Books by the Lake

A book whose acquaintance I am very happy to make. Although a translation can only give a faint idea of what these stories' reputation for stylistic mastery is based on, their bitter irony and narrative economy appeals to me. I think the title story will stick in my head for a long time. (A bit confusingly, that's not the one Kurosawa's movie "Rashomon" is based on, but another, "In a Bamboo Grove".) I was impressed by "The Story of a Head That Fell Off", "Green Onions", "The Writer's Craft", and others.