This collection is quite good. It is a short book that can be read at one sitting. So there is really no excuse for anyone interested in fairy tales, Japanese literature, or Japanese culture not to read it.

I am somewhat of a novice at Japanese literature myself. But I have read several volumes of folk tales and stories that featured Japanese myths and social preoccupations from earlier eras. This is the first time I have read a collection from a single modern Japanese author. And I wish there was more. It is said that fairy tales are a way for children to learn and become acculturated to more difficult subjects that often worry adults--dealing with youth, passageways to knowledge, becoming a part of the larger community, and coming to terms with mortality. Ogawa does that and more. What he does, here, that I find elevates these stories to true art is he has a knack for finding completely new perspectives and visions of the commonplace in life.

The stories themselves often have a melancholy air. They concern themselves with the cycle of life from an individual and civilizational perspective. And they also serve a few pointed lessons about greed, grief, and the importance of a rooted connection. They are memorable. ( )