Eroshenko
Vasili Eroshenko was born near the Russia/Ukraine border in 1890. He went blind at the age of four and spent time at blind schools in Moscow and London, and as an adult tried to improve the education of the blind as well as advocating for the equality of all humans. He traveled to many parts of the world as a writer, speaker, socialist, and Esperanto enthusiast. For several years, in the mid-1910s, he was a part of the Japanese socialist, literary, quasi-revolutionary, free love. and bluestocking interconnected circles in Tokyo. Eroshenko’s time in Japan is shown from the perspective of female journalist and women’s rights advocate Kamichika Ichiko, who transcribed for Eroshenko and was his friend and sometimes lover.
Every character in this novel was a real person. These were the individuals fighting against the militaristic nationalism that would soon overtake Japan. They are shown as idealistic and imperfect, competitive and kind, generous, and jealous. We get to know Eroshenko and Ichiko the most, and they are fascinating people: Eroshenko, bold and brave and loving, but placed in the box of being blind by the rest of the world; Ichiko, who is never as strong as she wants to be, lets an unrequited love embitter her life. The setting is a character as well; every facet of this Tokyo is brought to life for us to experience. This isn’t a time and place well represented in historical fiction, but any lover of this genre will be entranced. A truly remarkable novel. Highly recommended.
