The Room with the Parrot and Other Stories

A parrot that refuses to speak brings a student and an American girl closer together. In a separate recollection, the same elusive bird becomes a focus of affection, irritation, and things left unsaid.

A walk along a country embankment draws a reader of Greek tragedy into an unexpected conversation. Spring in F Village follows a troubled writer through sleeplessness, illness, and the well-meant plans of people around him.

The final story moves from a fishing village to Tokyo’s bars, where the narrator’s dreams of Troy and Faust collide with friendships, literary ambition, and a coercive marriage proposal.