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A review by cryo_guy
Murder in the Age of Enlightenment: Essential Stories by Ryūnosuke Akutagawa
4.0
After I finished the first story, I realized I had forgotten I read a collection of Akutagawa short stories a year ago. Thankfully, the two collections only shared one story.
At any rate, this time around I got a better sense of the irony and skillful use of the short story format. I enjoyed them pretty well. I can agree with the collection that Akutagawa was a talented writer and these are a good small collection of his stories to start with. And I especially like the cover of this volume. Knowing about the author's life, the last story becomes a rather dour meditation on addiction and mental health.
Side note: this book was one of my first purchases in a bookstore after having avoided them for a year and a half! Truly, what a triumph after such a dolorous age of ordering new books on amazon.
At any rate, this time around I got a better sense of the irony and skillful use of the short story format. I enjoyed them pretty well. I can agree with the collection that Akutagawa was a talented writer and these are a good small collection of his stories to start with. And I especially like the cover of this volume. Knowing about the author's life, the last story becomes a rather dour meditation on addiction and mental health.
Side note: this book was one of my first purchases in a bookstore after having avoided them for a year and a half! Truly, what a triumph after such a dolorous age of ordering new books on amazon.