The Frolic of the Beasts

Translated by Andrew Clare

New in Penguin Japanese Classics — a gripping novel about a love affair gone wrong

Koji, a young student, has fallen hopelessly in love with the beautiful, enigmatic Yuko. But she is married to the literary critic and serial philanderer Ippei. Tormented by desire and anger, Koji is driven to an act of violence that will bind this strange, terrible love triangle together for the rest of their lives.

A starkly compelling story of lust, guilt and punishment, The Frolic of the Beasts explores the masks we wear in life, and what happens when they slip.

ISBN: 9780241675311 | Published: 5 December 2023 (first published 1961) | Paperback | 116 pages