An anthology of the greatest stories by modern Japanese masters
(including previously overlooked women writers)!
Fourteen distinct voices are assembled in this one-of-a-kind anthology
tracing a nation's changing social landscapes. Internationally renowned
writers like Yasunari Kawabata, Ryunosuke Akutagawa and Junichi Watanabe
are joined by three notable women writers whose works have not yet
received sufficient attention--Kanoko Okamoto, Fumiko Hayashi and Yumiko
Kurahashi.
Highlights of this anthology include:
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Kafu Nagai's bittersweet portrait of a privileged family's expiring
existence in "The Fox"
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Ango Sakaguchi's heartening celebration of postwar chaos in "One Woman
and the War"
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Fumiko Hayashi's unabashed exploration of female sexuality in "Borneo
Diamond"
-
Junichi Watanabe's chilling assessment of alienation and social
dislocation in "Invitation to Suicide"
-
Gishu Nakayama's look at an out-of-place prostitute recovering at a
hot-spring resort in "Autumn Wind"
Through brilliant, highly-praised translations by Lane Dunlop, The Best
Japanese Short Stories offers fascinating glimpses of a society
embracing change while holding tenaciously onto the past. A new foreword
by Alan Tansman provides insightful back stories about the authors and
the literary backdrop against which they created these great works of
modern world literature.
