Rashomon and Seventeen Other Stories by Akutagawa, Ryunosuke - 2009

US: Penguin Publishing Group, 2009. Paperback. New. Notes From Your Bookseller Woven with themes that are wholly Japanese, this collection of short storie s boasts characters from the enthralling feudal period of Japan and beyond. And yet, the humanity found within each tale is timeless and universal, th e humor is on point and the imagination makes for a rollicking adventure. One of Penguin Classics' most popular translations--now also in our elegant black spine dress Ryünosuke Akutagawa is one of Japan's foremost stylists--a modernist master whose short stories are marked by highly original imagery, cynicism, beaut y and wild humour. "Rashömon"and "In a Bamboo Grove" inspired Kurosawa's ma gnificent film and depict a past in which morality is turned upside down, w hile tales such as "The Nose," "O-Gin" and "Loyalty" paint a rich and imagi native picture of a medieval Japan peopled by Shoguns and priests, vagrants and peasants. And in later works such as "Death Register," "The Life of a Stupid Man," and "Spinning Gears," Akutagawa drew from his own life to deva stating effect, revealing his intense melancholy and terror of madness in e xquisitely moving impressionistic stories. For more than seventy years, Penguin has been the leading publisher of classic literature in the English-speaking world. With more than 1,700 titles, Penguin Classics represents a global bookshelf of the best works throughout history and across genres and disciplines. Readers trust the series to provide authoritative texts enhanced by introductions and notes by distinguished scholars and contemporary authors, as well as up-to-date translations by award-winning translators.