Inoue Yasushi
Pushkin Press
30 June 2026
144
eBook - PDF
Modern Classics
ARC via Edelweiss
A master forger lives in obscurity and disappointment, oppressed by the shadow of the artist whose work he copies. Once Onuki and Hosen were friends – but the gap in talent between them becomes an insurmountable gulf when Hosen cannot resist the temptation to imitate his more successful peer. A young man embarks on an investigation into his family’s past, prompted by a newspaper clipping and a vague memory of a beautiful young woman. And another young narrator is consumed with curiosity about his grandfather’s mistress – and why she cherishes an old pair of gloves, given to her by a visiting Englishman.
Unglamorous, unadorned lives such as this form the focus of Yasushi Inoue's tenderly observed, elegantly distilled short stories - 2 of which are appearing in English for the first time. With a haunting emotional intensity, they offer glimpses of love lost and lives wasted. Asking how we place value, what counts as real, and where the struggle for acceptance will lead us, each story is a perfectly balanced exploration of regret.
Inoue’s reputation in Japan is the equal of Tanizaki’s or Kawabata’s, and these 3 luminous, compassionate tales showcase the mastery and exquisite talent that have made him such a beloved writer.
Life of a Counterfeiter is a collection of three short stories, commencing with the titular one. The first is definitely the best, but all three were interesting tales with a focus on the idea of memory and how we cannot be certain of anything in the past because different people's memories of events will not be the same. As with Bullfight (which I read the night before I read this one), these are not tales where the plot is the biggest focus; in some cases there is no plot per se. Rather they are vignettes looking deep into the characters in a moment in time, considering their emotions, memories and thoughts. If you need an exciting plot with a clear beginning, middle and end, you will likely not take to Inoue's writing. However, if you like fiction that poses philosophical questions explored through characters captured during a moment in their lives, this book is worth checking out. I am giving it 4 stars.
I received this book as a free eBook ARC via Edelweiss in exchange for an honest review.
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