The 210th Day, Natsume Sōseki

It seems impossible that Beckett didn’t read this slender, strange text, but I have no idea if he actually did (a brief internet search only reveals that other people have compared the two). It’s a semi-comic, semi-melancholic story of two men who are trying to go up a mountain, told mostly through dialogue, and it has that very particular blend of absurdity, indignation, and lyricism that I adore. I gather that with a better knowledge of Japanese literature and history I would also recognize the layers of symbolism and political commentary, which are of course important, but it’s also quite pleasurable as a quasi-fable.