About the Book
A novella. Introduction by Lisa Tuttle. Cover art by Vincent Chong.
Brett Stokes is already middle-aged and yet feels that his life has not begun. In an attempt to make sense of his existence he travels to the provincial town of Otani in Japan, hoping that, through his writing, he will obtain the insight that he lacks. But in Japan it is late autumn and, closeted within the garden of the lately widowed Mrs Kunisada, the motley collection of arboreal reds and yellows works upon Stokes' imagination, until reality itself becomes spectral. As the strange season unfolds, and Stokes meditates upon the meaning of life, death and literature, the power of the Shrike gradually takes centre-stage.
In this startling novella Quentin S. Crisp fuses delicacy with darkness and pathos with terror, creating a blend of Japanese and English literature that is as deeply moving as it is unique.