Monkey Brain Sushi: New Tastes in Japanese Fiction by Alfred Birnbaum

Irreverent, post-Zen, at times bizarre, the stories in this remarkable collection of Japanese fiction chart new literary and cultural territory. In style and substance--as the title or the collection would suggest--this is something quite different from what the West has come to expect or the Japanese palate. The writers showcased here represent the brightest and the boldest of a new generation. Born after the war, coming or age in the booming eighties, they startle us with their range or emotion, energy, and experience.