"Oh the cruelty of time, that destroys all things!" Beguiling, strange and hair-raising tales from early 20th century Japan: Nagai’s Behind the Prison, Uno’s Closet LLB and Akutagawa’s deeply macabre General Kim. Penguin Modern: fifty new books celebrating the pioneering spirit of the iconic Penguin Modern Classics series, with each one offering a concentrated hit of its contemporary, international flavour. Here are authors ranging from Kathy Acker to James Baldwin, Truman Capote to Stanislaw Lem and George Orwell to Shirley Jackson; essays radical and inspiring; poems moving and disturbing; stories surreal and fabulous; taking us from the deep South to modern Japan, New York’s underground scene to the farthest reaches of outer space.

"Oh the cruelty of time, that destroys all things!" Beguiling, strange and hair-raising tales from early 20th century Japan: Nagai’s Behind the Prison, Uno’s Closet LLB and Akutagawa’s deeply macabre General Kim. Penguin Modern: fifty new books celebrating the pioneering spirit of the iconic Penguin Modern Classics series, with each one offering a concentrated hit of its contemporary, international flavour. Here are authors ranging from Kathy Acker to James Baldwin, Truman Capote to Stanislaw Lem and George Orwell to Shirley Jackson; essays radical and inspiring; poems moving and disturbing; stories surreal and fabulous; taking us from the deep South to modern Japan, New York’s underground scene to the farthest reaches of outer space.

A major anthology of great Japanese short stories introduced by Haruki Murakami This is a celebration of the Japanese short story from its modern origins in the nineteenth century to remarkable contemporary works. It includes the most well-known Japanese writers - Akutagawa, Murakami, Mishima, Kawabata - but also many surprising new pieces, from Yuko Tsushima's 'Flames' to Banana Yoshimoto's 'Bee Honey'. Ranging over myth, horror, love, nature, modern life, a diabolical painting, a cow with a human face and a woman who turns into sugar, The Penguin Book of Japanese Short Stories is filled with fear, charm, beauty and comedy. Edited by Jay Rubin with an introduction by Haruki Murakami

This is a celebration of the Japanese short story from its modern origins in the nineteenth century to remarkable contemporary works. It includes the most well-known Japanese writers - Akutagawa, Murakami, Mishima, Kawabata - but also many surprising new pieces, from Yuko Tsushima's 'Flames' to Banana Yoshimoto's 'Bee Honey'. Ranging over myth, horror, love, nature, modern life, a diabolical painting, a cow with a human face and a woman who turns into sugar, The Penguin Book of Japanese Short Stories is filled with fear, charm, beauty and comedy

This is a celebration of the Japanese short story from its modern origins in the nineteenth century to remarkable contemporary works. It includes the most well-known Japanese writers - Akutagawa, Murakami, Mishima, Kawabata - but also many surprising new pieces, from Yuko Tsushima's 'Flames' to Banana Yoshimoto's 'Bee Honey'. Ranging over myth, horror, love, nature, modern life, a diabolical painting, a cow with a human face and a woman who turns into sugar, The Penguin Book of Japanese Short Stories is filled with fear, charm, beauty and comedy

Fifty new books, celebrating the pioneering spirit of the Penguin Modern Classics series, from inspiring essays to groundbreaking fiction and poetry. 'Oh the cruelty of time, that destroys all things! 'Beguiling, strange and hair-raising tales from early 20th century Japan: Nagai's Behind the Prison, Uno's Closet LLB and Akutagawa's deeply macabre General Kim.

Introducing Little Clothbound Classics: irresistible, mini editions of short stories, novellas and essays from the world's greatest writers, designed by the award-winning Coralie Bickford-Smith. Celebrating the range and diversity of Penguin Classics, they take us from snowy Japan to springtime Vienna, from haunted New England to a sun-drenched Mediterranean island, and from a game of chess on the ocean to a love story on the moon. Beautifully designed and printed, these collectible editions are bound in colourful, tactile cloth and stamped with foil. Akutagawa was one of the towering figures of modern Japanese literature, and is considered the father of the Japanese short story. This paradigmatic selection, which includes the stories that inspired Akira Kurosawa's 1950 film Rashomon, showcases the terrible beauty, cynicism, sublime pain and absurd humour of his writing.

There are three exciting short stories in this book. They are all about … fear! Three people are in dangerous places. What can they do? Will anybody help them?

Ryunosuke Akutagawa (1892-1927) is one of Japan's foremost stylists - a modernist master whose short stories are marked by highly original imagery, cynicism, beauty and wild humour. 'Rashomon' and 'In a Bamboo Grove' inspired Kurosawa's magnificent film and depict a past in which morality is turned upside down, while tales such as 'The Nose', 'O-Gin' and 'Loyalty' paint a rich and imaginative picture of a medieval Japan peopled by Shoguns and priests, vagrants and peasants. And in later works such as 'Death Register', 'The Life of a Stupid Man' and 'Spinning Gears', Akutagawa drew from his own life to devastating effect, revealing his intense melancholy and terror of madness in exquisitely moving impressionistic stories.

Rudyard Kipling (1865-1936) was an English journalist, short-story writer, poet, and novelist. "Soldiers Three" is a collection of short stories. The three soldiers of the title are Learoyd, Mulvaney and Ortheris, who had also appeared previously in the collection "Plain Tales from the Hills".

Rudyard Kipling (1865-1936) was an English journalist, short-story writer, poet, and novelist. "Soldiers Three" is a collection of short stories. The three soldiers of the title are Learoyd, Mulvaney and Ortheris, who had also appeared previously in the collection "Plain Tales from the Hills".

There are three exciting short stories in this book. They are all about … fear! Three people are in dangerous places. What can they do? Will anybody help them? Retold by J.Y.K. Kerr.

Nathaniel Hawthorne was an American novelist, a dark romantic, and short story writer. Collected Short Stories is Hawthorne's interesting story collection, which was written in honor of The Old Manse, where Hawthorne and his wife lived for the first three years of their marriage. This book includes wonderful short stories "The Brithmark", "Young Goodman Brown", "Rappaccini's Daughter" and other tales.

Nathaniel Hawthorne was an American novelist, a dark romantic, and short story writer. Collected Short Stories is Hawthorne's interesting story collection, which was written in honor of The Old Manse, where Hawthorne and his wife lived for the first three years of their marriage. This book includes wonderful short stories "The Procession of Life", "The Artist of the Beautiful" and other tales.

Tales of the Jazz Age (1922) is a collection of eleven short stories - all of them had been published earlier, independently. Divided into three separate parts, according to subject matter, the collection includes one of the author's better-known short stories, "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button" and other great works.

Tales of the Jazz Age (1922) is a collection of eleven short stories - all of them had been published earlier, independently. Divided into three separate parts, according to subject matter, the collection includes one of the author's better-known short stories, "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button" and other great works.