Hell of Solitude

A landmark collection from Japan’s literary master, newly translated and dazzling in its range.

An eclectic mixed-genre collection of prose and poetry by one of the most important and beloved Japanese writers of the twentieth century. Most of the pieces are appearing in English for the first time and span a range of styles and forms, from the whimsical and the fantastical to the serious and the grave.

An eclectic mixed-genre collection by one of the most important and beloved Japanese writers of the twentieth century. Most of the pieces are appearing in English for the first time and span a range of styles and forms, from the whimsical and the fantastical to the serious and the grave.

The prose is interwoven with a gathering of Akutagawa’s poetry, a mode he was prolific in and examples of which are sparse in English. The book also includes the author’s philosophical essay in fragments, ‘Art and Other Things’, in which he expounds his aesthetic views while drawing on examples from world literature and art.