Blue Bamboo: Tales of Fantasy and Romance

Dazai ( Self Portraits ) was one of Japan's foremost writers before his premature death in 1948 at the age of 39. His range extended from the autobiographical fiction for which he is best known to the more fabulous tone of these seven tales. The book opens and closes with pieces featuring five storytelling siblings; Dazai subtly reveals the character of each--longwinded or concise, sentimental or analytical--as he or she contributes to the narrative they are collectively composing: the saga of a mathematics professor who meets his former lover on the street in ``On Love and Beauty'' or five variations on the Rapunzel legend in ``Lanterns of Romance.'' Both ``The Mermaid and the Samurai'' and ``Blue Bamboo'' also derive from the classic fairy-tale tradition, while ``Cherry Leaves and the Whistler'' reads like O. Henry overlaid with a patina of Eastern sensibility. The ironic ``Romanesque'' reveals the woeful plight of three strangers who, when they come upon one another at a tavern, instantly recognize their common bond. A minor gem, this collection accessibly combines modern and traditional forms. ( Aug. )