Lane Dunlop Libros

In 1930, Yasunari published this second collection of very short stories (which he himself defined as "in the palm of the hand") four years after "Suggestions and Artifices." The author gathers his narrative material "almost without needing to live," simply noting what moves around him, with a detached gaze that is also seduced by the flow of life, a gaze that does not violate but gives images: the gaze of poetry. Everyday life and the life of the universe are fragmented, event by event, emotion by emotion, using tools that, following ancient Japanese paths, reach the most current narrative trends.

No modern Japanese writer was more idolized than Shiga Naoya. "The Paper Door and Other Stories" showcases the concise, delicate art of this writer who is often called "the god of the Japanese short story." Doyen of Japanese letters Donald Keene ranks some of Shiga's stories "among the most brilliant achievements in this genre by any twentieth-century Japanese writer." Shiga's unique style is concise and simple, with no unnecessary words. With the subtlest of gestures, he evokes the fullness of experience. Lane Dunlop's masterly translation of seventeen of Shiga's finest stories has provided English readers their first overview of the author's work. Now back in print, the book is augmented by Donald Keene's new preface contextualizing Shiga's awesome literary gifts. Dunlop has chosen stories that aptly represent Shiga's range and virtuosity. With selections spanning forty years, from the fable-like "The Little Girl and the Rapeseed Flower" to the psychologically complex "A Gray Moon," this collection delineates the development of Shiga's rare genius.