Pathway to Japanese Literature
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The Story of the Stolen LetterAuthor: Sakaguchi Ango
| Original Title | 盗まれた手紙の話 |
|---|---|
| Author | 坂口 安吾 |
| Genre | Detective & Mystery |
| Author Type | Male Author |
| Summary | In a Tokyo mental hospital, a man deemed cured remains confined, trapped by bureaucracy and familial neglect. Once a railway worker with an uncanny ability to foresee events through passengers’ hands, his life unraveled when prophecy led to public disgrace. Now, six years later, he channels desperation into meticulous self-cultivation, blending Buddhist philosophy with clandestine schemes. A cryptic letter—penned with monastic precision—details his divine insights into stock market upheavals and pleads for financial backing to secure freedom. But when the missive is stolen by a opportunistic theater owner, his fragile hopes hinge on a risky rendezvous at a ramshackle oden shop. Amid torrential rain and whispered conspiracies, alliances form between the prophetic patient, a stoic caretaker embodying Christian asceticism, and the thief chasing delusions of wealth. Yet as prophecies falter and motives blur, sanity itself becomes a contested frontier. What unfolds is a haunting dance of ambition and delusion, where the line between revelation and madness dissolves—and liberation may demand more than mere escape from iron bars. |
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