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The Essential Akutagawa: Rashomon, Hell Screen, Cogwheels, a Fool's Life and Other Short Fiction
 
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The Essential Akutagawa: Rashomon, Hell Screen, Cogwheels, a Fool's Life and Other Short Fiction (Paperback)

by Jorge Luis Borges (Foreword), Akutagawa Ryunosuke (Author), Seiji Lippet (Editor)
3.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)

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3.5 out of 5 stars (2 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
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2.0 out of 5 stars Poor, poor Akutagawa, Nov 18 2003
Akutagawa Ryunosuke is regarded as one of Japan's most significant 20th century authors, and although his work might seem a bit dated to the savvy 21st century reader, there is no denying the fact that he was a master of the short story form. Chief among his strengths were a remarkable ability to build atmosphere and a knack for tightly-constructed narrative. At his best, he could even be a gifted raconteur, capable of turning an otherwise heavy-handed moral parable into a humorous reflection on modernity and the human condition. Akutagawa was also a tragic figure-- bleak cynicism and bitter irony run throughout his stories, and he eventually committed suicide.

Sadly, Akutagawa's stories were among the first translated when Japanese literature became an academic field in America. Not that his stories aren't worthy of translation. After all, who hasn't at least heard of the film 'Rashomon,' the very title of which has entered the English language? The unfortunate aspect of this is that Akutagawa's stories have often been translated by individuals who are far from proficient in the Japanese language. And these decades-old translations are still the only ones available in English, in spite of their shortcomings.

Sadly, this recently-published collection of Akutagawa's stories is not the sorely-needed volume of new and skilled translations that the author deserves. Instead, it is a repackaging of the same old versions that have been making the rounds in various volumes of Japanese literature for decades. Granted, there have been a small number of editorial updates. Even so, countless egregious errors in translation still stare forth from the pages of this book ('Cogwheels' is unrecognizable when compared to the original, and nothing short of incompetent). And far from being an "essential" volume of the stories of Akutagawa, this could more accurately be described as a rogue's gallery of well-intended misfires in the history of Japanese literature.

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5.0 out of 5 stars Contemporary Themes in a Beautiful Book, April 12 2000
By A. Smith (New York) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   
A collections of Akutagawa's work that truly is "essential." Akutagawa breaks down conventional narrative boundaries with such classics as "Cogwheels" and "Hell Screen." "Rashomon" is a chilling tale of a traveler's encounter with an old thief. What the thief is stealing is what is shocking, and the morals and ethics that Akutagawa explores are extremely interesting. This book is a must have for fans of Japanese Literature.
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