Born as Hirai Tarō, Edogawa Ranpo (1894-1965) was an influential author and critic known for his tales of the mysterious and macabre. His pseudonym is a rendering of Edgar Allen Poe using Japanese characters. Ranpo often dealt with themes of sexual perversion and the grotesque, as well as writing more conventional crime fiction.
This is a collection of four of his darkest and most deviant short stories: ‘The Idol’ (人でなしの恋 , 1926); ‘Pomegranate’ (石榴 , 1934); ‘The Hand’ (指 , 1960); and ‘The Devouring Insects’ (虫 , 1929).
‘Pomegranate’ and ‘The Devouring Insects’ have previously been published under the title ‘Pomegranate and The Devouring Insects’. ‘The Idol’ and ‘The Hand’ are published here in English for the first time.
Alexis J Brown is a translator living in London.
Cover image from: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Ichimatsu_ningy%C5%8D.jpg