Mystery Writers of Japan Award
江戸川乱歩推理文庫 51
Genei Jo is a collection of mystery criticism by Edogawa Ranpo. It discusses the definition of detective fiction, genre classification, inverted mysteries, trends in British and American crime writing, Edgar Allan Poe, the relationship between mystery fiction and the literary establishment, and ghost stories. Written by Ranpo as both creator and critic, it became a landmark work of postwar Japanese mystery criticism and won the fifth Detective Writers Club Award.
Work Information
Ranpo builds a critical map of detective fiction through its history, forms, and attractions.
In this work, Ranpo, who had expanded detective fiction through his own stories, reexamines the genre from the side of criticism. Studies of works, writers, form, and overseas trends intersect throughout the volume, showing detective fiction as an intellectual genre concerned with structure and reader psychology as well as entertainment. Ranpo's reading experience and collector's eye give the prose its density and make the book a foundation for Japanese mystery fiction's self-understanding.
Review Summaries
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The book is presented as a collection of detective-fiction criticism including essays on definition, the literary establishment, and ghost stories.
Book Information
- Publisher
- 講談社
- Published
- 1987-11-01
- Pages
- 498 pages
- Language
- 日本語
- ISBN-13
- 9784061952515
- ISBN-10
- 406195251X
- Price
- 33 JPY
- Category
- 本/文学・評論/評論・文学研究/日本文学研究
幻影城
Reviews
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黎明期
講談社から出た「江戸川乱歩推理文庫」の51巻。 もともとは昭和26年に岩谷書店から発行されたもの。乱歩の推理小説論や欧米作品の批評、日本の推理雑誌一覧などが収められている。「一人の芭蕉の問題」など、シリーズの他の巻に入った文章は割愛されている。 読んで面白いものではない。当時の読者にとっては目新しかったかも知れないが、いまの推理小説ファンには常識的な話ばかり。特に欧米作品・批評の紹介は、読んでいてちょっと飽きてくる。 しかし、こんな早い時期に、海外の作品をこれだけ読み漁っていたというのは凄い。しかも、評価が的確で鋭い。さすが乱歩と感心させられた。乱歩の捜索、日本の推理小説史を考えるに、けっして見落とすことの出来ない一冊だろうと思う。
Related Literary Awards
- Mystery Writers of Japan Award Edition 5 (1952) ・criticism and others