Short Story Collections (Single Author), Asian Peoples & Cultures - Fiction & Literature, Japanese Fiction
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Overview
The stories of Akutagawa--like those of his peer and contemporary Franz Kafka--are intricate explorations of peculiar junctures of modern cosmopolitan subjectivity. Yet Kafka, though clearly positioned on the borders of dominant Western culture, still writes from within it. Akutagawa's singular difference lies in a set of confrontations that can be said to be truly alien. Eastern and Western, Ancient and Modern, Masculine and Feminine collapse in his extraordinarily innovative and lucid prose.Akutagawa Ryunosuke was born in Tokyo in 1892. In spite of difficult beginnings--the early death of his mother and desertion by his father--he went on to become a brilliant student and avid reader of European literature. His early stories, including the famous "Rashomon" (with his "In a Grove", made into an Academy Award-winning film by Akira Kurosawa), were published before his graduation in 1916 and soon brought him international recognition. After graduation he married, had a family and later traveled to China. An increasingly severe depression led to his suicide at thirty five.
Book Details
Published
June 28, 1999
Publisher
Marsilio Publishers
Pages
240
Format
Paperback
ISBN
9781568860619