Yasushi Inoue | Bullfight

9781805332022

09/04/26

PB

128 pages

Translated by Michael Emmerich

‘Perfection is the only word to describe this subtle tale’ Irish Times

Winner of the Akutagawa Prize

Tsugami, the editor-in-chief of a newspaper in war-scarred Osaka, agrees to sponsor a bullfight. For months this great gamble consumes him, makes him as wary and combative as if he was in a ring himself. And, as he becomes ever more distant, his lover Sakiko is unsure if she would like to see him succeed or be destroyed.

As much a story of post-war Japan as it is about the country’s special brand of bullfighting, this novella is a masterly exploration of hope, ambition and despair. Yasushi Inoue’s novella won him the prestigious Akutagawa Prize and established him as one of Japan’s most acclaimed authors. From the planning of a bullfight, through Tsugami’s struggle, his focus and his solitude – he crafts something intensely memorable, a profound and compelling existential tale.

Part of the Pushkin Press Classics series: timeless storytelling by icons of literature, hand-picked from around the globe.