Life of a Counterfeiter

'Masterfully understated prose' New York Times Book Review

'A Japanese literary master' Publishers Weekly, starred review

A master forger lives in obscurity and disappointment, oppressed by the shadow of the artist whose work he copies. 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 - two 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.

These three luminous, compassionate tales showcase the mastery and exquisite talent of one of Japan's most beloved writers.

Part of the Pushkin Press Classics series: timeless storytelling by icons of literature, hand-picked from around the globe.

Translated by Michael Emmerich.

Born in 1907, Yasushi Inoue worked as a journalist and literary editor for many years, only beginning his prolific career as an author in 1949 with Bullfight. He went on to publish 50 novels and 150 short stories, both historical and contemporary, his work making him one of Japan's major literary figures. In 1976 Inoue was presented with the Order of Culture, the highest honour granted for artistic merit in Japan. He died in 1991. Bullfight and Inoue's novella The Hunting Gun are also available from Pushkin Press.

Michael Emmerich is a translator, editor and an professor in the department of Asian Languages and Cultures at UCLA. His many translations include work by Yasunari Kawabata, Genichiro Takahashi and Banana Yoshimoto.