Rashomon and Other Stories

I am finally done with this book! I’ve been trying to finish it for a month at this point?? I don’t know why but after a certain section it just became so hard to consume! Perhaps it was the writing style which, like all classical literature has the tone of a salted snail and the mood of a quiet graveyard. I picked this up because I saw the introduction was written by Haruki Murakami so I figured any author acclaimed by him was worth checking out myself. I had no idea how large a part of Japan’s history in literature Akutagawa played. Apparently he is to Japanese high schoolers what F. Scott Fitzgerald is to American teens. So that was certainly an interesting preface to the rest of the book. As someone who doesn’t usually read intros this one is a must. The stories themselves were quite interesting. I had no idea most of his stories revolved around the themes of poverty and suffering until a friend pointed it out to me but thinking back it was certainly prevalent throughout every story. I did like the sort of whimsical air a lot of the stories took whilst describing the horrors happening to the characters within. I’m a sucker for a good character torture. I think another reason it was so hard for me to get into it was the fact this is a translation. The more I read the more I wanted to know what the original text said. Apparently Akutagawa uses words that even the Japanese haven’t heard of and certainly don’t use in casual conversation but his expert manipulation of even the oldest sections of their language make his stories just all the more entrancing. One day I will read his stories in the original Japanese! But for now this was a pretty decent start. If you can’t handle classical literatures vernacular because it’s just too boring, this ain’t the one for you. Otherwise, by all means check this one out!