Daily Bookshot: How’d That Happen?!?

How’d That Happen?!?, originally uploaded by Robert Burdock.

I’m sure most of you are aware of my sudden and absolute attraction to Japanese author Shusaku Endo of late. It came while reading Silence (Peter Owen) – you can read my afterthoughts HERE ), and it immediately sent me on a mission to add a few more Endo novels to my bookshelves. I now six Endo titles on my shelves, literally screaming at me daily to read them (it’s sooooo hard to resist), but what I didn’t realise before was that I have two different editions of The Samurai – a 1983 King Penguin edition [ISBN: 0140065571], and a 1997 New Directions edition [ISBN: 9780811213462]. Both are Van C. Gessel translations, so they are identical aside from publisher and cover.

Of course having more than one edition of a book in one’s library isn’t a big deal. But up until a few weeks ago I didn’t have any Endo titles lingering in my personal library, so all the Endo titles that I have, have only been acquired in the past couple of months or so. I remember where both came from. The King Penguin edition I bought from an Amazon Marketseller, while the New Directions edition I picked up in a 2nd-hand bookshop in St. Andrews. How then didn’t I realise I owned an edition of The Samurai when I picked up the second? I have no idea but maybe the old adage ‘love is blind’ comes into play here.