Rashomon and Seventeen Other Stories, by Ryūnosuke Akutagawa
Details
This is a joint meetup with the Japanese Langauge and Culture Meetup Group. You can RSVP through either Meetup page.
We shall be reading and discussing the short stories of Ryūnosuke Akutagawa, one of the most renowned writers from Japan. Specifically, we shall be reading Rashomon and Seventeen Other Stories; this edition has been translated by Jay Rubin and contains an introduction by another notable Japanese writer, Haruki Murakami.
If you know nothing about Japanese literature, Akutagawa is a great writer with whom to start. His stories are dark and compelling, perfect for the Halloween season. Join us to learn more about this very important writer, and to enjoy Japanese food from one of the better restaurants in Indianapolis. Please RSVP as soon as you can, so that I can make reservations.
I have provided a description of Akutagawa's stories taken from the Amazon website:
"Ryünosuke Akutagawa is one of Japan's foremost stylists—a modernist master whose short stories are marked by highly original imagery, cynicism, beauty and wild humor. 'Rashömon' and 'In a Bamboo Grove' inspired Kurosawa's magnificent film and depict a past in which morality is turned upside down, while tales such as 'The Nose,' 'O-Gin' and 'Loyalty' paint a rich and imaginative 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 devastating effect, revealing his intense melancholy and terror of madness in exquisitely moving impressionistic stories."
Here is a link to the Amazon listing: