A review by booksnacks
Murder in the Age of Enlightenment: Essential Stories by Ryūnosuke Akutagawa

4.0

This is my first encounter with Ryunosuke Akutagawa. I have previously read other classic Japanese literature, but I think some of these short stories may be my new favourites. I have also read other reviews that some of the translations are better by other translators, and so I will be looking to find different versions later on to compare. I can see why this author’s work is still popular even today. His storytelling is amazing! I loved the Heaven\Hell aspect in many of them, although many contain violence and despair.

If you are like me and haven’t read Akutagawa’s works yet, I would suggest picking something like this up first. I very much enjoyed this collection and will be looking for more! Thank you to NetGalley and Steerforth Press for the ARC!