Name: Kwaidan: Stories and Studies of Strange Things (in English)
Price: 10.09 USD
Availability: InStock
Author: Hearn, Lafcadio
ISBN: 9781434104991

portada Kwaidan: Stories and Studies of Strange Things (in English)

Type

Physical Book

Author

Lafcadio Hearn

Publisher

Waking Lion Press

Language

English

Pages

158

Format

Paperback

Dimensions

22.9 x 15.2 x 0.9 cm

Weight

0.22 kg.

ISBN13

9781434104991

Synopsis "Kwaidan: Stories and Studies of Strange Things (in English)"

Deriving its title from the word for "ghost story" in Japanese Kwaidan is a compilation of supernatural tales from Japan. Hearn writes in his introduction, written only months before his death, that the majority of the stories were translated from old Japanese texts (some of which themselves were based on earlier Chinese tales), although one of the stories, "Riki-Baka," he declares to be of his own making, based on a personal experience. Unmentioned in the introduction, another of the stories - "Hi-Mawari", written in the first person - appears almost certainly to be born from his own experience also, a recollection of a childhood experience in Wales.Among the many curious happenings related in the other stories, we read of man-eating goblins, a musician who performs for the dead, a mysterious face appearing in a cup of tea, and, rather terrifyingly, a featureless girl with a face as smooth as an egg.The final section of the book, "Insect-Studies," presents Chinese and Japanese superstitions relating to the insect world: butterflies (personifications of the human soul), mosquitoes (karmic reincarnations of jealous or greedy people), and ants (humanity's superior in chastity, ethics, social structure, longevity, and evolution).Vastly different from ghost stories in the West, this collection will haunt your dreams and leave you shivering in the dark.

Lafcadio Hearn

(Author)

View Author's Page

(Grecia 1850 - Japón 1904), nacido en Grecia de padre irlandés y madre griega, se crió entre Grecia e Irlanda. A los diecinueve años se trasladó a los Estados Unidos para iniciar su carrera de periodismo y posteriormente a Japón en 1890, donde pasaría el resto de su vida como profesor y escritor. Destaca por su talento narrativo y descriptivo tanto en su faceta periodística como literaria. Fue uno de los primeros europeos en dar a conocer la cultura japonesa al lector occidental. Su larga estancia en Japón, sumada a su profundo conocimiento de la cultura y tradiciones niponas y a su imaginación poética y estilo narrativo le han asegurado un lugar privilegiado en la comunidad lectora y un lugar más privilegiado aún en el corazón de los japoneses.

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