Translation Works
To Japanese
The 2nd Selected Works
The Downfall of Matias Guili
TITLE
The Downfall of Matias Guili
(Mashiasu Giri no shikkyaku)
AUTHOR
Translator
ENGLISH / Alfred Birnbaum published
Originally Published by:
Shinchosha (1993)
KEY POINTS
  • Won the Tanizaki Prize.
  • A colorful tale of political corruption, debauchery, and shamanistic enchantment.
SYNOPSIS
In this sweeping magical-realist epic set in the fictional south sea island Republic of Navidad, Ikezawa gives his imagination free rein to re-invent the myths of the twentieth century Pacific and satirize Japan's misguided plays for renewed regional domination. Considered the crowning masterpiece of Ikezawa's first decade of fiction, the tropical setting, Ikezawa's command of plausible historical details, and a quirky cast of characters may remind one of Gracía Márquez's, but the underlying Third World political agenda clearly presages Ikezawa's current outspoken Internet presence.
The Navidad Incident, or the Downfall of Matias Guili, takes place in the 1990s South Pacific, with flashbacks detailing the sad but laughable history of the Navidad Archipelago as Spanish, then German, then Japanese, then American territory. Now surviving by playing off ODA donor countries vying for strategic influence near shipping lanes, the newly independent Navidad has only its shrewd Japanophile President Matias Guili to look after the country's international interests. The story takes off as a delegation of Japanese war veterans pays an official visit to the ex-World War II colony, only to see the Japanese flag burst into flames at the welcoming reception. The following day, the tour bus with all forty-seven old soldiers simply vanishes. The local populace exchanges absurd rumors – the bus was last seen attending Catholic mass, the bus must have skipped across the lagoon – but the President suspects a covert guerilla
organization is trying to undermine his connections with Japan.
As subplot upon subplot interweave, engrossing the reader in a pageant of fantastic and delightfully addictive goings-on amidst lush surroundings, a bittersweet sense of malaise slowly builds. Ikezawa is often typified as a very "non-Japanese" Japanese voice with international concerns, and The Downfall of Matias Guili is truly world-caliber literature with international perspectives and wit.
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