User:Nihonjoe/Harlequin Butterfly

"Harlequin Butterfly" (道化師の蝶), also known as "Harlequin's Butterfly", is a fantasy novella by Toh Enjoe. It was originally published in 2011 in Gunzō, a Japanese literary magazine. An English translation is set to be published in February 2024.

Plot summary
A. A. Abrams is a mysterious writer who travels the world while writing in dozens of languages. He claims to catch ideas while traveling, using a magical and finely-woven silver net he holds between his fingers on one hand.

Publication history
"Harlequin Butterfly" was originally published in the July 2011 issue of Gunzō, a literary magazine published by Kodansha. It was published, along with the short work "Matsu no Eda no Ki" (松ノ枝の記), in hardcover in January 2012 through Kodansha. A paperback edition containing the two stories in the hardcover, along with critical commentary by translator and essayist Kōnosu Yukiko, was published in January 2015 through Kodansha.

The story was translated into English as "Harlequin's Butterfly" by Sim Yee Chiang and Sayuri Okamoto, and an excerpt was published in the January 2013 issue of Asymptote. Pushkin Press will publish an English translation in February 2024.

Book publication

 * Dōkeshi no Chō (道化師の蝶) (January 2012, 178 pages, Kodansha, ISBN 978-4-06-217561-6)
 * Dōkeshi no Chō (道化師の蝶) (January 2015, 192 pages, Kodansha, ISBN 978-4-06-293007-9)
 * Harlequin Butterfly (February 2024, 160 pages, Pushkin Press, ISBN 978-1-78227-977-8)

Reception and awards
EnJoe was awarded the Akutagawa Prize in January 2012 for "Harlequin Butterfly".