Quotes from Hayashi Fumiko's books, and about them
Floating Clouds on The Possessed: “Tomioka had not entirely given up his dream of death. He recalled how, in The Possessed, which he had read in Indochina long ago, Stavrogin carefully prepared for death by smearing a strong silk cord thickly with soap beforehand so that dying would hurt as little as possible. [auto-translated]”
Floating Clouds on Bel-Ami: “At the camp in Hanoi I read a novel called Bel-Ami, and you are like its hero. But he is a homeless drifter who uses women as a ladder to get ahead, while you use only women as your ladder. [auto-translated]”
Floating Clouds on L'Assommoir: “Tomioka thought he would stop at a secondhand shop and buy a novel to take home. What he wanted to read was Zola. He recalled that a mixed-race typist at the forestry office in Dalat had once lent him Zola's L'Assommoir. [auto-translated]”