Summer coolness and pleasure
Literary Brutus. This is actually the second time we've produced a special literary issue based on this somewhat forceful hypothesis and assertion: instead of articles introducing novels or poems, we should just feature the works of literature as they are in the magazine, because articles introducing them make people feel like they've read them, but don't end up actually reading them (henceforth the loop).
The first issue, Bungei Brutus, was published in 2012 and was billed as a "one-off literary magazine (produced by Brutus)."
This issue, "Bungei Brutus Summer 2025," was published despite the promise of being "one-time only."
This issue of Bungei Brutus, the second in 13 years, features 16 works, ranging from short stories written by cutting-edge Japanese writers to opening excerpts of masterpieces by foreign authors.
The Japanese authors to be featured were decided after consultation with the editors-in-chief of Gunzo, Shincho, Bungakukai, and Bungei. Despite the rapid pace of the process, there was a constant stream of positive suggestions and exchanges of opinions, and before we knew it, the table of contents was filled with a stellar lineup.
One difference between this issue and the first, "Literary Brutus," is that it includes novels by foreign authors.
The seven works in total include "White Flower," an important early short story by Han Kang, who won the Nobel Prize in Literature in 2024; "Doctor Galin" (an excerpt), a masterpiece by Vladimir Sorokin, known as the "monster" of modern Russian literature; and "Broken Glass" (an excerpt), a masterpiece by Congo-born author Alan Mabank, which was also selected as one of the "100 Books of the 21st Century" by the British newspaper The Guardian.
It's not just novels. Bungei Brutus, which calls itself a literary magazine, is packed with various styles of literature, including tanka poems, dialogues and interviews, columns written in the style of advertisements, and even author profiles. Before I knew it, the feature had well over 100 pages.
In the West, there is a culture called summer reading, which is the idea that summer is the time to read.
This literary Brutus was written with the idea in mind of it being read while swaying in a hammock at a summer resort, in the shade of a parasol on the beach, or munching on an ice cream in your air-conditioned room.
I hope this book brings you the ultimate pleasure while you cool off somewhere in the world.
