The Beautiful and the Grotesque

Ever since his death in 1927, Akutagawa has been hailed as one of the greatest short story writers in world literature. His wide range of fiction is beautifully displayed in this newly reissued collection of some of his most beloved stories. With characteristic lyricism and great style, the pieces here capture the strange world of Akutagawa's imagination, from the slow, gentle death of a haiku master ('Withered Fields') to a vicious, marauding gang and their bloody fight with samurai ('The Robbers'), and the sly tale told from a dog's perspective of his escape from home ('The Dog, Shiro'). Throughout these stories, Akutagawa captures the often confused spirit of a country undergoing great change and confronting modernity at the turn of the last century. His writing, however, manages to move far beyond the specificity of time and place and resonates universally. Over the years these stories have remained timeless classics and any reader, whether a fan of Akutagawa or a just discovering him now, will find wonderful delight in this unusual stories.