Rashomon and Seventeen Other Stories

I read “Hell Screen” in college and have a generally favorable opinion of Japanese lit. But... I wasn't that impressed with this collection. Some of these stories were very overhanded, but that was common of the time. The best in this collection, in my opinion, is actually “Spinning Gears,” an unfinished semi-biographical work about the author's unraveling at the end of his life. It was psychologically complex and poignant, and left me wondering what treasures Akutagawa would've been capable of writing had he lived longer.

This “review” is part of a series in which I quickly scribble a few of the thoughts I had regarding a book I read in the first half of 2021 during a time when I let my reviews get very behind.

Ancient Japan was a weird place as they say in the film Ghost Dog starring Forrest Whittaker. 

This book features quite heavily in that film amongst a few others. I love that film and I just had to read this book from it.
According to this book, it was a foot weird and surreal place. 

Akugtagawa was an incredible writer and he takes you by the hand and leads you on some weird and wonderful journeys. He had an incredible talent and somewhat a sad story of depression, melancholy and in later years madness.

This book is a must-read.