Order of Book Series
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Kenzaburo Oe Books in Order

Kenzaburo Oe has written 15 books, published between 1957 and 2009. The first book is The Pinch Runner Memorandum (1957) and the newest is Death by Water (2009). Publication order is the reading order below.

Books
15
Published
1957–2009
Total pages
3,994 across 15 books
Reading time
67–100 hours

Reading time is an estimate, not a recorded figure: 3,994 pages at 300 words a page, read at 200–300 words a minute.

See all 15 books in order Printable Kenzaburo Oe checklist
Photo of Kenzaburo Oe, author

Kenzaburō Ōe was a Japanese writer, born 31 January 1935, who died 3 March 2023, and a major figure in contemporary Japanese literature. French and American literature and literary theory shaped Ōe's novels, short stories and essays, which take on nuclear weapons, nuclear power, social non-conformism and existentialism. Ōe received the 1994 Nobel Prize in Literature for an imagined world in which life and myth condense into a picture of the human predicament. The catalogue lists 15 books, among them A Personal Matter (1964), Hiroshima Notes (1965), The Silent Cry (1967), A Quiet Life (1990) and Death by Water (2009).

How many Kenzaburo Oe books are there?

Kenzaburo Oe has 15 books, released between 1957 and 2009.

Kenzaburo Oe Books in Publication Order

The table lists all 15 Kenzaburo Oe books in the order they were published, with the release year, the page count where one is on record, and how many independent book listings confirm each title. Catalogue data as of September 2026.

  1. Cover of The Pinch Runner Memorandum by Kenzaburo Oe (1957)
  2. Cover of Nip the Buds, Shoot the Kids by Kenzaburo Oe (1958)
  3. Cover of Seventeen & J by Kenzaburo Oe (1963)
  4. Cover of A Personal Matter by Kenzaburo Oe (1964)
  5. Cover of Hiroshima Notes by Kenzaburo Oe (1965)
  6. Cover of Teach Us to Outgrow Our Madness by Kenzaburo Oe (1966)
  7. Cover of The Silent Cry by Kenzaburo Oe (1967)
  8. Cover of Rouse Up, O Young Men of the New Age! by Kenzaburo Oe (1983)
  9. Cover of A Quiet Life by Kenzaburo Oe (1990)
  10. Cover of Japan, the Ambiguous, and Myself by Kenzaburo Oe (1995)
  11. Cover of Somersault by Kenzaburo Oe (1999)
  12. Cover of The Changeling by Kenzaburo Oe (2000)
  13. Cover of Death by Water by Kenzaburo Oe (2009)
  1. 1
    The Pinch Runner Memorandum1957 · 251 pages · confirmed 1/4
    1957251
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  2. 2
    Nip the Buds, Shoot the Kids1958 · 189 pages · confirmed 1/4
    1958189
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  3. 3
    Seventeen & J1963 · 194 pages · confirmed 1/4
    1963194
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  4. 4
    A Personal Matter1964 · 165 pages · confirmed 1/4
    1964165
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  5. 5
    Hiroshima Notes1965 · 192 pages · confirmed 1/4
    1965192
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  6. 6
    Teach Us to Outgrow Our Madness1966 · 261 pages · confirmed 1/4
    1966261
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  7. 7
    The Silent Cry1967 · 274 pages · confirmed 1/4
    1967274
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  8. 8
    Rouse Up, O Young Men of the New Age!1983 · 272 pages · confirmed 1/4
    1983272
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  9. 9
    An Echo of Heaven1989 · 204 pages · confirmed 1/4
    1989204
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  10. 10
    A Quiet Life1990 · 256 pages · confirmed 1/4
    1990256
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  11. 11
    A Healing Family1995 · 146 pages · confirmed 1/4
    1995146
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  12. 12
    Japan, the Ambiguous, and Myself1995 · 128 pages · confirmed 1/4
    1995128
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  13. 13
    Somersault1999 · 570 pages · confirmed 1/4
    1999570
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  14. 14
    The Changeling2000 · 468 pages · confirmed 1/4
    2000468
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  15. 15
    Death by Water2009 · 424 pages · confirmed 1/4
    2009424
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK

Kenzaburo Oe books grouped by series

Each title below is a row in the publication-order table above. None of these groups has a reading-order page of its own on this site.

Standalone books

15 books

15 Kenzaburo Oe titles here are not listed as part of any series.

Do you have to read Kenzaburo Oe books in order?

No. No source lists any of the 15 Kenzaburo Oe books here as part of a series. The numbered table above gives them by publication date.

Where to start with Kenzaburo Oe

Start with The Pinch Runner Memorandum (1957), the earliest published title.

What is the newest Kenzaburo Oe book?

Death by Water (2009) is the newest Kenzaburo Oe book released so far.

Is there a new Kenzaburo Oe book coming?

No next Kenzaburo Oe book is announced in the catalogue, which is a gap in the listings it merges rather than a sign that the run has ended.

Awards Kenzaburo Oe has won

Wikidata records 9 awards and 1 nomination for Kenzaburo Oe. Each row states whether the title won or was shortlisted, and the year the award was given.

  • Grinzane Cavour Prize1996Won
  • Nobel Prize in Literature1994Won
  • Sei Itō Award1990Won
  • Kawabata award1984Won
  • Yomiuri Prize1983Won
  • Noma Literary Prize1973Won
  • Tanizaki Prize1967Won
  • Shinchosha literature award1964Won
  • Akutagawa Prize1958Wonfor Prize Stock
  • International Booker Prize2016Shortlistedfor Death by Water

Kenzaburo Oe at a glance

Died
Kenzaburo Oe died in 2023, according to Wikidata.
Last book
The newest book credited to Kenzaburo Oe on record dates from 2009.
Release pace
Kenzaburo Oe books have appeared about one every 4 years on average.
Length
3,994 pages across all 15 books with a recorded length, a median of 251 pages each.
Busiest decade
Most Kenzaburo Oe books, 5 of 15, were published in the 1960s.

What the Kenzaburo Oe books are about

All 15 Kenzaburo Oe books carry subject tags in Open Library's catalogue. The subjects below are the ones that recur across them, most frequent first: japan is tagged on 4 of 15. The subjects are cataloguers’ headings, not a plot summary.

  • Japan 4 of 15 books
  • Children with disabilities 2 of 15 books
  • Fathers and sons 2 of 15 books
  • Japanese Authors 2 of 15 books