Book Review: Rashomon and Other Stories by Akutagawa Ryūnosuke and translated by Takashi Kojima

Book Review: Rashomon and Other Stories by
Akutagawa Ryūnosuke and translated by Takashi Kojima

Quote: Flocks of crows flew in from somewhere. During the daytime, these cawing birds circled round the ridgepole of the gate. When the sky overhead turned red in the afterlight of the departed sun, they looked like so many grains of sesame flung across the gate.

Ryūnosuke Akutagawa the father of Japanese short stories, has been on my to-be-read-list for years. This is an old translation, which has distilled down the stories to their literal translation instead of the 'transliteration' that present-day readers look for.

How to make murder mystery frustratingly interesting? Throw in unreliable narrators and witnesses and watch it unfold, is how I found In a Grove. Though day by day I am getting critical about the use of rape in the story as a plot device, I am glad the author didn't use rapist-robber's confession to describe his heinous crime.

The famous Rashomon that has been translated over a hundred times and adapted by famous Kurosawa, remains a compelling story no matter how distilled it gets. The thin line between violence, power and desperation always floats this story.

Yam Gruel, was a funny story with a pinch of fantasy. But I don't think I got the entirety of the joke cracked by Akutagawa through this micro-retelling of a myth.

The Martyr, definitely was the most tragic and ironical story of all. The story of an orphan Lorenzo who lived by the words of Jesus and suffered like him. I didn't see the sad twist coming in the end, despite me reading the same twists in manga and light novels over and over again!

Kesa and Morito, was interesting, the power dynamics between ex-lovers who are having extramarital affair was gripping. How far can lust last? What sustains love? Surprisingly hate and a honour bound promise to commit murder does.

The Dragon, was hilarious, I had read the origin myth of the story before, but it was interesting retelling and I have seen its various adaptation on screen and other stories. But I still love stories because nothing has ever echoed the horrors of fake news then a story about a joke that got wild.

Overall it was a decent introduction to Akutagawa's narrative style which is definitely starkly different from Soseki's and far more absorbing and critical in terms of observations.