Although becoming a household name in her home country has never seemed a realistic ambition for Japanese author Mieko Kanai, she has nonetheless managed to captivate overseas readers with her uncanny, often mesmerizing style of prose.Kanai, who has a narrow but dedicated following in Japan, recently saw her name appear toward the top of a list compiled by a major British betting firm of likely contenders for this year's Nobel Prize in Literature.Known for her detailed descriptions and surrealistic writing style, Kanai, 77, saw her status jump following the publication last year of her 1997…READ FULL ARTICLE
