Considered a master of the Japanese short story, Naoya Shiga¡¯s ¡°The Paper Door and Other Stories¡± truly impresses. Seventeen stories explore a vast range of human emotions, from fever-induced insanity in ¡°The Razor¡± to the analytical musings of a circus performer whose stunt has just gone horribly wrong in ¡°Han¡¯s Crime.¡±
From simple acts of kindness on a train, (¡°As Far as Abashiri¡°) or lost chances at redemption (¡°Kuniko¡°), these stories consider humanity¡¯s darkness and purity with equal off-hand perspicacity. Covering a span of 40 years and including frequent autobiographical underpinnings, this collection also reveals the struggles of a writer reconciling a tranquil domestic life with the need to experience extreme emotion as an artist. The readings are enhanced by Donald Keene¡¯s preface to this 2001 new edition, placing Shiga within the wider Japanese literary sphere, as well as biographical and literary highlights in translator Lane Dunlop¡¯s preface.
The collection also resonates with its varied examples of Shiga¡¯s diverse style. Despite occasionally uneven word choice within the translation, the haiku-like prose in the hauntingly sparse ¡°A Gray Moon¡± contrasts to richly drawn character studies like that of ¡°Seibei and his Gourds.¡± Taken together, these stories reveal the depth and range of a dedicated artist of the short story, a man who chose domestic, simple happiness away from the life of a writer. (Kris Kosaka)
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