Tales Grotesque and Curious
Here collected are eleven of the over 200 stories that Ryūnosuke Akutagawa wrote during his all-too-brief lifetime and give a sample of the odd and quirky world in which he dwells. Herein can be found eccentric parables such as the tricky demon of "Tobacco and the Devil", the skin-crawling "Lice" and the weird "The Wine Worm". But Akutagawa was also a master of the subtle character study illustrated by such tales as "The Handkerchief" and "Mori Sensei". Also included is "Rashomon", the dark and rain-swept inspiration for the acclaimed Akira Kurosawa film of the same name. (Summary by Ben Tucker)