Contains eleven short stories by Japanese writer Yumiko Kurahashi (b. 1935), with a short introduction by translator and scholar of Kurahashi's work, Atsuko Sakaki, in which she discusses the transformation of Kurahashi's work from absurdist literature to a more logical, rationalistic type of literature. Paper edition (unseen), $19.95. Annotation c. by Book News, Inc., Portland, Or.
This is an English-language anthology dedicated to the short stories of Kurahashi Yumiko (1935-), a Japanese novelist of profound intellectual powers. The eleven stories included in this volume suggest the breadth of the author's literary production, ranging from parodies of classical Japanese literature to cosmopolitan avant-garde works, from quasi-autobiography to science fiction. Her subversive fiction defies established definitions of "literature", "Japan", "modernity" and "femininity", and represents an important intellectual aspect of modern Japanese women's literature.
| Acknowledgments |
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ix | (4) |
| Introduction |
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xiii | |
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3 | (26) |
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29 | (10) |
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THE HOUSE OF THE BLACK CAT |
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39 | (6) |
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THE WOMAN WITH THE FLYING HEAD |
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45 | (8) |
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53 | (6) |
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59 | (8) |
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67 | (10) |
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77 | (12) |
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89 | (8) |
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97 | (8) |
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THE LONG PASSAGE OF DREAMS |
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105 | (52) |
| LIST OF JAPANESE SOURCES OF THE TRANSLATED WORKS |
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157 | |
Kurahashi Yumiko, the original author of The Adventures of Sumiyakist Q (translated by Dennis Keene), is renowned for intellectual qualities comparable to those of Franz Kafka and Abe K?b? demonstrated in her short stories, essays, and novels. She has been awarded several literary prizes, including Jory? bungaku sh? (Womens Literary Prize), Tamura Toshiko sh? (Tamura Toshiko Prize), and Izumi Ky?ka sh? (Izumi Ky?ka Prize)., Atsuko Sakaki is Associate Professor of Japanese Literature in the Department of East Asian Languages and Civilizations at Harvard University. Her publications include K?i to shite no sh?setsu (Shiny?sha, 1996), Ibuse bungaku no honshitsu (Translation of Anthony Limans book on Ibuse Masuji; Meiji shoin, 1994), and a number of English and Japanese articles on Kurahashi Yumiko and others. She is finishing a book manuscript in English on the contextuality of narration in prose fiction by S?seki, ?gai, Tanizaki, and Ibuse.
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