Deftly translated by Ryan Choi, these stories and vignettes (plus two short plays) all have radical brevity in common, demonstrating that Akutagawa was an early and prescient master of what we now call “flash” fiction and non-fiction. With a striking economy of means, the author gives us vivid, eccentric, feeling characters, young and elderly, learned and unpolished, urban and rural. Akutagawa’s observations and notes — on dreams, on being impersonated, on mountain towns, winter nights, university life and, poignantly, the Great KantÅ Earthquake — are as rich and evocative as his stories, with which they share a mesmerising quality.
First published in Japan between 1914 and 1927 (some posthumously), these works have been overlooked in favour of Akutagawa’s longer tales, which have formed the basis of his reputation in the West. In translating them, Choi rounds out our understanding of this master stylist.Â
Author: Akutagawa
Binding Type: Paperback
Publisher: Paper + Ink
Published: 11/15/2023
Pages: 192
Weight: 0.4lbs
Size: 4.90h x 1.40w x 0.20d
ISBN: 9781911475569
Language: English
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