The Penguin Book of Japanese Short Stories  |
| Editor | Jay Rubin |
|---|
| Genre | Short stories, literary fiction, speculative fiction |
|---|
| Publisher | Penguin Classics |
|---|
Publication date | September 11, 2018 |
|---|
| Pages | 576 |
|---|
| ISBN | 978-0141395623 |
|---|
The Penguin Book of Japanese Short Stories is a 2018 English language anthology of Japanese literature edited by American translator Jay Rubin and published by Penguin Classics. With 34 stories, the collection spans centuries of short stories from Japan ranging from the early-twentieth-century works of Ryūnosuke Akutagawa and Jun'ichirō Tanizaki up to more modern works by Mieko Kawakami and Kazumi Saeki. The book features an introduction by Japanese writer and longtime Rubin collaborator Haruki Murakami.[1]
Critical reception
GQ placed the book on their 17 Best Books of 2018 list, lauding Rubin's choice to arrange short stories by theme rather than chronological time.[2] In 2024, The Atlantic featured it in an article recommending short story collections.[3] Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie included it in her profile in The New York Times.[4]
The Japan Times called the book's structure "a recipe for success" with categories that "best showcase ... unique tastes."[5] The Japan Society observed Rubin's "necessarily selective" and thematically organized collection, writing that "A reader prepared for the new and unexpected will not be disappointed."[6] The Asian Review of Books wrote that "the collection has a unique, often edgy, surprising quality" due to its thematic organization, as well as its inclusion of stories from lesser-known and typically underrepresented writers.[7]
Stories
The book's short stories are organized by theme.
References
- ^ Rubin, Jay, ed. (September 11, 2018). The Penguin Book of Japanese Short Stories. Penguin Classics. ISBN 978-0141395623.
- ^ Nguyen, Kevin (2018-12-17). "The 17 Best Books of 2018". GQ. Retrieved 2024-10-29.
- ^ Nguyen, Celine (2024-06-08). "What to Read When You Have Only Half an Hour". The Atlantic. Retrieved 2024-10-29.
- ^ "What the Novelist Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie Reads While She Works". The New York Times. April 23, 2020.
- ^ Kosaka, Kris (June 23, 2018). "'The Penguin Book of Japanese Short Stories': Memorable shorts from the greats of modern literature". The Japan Times.
- ^ Dobson, Jill. "The Japan Society - The Penguin Book of Japanese Short Stories". www.japansociety.org.uk. Retrieved 2024-10-29.
- ^ Shimoda, Todd (2019-06-22). ""The Penguin Book of Japanese Short Stories", edited by Jay Rubin". Retrieved 2024-10-29.