple everyday paper trash compacting, and his stories of the love that got away. He rises up above his position and becomes this beautiful LIFE ARTIST. I've read this book about ten times. I always go back to it and I highly recommend it.
It's the story of Hanta, an old man who has worked for decades compacting waste paper. It's such an inner journey. Hanta is living a solitary existence, compacting his paper...going home...not much else. The first part of the book delves into his personal solitary existence...the way he goes about building his bundles of compacted paper, the books he saves from certain death, the colors of the world. Then the whole book opens up. He finds he is becoming obsolete...he will soon be out of a job. He is a character you will love...as he relates his simple everyday paper trash compacting, and his stories of the love that got away. He rises up above his position and becomes this beautiful LIFE ARTIST. I've read this book about ten times. I always go back to it and I highly recommend it.