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Description

About the Author

Born in Tokyo in 1892. In 1915, he published Rashomon, which gained international recognition and became a classic film. After a period of severe depression, Akutagawa committed suicide in 1927, at age thirty-five. Eight years after Akutagawa's death he was commemorated through the establishment of the Akutagawa Prize for literature, the most prestigious literary prize in Japan. Charles DeWolf is a professor at Keio University in Tokyo, and is a translator and linguist specializing in classical and modern Japanese literature. His past translations include Konjaku Monotagari's "Tales of Days Gone By" He is also the author of How to Sound Intelligent In Japanese: A Vocabulary Builder, and a contributor to Japan Airlines "Skyward" magazine.

Praise for Mandarins: Stories by Ryunosuke Akutagawa…

“The flow of his language is the best feature of Akutagawa’s style. Never stagnant, it moves along like a living thing. His choice of words is intuitive, natural—and beautiful.”—Haruki Murakami

“Extravagance and horror are in his work but never in his style, which is always crystal clear.”—Jorge Luis Borges

“In [Akutagawa’s] spare, textured prose … he brings us clear-eyed glimpses of human behavior.”—The New York Times Book Review

“The six stories … need no recommendation except their own merits — which are fresh and striking.”—Saturday Review