This collection includes stories written over the course of many decades and I am, sadly, not particularly impressed by what I read. Ibuse (1898-1993) is best known for his widely acclaimed novel Black Rain (about the consequences of the atomic bomb dropped on Hiroshima). “Salamander,” one of his earliest stories, tells about a pretentious salamander who has grown too big to leave his home. The story is alternately funny and pathetic and the “protagonist” hardly sympathetic. The stories were generally mildly interesting but I doubt I will remember them for long. “Plum Blossom by Night” is the tale of a bloody drunk who accosts the narrator, demanding that he claim to be a witness to the fight that left him injured. The narrator instead concocts a plausible story that the drunk can use with his boss and promises to visit the man at work the next day—a story of lost opportunities, guilt, and social obligation. The title story recounts the postwar life of a psychologically damaged veteran who has become an object of both sympathy and ridicule in his village. Locals play along with his delusions, except when his mother locks him in a cage in the garden during his angriest or craziest outbursts. “Old Ushitora” is a comic story with sadder, more serious undertones. Ushitora breeds bulls that he hires out to other farmers. His son has always been embarrassed by this blatantly “sexual” activity and, following yet another argument, the father moves out. A man rescues an injured goose in “Savan on the Roof.” Although his act is kind and thoughtful, a wild bird isn’t destined for captivity and the story contains few surprises if nevertheless very well done. The translations were made by two experienced Tanizaki “veterans”; they read easily and seemed reliable. I suspect that Ibuse is simply not a writer to my taste. ( )