安部公房短編集

As advertised.

My fourth copy. The other three were loaned to friends and were never seen again.
I especially love the true story of "Noah's Arc".

See the US amazon reviews which are already well written so no need to duplicate. Exquisite stories to revisit. Clear, concise, easy to read if you struggle with his full length 'novels'.

KA is best known as a novelist, but his short fiction, here in "BTC" is quite engaging. It's too bad this book is not more widely available. Kafka is a strong influence throughout - somewhat shamelessly at times, but who cares: good writing is good writing. 'Intruders' is the best in the collection, about a strange family that knocks on a man's apartment door in the middle of the night and proceeds to take over his apartment and life, making him into a sort of servant. In the opening story, a man comes home to find a corpse in his bed. His decision making is engaging. A few of the stories are duds, but that's generally the case. Worth the time, if you like KA's novels, and Japanese fiction, especially Murakami, who was clearly influenced by KA.