The Grass-cutting Sword

By Catherynne M. Valente

A new novel by the author of The Labyrinth and Yume No Hon: The Book of Dreams, The Grass-Cutting Sword explores the strange landscape of primeval Japan, from the Heaven-Spanning Bridge to the hellish Root-Country: the troubled trickster Susanoo-no-Mikoto, god of wind and storms, is banished from heaven and wanders the earth, lost in human form, in search of his demonic mother and charged with the defeat of an eight-headed serpent... A 3 disc CD-Audio edition.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0809562308
• ISBN13: 9780809562305
• Release Date: January 2006
• Publisher: Wildside Pr
• Length: 126 Pages
• Weight: 0.28 lbs.
• Dimensions: 8.5" x 0.5" x 5.5"
• Age Range: 16 years and up
• Grade Range: Grade 11 and higher

Customer Reviews

Another winner from Valente

Catherynne M. Valente, The Grass-Cutting Sword (Prime, 2006) Valente's inscription to me in the frontspiece of The Grass-Cutting Sword calls it "this small, forgotten book." If that's the case, it's a crime. Valente is one of the best American authors going today, and The Grass-Cutting Sword is another fine example of why. Susanoo-no-Mikoto is the god of storms, cast out of heaven for a transgression of which we, at the beginning, know nothing. As he's getting used to his new mortal body, he is spied by a couple who ask him to kill the dragon who's taken their eight daughters. They believe the last one is still alive; after killing the dragon, Susanoo-no-Mikoto can have her as his wife. He takes the task on, but quickly finds out that the menace of the dragon is nothing compared to the blindness and stupidity of the human world, including (especially, perhaps) his own worshippers. The story is told in alternating voices of the god, the dragon, and the daughters. As with all Valente's books, each voice is exquisitely crafted, each scene as beautiful and grotesque as a Joel-Peter Witkin photograph. It's impossible to go wrong with Valente. Pick this up. **** ½

Japanese myth-punk

This brief novel is a retelling of an old Japanese folktale. Susanoo-no-Mikoto, the god of wind and storms, has been banished from heaven by his sister the sun goddess Ama-Terasu for an admittedly horrible act of desecration. On earth, in his human form, he discovers that a dreadful, eight-headed serpent has been terrorizing the region, and has devoured the eight daughters of a humble peasant couple. He makes it his quest to destroy the serpent, in return for the marriage of the eighth daughter. Valente lays the body of this ancient myth out on the marble slab of her imagination and performs surgery on it. Susanoo-no-Mikoto's first person narrative is fairly straight forward. His voice is arrogant, full of ribald humor that's undercut with a real longing for his mother. A subplot tells the story of the creation of the world, and how Susanoo-no-Mikoto's mother Izanami was transformed into the hellish root country. This is alternated with the view point of each of the maidens and the serpent that devours them. These short pieces in written in a lovely, stream-of-conscious style where Valente is at war with language. She refashions storytelling, revealing a feminist subtext of maiden-and-dragon stories while piling on the sheer horror (and beauty) of primeval folktales. The imagery is pyrotechnic. Bring a strong stomach. The Grass-Cutting Sword shows Valente's growth as a writer--she really captures the swaggering, bravado voice of the storm god, and has a sense of masculine grieving. The banter between Susanoo-No-Mikoto and his sister Ama-Terasu is simply charming. The pacing is spot-on. The novel is a quick read, but lovers of the music of language will like to linger over her lovingly crafted prose.