Kappa (Peter Owen Modern Classic)
| Author | : | |
| Rating | : | 4.22 (749 Votes) |
| Asin | : | 072061337X |
| Format Type | : | paperback |
| Number of Pages | : | 188 Pages |
| Publish Date | : | 2014-04-14 |
| Language | : | English |
DESCRIPTION:
"Jonathan Swift Japanese style? Not quite but" according to M. J. Smith. It is difficult to fairly rate Kappa because, while it is excellent and entertaining, it is not equal to the exquisite Rashomon collection. Neither is the book the equivalent of Gulliver's Travels although there is a distinct similarity. Rather Kappa is the story of a human in the world of mythical water creatures, Kappa. The narrator is an unnamed patient in a mental hospital; thus the framework of the story is one of a narrator whose reliability is open to question. Within this framework, Akutagawa manages to build a credible world satirizing Japanese cul. C. E. Stevens said Memorable satire. "Kappa" is a wonderful lampoon of Japanese society written by the gifted but troubled Akutagawa Ryunosuke. Even though nearly 80 years have passed since Kappa was written, the people and subjects that Akutagawa impales with his pen (religion, capitalism, literature, abortion, heredity, etc.) are no less pressing today, making Kappa nearly as easy to analyze and enjoy now as when it was written.Akutagawa's writing style is a joy as always, and the plot is familiar to readers of Robinson Crusoe or Alice in Wonderland (Akutagawa finished translating Alice in W. The distorted mirror of Kappaland "Kappa" is told from the point of view of Patient 23, an asylum inmate who tells of his incredible journey into the heart of Kappaland, peopled by the Kappa, the magical creatures of Japanese folklore.In the tradition of "Gulliver's Travels," inside Kappaland, Akutagawa, author of "Rashomon" and "In the Grove," has created a twisted reflection of both his contemporary Japanese society and his own self-loathing. It has been a difficult tale to interpret in Japan, being hailed as either a children's story, a social satire or simply weird. Akutagawa himself fe
Two of the stories from his collection Rashomon formed the basis of the award-winning film of the same title by Akira Kurosawa.. Ryunosuke Akutagawa was the author of more than 100 short stories as well as translations of the works of Anatole France and Yeats. Akutagawa was regarded as a major author during his lifetime, and the Akutagawa Prize,
A perfectly formed gem from the pen of one of Japan's most important modern writers, this tale is at once a fable, a comedy, and a brilliant satire.. In the hands of Ryunosuke Akutagawa, one man's journey to Kappaland becomes the vehicle for a critique of Japanese life and customs in the tradition of Swift and Kafka. The Kappa is a creature from Japanese folklore described as a scaly, child-sized being with a face like a tiger and a sharp, pointed beak
Language Notes Text: English (translation) Original Language: Japanese