Ryunosuke Akutagawa

Tvorchestvo vydajuschegosja japonskogo pisatelja Akutagavy Rjunoske - odno iz naibolee jarkikh i neobychnykh javlenij v mirovoj literature XX veka. Glavnaja tema ego proizvedenij, napisannykh s tonkim vkusom i jumorom, - beskonechnaja vselennaja dukha i tajny chelovecheskoj psikhologii. Materialy dlja svoikh novell Akutagava cherpal iz istoricheskikh khronik, srednevekovykh anekdotov i sbornikov starinnykh legend. Akutagava polagal, chto tolko cherez iskljuchitelnoe i neozhidannoe mozhno raskryt podlinnye dvizhenija dushi. Prichudlivoe perepletenie vymysla i realnosti, glubina psikhologicheskogo analiza, paradoksalnost suzhdenij, mjagkaja ironija delajut proizvedenija Akutagavy podlinnymi shedevrami.

V tsentre nastojaschego sbornika - polemika Akutagavy Rjunoske i Tanidzaki Dzjunitiro, razvernuvshajasja v 1920-e gody na stranitsakh zhurnala "Kajdzo". Pisateli veli zhivoj i naprjazhennyj spor o prirode sjuzheta, poeticheskom dukhe i granitsakh realizma. Dlja nikh literatura stala sposobom osmyslit razryv mezhdu Vostokom i Zapadom, traditsiej i modernom: kniga pokazyvaet, kak japonskaja kultura vstupila v novuju epokhu ne cherez podrazhanie, a cherez vnutrennij spor o forme, morali i chuvstvennosti pisma. Diskussija Akutagavy i Tanidzaki ne daet otveta na vopros, "kakoj dolzhna byt literatura". Ona fiksiruet redkij moment, kogda kultura v litse literatury esche sposobna ostanovitsja i sprosit, na kakom osnovanii ona voobsche trebuet k sebe doverija. Zavershaetsja rabota rjadom lirichnykh statej Tanidzaki, napisannykh kak reaktsija na samoubijstvo Akutagavy i pozvoljajuschikh glubzhe ponjat otnoshenija mezhdu pisateljami. Kniga vykhodit v ramkakh proekta hide books, posvjaschennogo Vostochnoj Azii i Dalnemu Vostoku.

Tvorchestvo Rjunoske Akutagavy polzuetsja zasluzhennoj populjarnostju kak v nashej strane, tak i vo vsem mire, a ego samye izvestnye povesti i rasskazy, takie kak "V strane vodjanykh", "V chasche" i "Vorota Rasjomon", reguljarno pereizdajutsja. No sobrannye v etom izdanii pisma shkolnym druzjam, uchiteljam i kollegam-pisateljam pozvoljajut vzgljanut na izvestnogo japonskogo literatora s drugoj, ne stol izvestnoj storony i pokazyvajut nam Akutagavu-cheloveka, so vsemi ego nadezhdami, mechtami i razocharovanijami. A predstavlennye v sbornike esse i stati demonstrirujut vzgljad Akutagavy na literaturu, kritiku, razlichija mezhdu Vostokom i Zapadom.

Hell of Solitude presents a varied and eclectic selection of writings by Ryunosuke Akutagawa, one of the most important and beloved Japanese writers of the twentieth century. Bringing together fiction, poetry, and philosophical prose – much of it appearing in English for the first time here – this collection showcases the range and intensity of Akutagawa’s imagination. Moving from the whimsical and fantastical to the grave and introspective, the pieces reveal a writer of extraordinary clarity and psychological depth. Interwoven throughout are poems from a prolific body of verse, examples of which are sparse in English, alongside ‘Art and Other Things’, a fragmentary essay in which Akutagawa expounds his aesthetic views while drawing on examples from world literature and art. Translated with sensitivity and precision by Ryan Choi, Hell of Solitude offers a vital reintroduction to a writer whose lucidity, irony, and existential unease continue to resonate across cultures and generations. With a foreword by Polly Barton

Rjunoske Akutagava (1892-1927) - klassik japonskoji literaturi, vitonchenij psikholog, volodar jaskravogo daru providtsja, bliskuchij novelist, scho otrimav viznannja sche za zhittja. U vitsi 35 rokiv, dovedenij do vidchaju zhittjevimi obstavinami, bojachis povtoriti dolju materi, jaka vtratila rozum, pismennik prijnjav veliku dozu snodijnogo. "Vin khotiv zhiti tak nesamovito, schob mozhna bulo v bud-jaku khvilinu vmerti bez zhalju", - pisav Akutagava v ostannomu avtobiografichnomu tvori. I vin zhiv nesamovito. Jogo noveli - fantastichni j realistichni, istorichni ta suchasni - viriznjajutsja vishukanim perepletennjam vimislu i realnosti, glibokim psikhologizmom, paradoksalnistju sudzhen i tonkoju ironijeju. Svojimi tvorami vin primushuje chitacha zamislitisja nad tim, scho je istina i chi v zmozi ljudina osjagnuti jiji.

'Enchanting and sometimes terrifying' Jorge Luis Borges 'Exquisite' Sunday Times A lone mountain hiker falls through a hole in the ground into Kappaland, inhabited by creatures that are half tiger, half turtle. Here, children choose whether to be born, unemployed workers are turned into sandwich meat, and human artists are enshrined as saints. Despite the Kappas' strange and often gruesome ways, it's a return to the world above that drives the narrator to madness in Akutagawa's only novel. Written as Japan entered an era of aggressive imperialism, this surreal satire is a darkly comic cry of protest. Part of the Pushkin Press Classics series: timeless storytelling by icons of literature, hand-picked from around the globe. Translated by Geoffrey Bownas. Ryunosuke Akutagawa (1892-1927) was one of Japan's leading literary figures in the Taisho period. Regarded as the father of the Japanese short story, he produced over 150 in his short lifetime. Haunted by the fear that he would inherit his mother's madness, Akutagawa suffered from worsening mental health problems towards the end of his life and committed suicide aged 35 by taking an overdose of barbiturates. Pushkin Press also publish a collection of his short stories, Murder in the Age of Enlightenment. Geoffrey Bownas (1923-2011) was born in West Yorkshire. He learned Japanese while serving in the army during the Second World War, and went on to establish Oxford's department of Japanese studies. He taught, translated and worked to further British-Japanese cultural understanding and international collaboration throughout his life, earning a CBE and Japan's Order of the Sacred Treasure.