This collection features a brilliant new translation of the Japanese master’s stories, from the source for the movie Rashomon to his later, more autobiographical writings.
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Review Summary: 'Dissapointed'
Review: I saw Kurosawa's Rashomon and thought that Akutagawa's stories used to build the movie fable could give me some additional amazement extending the one I've gotten from the movie. After reading this book from the front to the back cover and under a single breath - I hardly remember what were my initial expectations and motives urging me to buy and read this book.
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Review Summary: short and unsettling
Review: Ryunosuke Akutagawa, as the introduction to this work will tell you, is one of the most well known and admired figures in Japanese literature. He was a sensitive and cynical man who wrote more than one hundred short before his early death in 1927. Like many people in the West, I think I was drawn to Akutagawa's work after viewing Akira Kurosawa's "Rashomon" and wanted to read the story (or stories, rather) upon which it was based. Just as Kurosawa was a master of the moving image, Akutagawa was a master of the written language and a keen observer of the human condition.
For those not familiar with Akutagawa's work, be warned: his dark, ironic and frequently pessimistic world-view is not for everyone. In his stories love, honor and decency are often frequently and unexpectedly replaced by jealousy, hatred and violence. This collection of stories can easily be read in one or two sittings, but it's unsettling effects will likely stay with you for long you put it down.
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Review Summary: This is an excellent edition
Review: With 17 other stories, and alot of extras. The preface is well written, in how the translation has changed some over the years, and explaining the era, pronounceation of certain words, etc. I really don't need to go into this book as enough good reviews have said alot. The book stands the test of time as brilliant.
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Review Summary: Wonderfully written and highly entertaining
Review: I was expecting a lot when I first opened Rashomon and 17 other stories, and I was not let down. Ryunosuke Akutagawa has an amazing style, and also led an interesting and difficult life. I recommend that anyone considering this product get it, whether it be from a used book store or a new copy. You won't be let down.
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Review Summary: JAY RUBIN'S TRANSLATION: BE NOT DECEIVED BY EXCELLENT COVER!
Review: Please, this refers to the Jay Rubin translation with the Barefoot Gen style graphic cover. Do not be deceived: This is not a "graphic novel" representation of the seventeen Akutagawa short stories in the style of the excellent and important historical Barefoot Gen series. You cannot tell from the Search Inside feature generously provided, which refers to another edition and another translator. This I refer to to is the Jay Rubin translation published by Penguin in 2006, and already available very economically. It is not a graphic novelization like Gen; it is the straight presentation of an excellent translation highly recommended to the thoughtful reader of advanced short stories.
Other reviewers have mentioned Kafka. I would add the early symbolist stories of James Joyce presented in cold realist style. But please do not categorize nor pigeon hole these profound presentations of reality from a meditative, Asian perspective. Enter this world without fear and ready to learn. Come with your cup emptied, ready to fill and to fill it up again.
Other reviewers have adequately explicated this excellent and generous collection which arrives to my grateful hands today. Finally perhaps something will release Mr. Joyce long enough from my hands to consider another author, having studied so long and frequently the film of Rashomon. Criterion's excellent restoration and commentary are well worth acquisition and stand up under repeated viewing of their DVD (as they choose among HDTV formats). Please notice here the orignal stories (also included in the Criterion package with different translator- a crucial point of departure) and the transfer of titles.
A great book for a quiet day. A great book for mass transport if you can focus in silence. I cannot destroy the tales by a clumsy attempt at summary. REpeated reading is rewarded by more profound understanding, just as walking through a village every day for a year will finally grant some slight perception of its realities and rhythms. I wish these were available on audio book as my over-worn eyes fade in to the gloom.