Lafcadio Hearn (1850鈥�1904) was one of the nineteenth century鈥檚 best-known writers, his name celebrated alongside those of Mark Twain and Robert Louis Stevenson. Born in Greece and raised in Ireland, Hearn was a true prodigy and world traveler. He worked as a reporter in Cincinnati, New Orleans, and the West Indies before heading to Japan in 1890 on a commission from 贬补谤辫别谤鈥檚. There, he married a Japanese woman from a samurai family, changed his name to Koizumi Yakumo, and became a Japanese subject. An avid collector of traditional Japanese tales, legends, and myths, Hearn taught literature and wrote his own tales for both Japanese and Western audiences. Japanese Tales of Lafcadio Hearn brings together twenty-eight of Hearn鈥檚 strangest and most entertaining stories in one elegant volume.
Hearn鈥檚 tales span a variety of genres. Many are fantastical ghost stories, such as 鈥淭he Corpse-Rider,鈥� in which a man foils the attempts of his former wife鈥檚 ghost to haunt him. Some are love stories in which the beloved is not what she appears to be: in 鈥淭he Story of Aoyagi,鈥� a young samurai narrowly escapes the wrath of his lord for marrying without permission, only to discover that his wife is the spirit of a willow tree. Throughout this collection, Hearn鈥檚 reverence for Japan shines through, and his stories provide insights into the country鈥檚 artistic and cultural heritage.
With an introduction by Andrei Codrescu discussing Hearn鈥檚 life and work, as well as a foreword by Jack Zipes, Japanese Tales of Lafcadio Hearn provides a unique window into one writer鈥檚 multicultural literary journey.
"[A]n attractive production . . . [with] a wonderfully witty and informative introduction by Mr. Codrescu."鈥擲am Sacks, Wall Street Journal
"[A] weird鈥攊n a good way鈥攃ollection of stories, gathered from oral and written sources by Hearn."鈥擟hristopher Tayler, Harper's Magazine
"There is an excellent introduction by Codrescu . . . fascinating."鈥擠amain Flanagan, Times Literary Supplement
"The pleasures of [Lafcadio Hearn鈥檚] work are to be found in his delightfully bizarre hybrid renditions of Japanese folklore鈥攑articularly of a genre called kaidan, or tales of the uncanny鈥攐ld stories that he blended with elements of horror and French Romanticism, the best of which are collected in鈥�Japanese Tales of Lafcadio Hearn颅."鈥擟hristopher Carroll, New York Review of Books
"[Lafcadio Hearn] devoted . . . his writing life to gathering Japanese folk tales and translating them into English. This new book contains the best of them."鈥擲usan Bal茅e, The Hudson Review
"If readers want to see the range of Hearn鈥檚 interest in Japanese storytelling, then Codrescu鈥檚 edition amply demonstrates the range of Hearn鈥檚 interest in Japanese storytelling. There are, in addition to ghost stories, tales of lost loves, feudal loyalty and the contrast between appearance and reality."鈥擩ohn Butler, Asian Review of Books
"These tales beg for tellers. A great resource."鈥擩o Radner, Storytelling Magazine
"[Japanese Tales of Lafcadio Hearn] is a uniquely transcultural kind of storytelling鈥攕omething that feels familiar to Western audiences despite being wrapped in entirely different histories and cultural codes. . . . While the stories in the book are over a hundred years old, they have a lot to offer to twenty-first-century readers."鈥擱eid Bartholomew, World Literature Today
"The tales [in Japanese Tales of Lafcadio Hearn] are chronologically structured, intelligently edited, and paced in a way that is navigable to a seasoned scholar or a curious pleasure reader. The stories themselves are compelling and beautifully crafted, and Andrei Codrescu鈥檚 introduction is equally enthralling. . . . Fans of Hearn鈥檚 writing may find Japanese Tales of Lafcadio Hearn to be an ideal work. The collection contains more stories than any other compilation of his work."鈥擩eremy Simpson, Western Folklore
"Japanese Tales of Lafcadio Hearn is recommended to anyone interested in the interaction between different cultures, particularly Japan and the West at the end of the nineteenth century, and to anyone interested in a good read of 鈥榯ales of the weird鈥� from outside a Greco-Roman context."鈥擩ames H. Grayson, Folklore Journal
"Fronted by an authoritative introduction by Andrei Codrescu, these Japanese tales revive, once again, a writer, traveler, and translator whose presence at the turn of the nineteenth to the twentieth centuries enrich and engage still."鈥擜lan Graubard, Leonardo
鈥淟afcadio Hearn鈥檚 writing is very important as literature and has long been critically recognized for its presentation of Japanese folklore and culture. With a clear, crisp foreword and an enticing introduction that contextualizes Hearn鈥檚 life, this book brings together some of his most significant and enjoyable works in a convenient format for a broad audience.鈥濃�擬ichael Dylan Foster, author of The Book of Y艒kai
鈥淭he selection of stories in this collection is excellent. Hearn should be read by all lovers of Borges.鈥濃�擲teve Ridgely, author of Japanese Counterculture
鈥淭his book reacquaints contemporary readers with Lafcadio Hearn鈥檚 鈥楯apanese鈥� fairy tales. This is a worthwhile endeavor and may help Hearn gain the place in fairy-tale scholarship that he deserves.鈥濃�擬elek Ortabasi, author of The Undiscovered Country
