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(★)(trans. by Ralph F. McCarthy)(太宰治ロマネスク短編集／ ´Blue Bamboo´ is a collection of seven short stories by one of Japan´s preeminent postwar writers and prose stylists, Osamu Dazai. Not the typical romantic fantasies so often seen in Japanese writing, filled with water sprites and vengeful ghosts, these stories are a mixture of fantastic allegory, slightly skewed fables, and affecting romantic tales. Revealing the wide range of Dazai´s imaginative powers, they also give a glimpse of his humane and idealistic side.／ From the title story, about an impoverished, henpecked scholar who is transformed by the love of a voluptuous bird, to ´The Chrysanthemum Spirit´, about a passionate gardener who meets a brother and sister with extraordinary powers, Dazai creates a world of fantasy and romance that is infused with his own psychological concerns. Many readers may recall the poignancy of Oscar Wilde´s ´The Happy Prince´ or Han Christian Andersen.／ The collection is capped by two delightful stories-within-a-story, in which the assorted members of a quirky family compose alternate episodes of a slightly gothic romance with hints of Poe and Saki (in ´On Love and Beauty´) and a wildly elaborate retelling of Rapunzel that is engaging, horrifying, and touching by turns (in ´Lanterns of Romance´).／ All in all, these warm, inventive, and life-affirming stories will strike a deep, satisfying chord in many readers.／ ◆Osamu Dazai (1909-48) is generally known for representing the dark years immediately following WWII. Shortly after finishing two of his greatest works, ´The Setting Sun´ and ´No Longer Human´, he succeeded in his third attempt at suicide.／ Ralph F. McCarthy is a writer, lyricist, and translator from Michigan and California. Among his translations are another collection of stories by Osamu Dazai, ´Self Portraits´, and ´69´ by Ryu Murakami.／ ▼CONTENTS／ ●On Love and Beauty (愛と美について [Ai to bi ni tsuite, 1939])／ ●Cherry Leaves and the Whistler (葉桜と魔笛 [Hazakura to mateki, 1939])／ ●The Chrysanthemum Spirit (清貧譚 [Seihintan, 1941])／ ●The Mermaid and the Samurai (人魚の海 [Ningyo no umi, 1944])／ ●Blue Bamboo (竹青 [Chikusei, 1945])／ ●Romanesque (ロマネスク [Romanesuku, 1934])／ ●Lanterns of Romance (ろまん燈籠 [Roman dooroo, 1940-41])／) |
BASE de DATOS, Biblioteca del Centro Cultural de la Embajada de Japon
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