$23.67
- Paperback
144 pages
- Release Date
24 March 2026
Summary
In early 20th-century Japan, a lone hiker falls through a hole in the ground into Kappaland. This is a place ruled by amphibious creatures who share characteristics with tigers and turtles, but who, for all their strangeness, shed light on the human condition.
In Kappaland children choose whether or not to be born, intellectuals think nothing of drinking themselves to death as part of a cultural demonstration, unemployed workers are saved the bother of supporting themselves by being t…
Book Details
| ISBN-13: | 9781805332480 |
|---|---|
| ISBN-10: | 1805332481 |
| Author: | Ryunosuke Akutagawa, G.H. Healey, Geoffrey Bownas |
| Publisher: | Pushkin Press |
| Imprint: | Pushkin Press Classics |
| Format: | Paperback |
| Number of Pages: | 144 |
| Release Date: | 24 March 2026 |
| Weight: | 136g |
| Dimensions: | 19mm x 198mm x 129mm |
What They're Saying
Critics Review
‘Enchanting and sometimes terrifying - a certain restrained sorrow, a certain preference for the visual, a certain lightness of touch, seem to me essentially Japanese. Extravagance and horror are in his work, but never in his style, which is always crystal clear’ - Jorge Luis Borges
‘A novel of exquisite precision’ - Spectator
About The Author
Ryunosuke Akutagawa
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, including ‘Rashomon’, which inspired Kurosawa’s classic film. 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.
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