The wonderful idiot

Takamori and his sister Tomoe welcome the wonderful idiot Gaston Bonaparte from Paris to Tokyo after World War II. On this amusing visit, the well-known Japanese novelist Shusaku Ando delves into the depths of the unique Japanese life after a long struggle with tyranny, war and occupation. The Japanese desire for a new beginning is betrayed by deep layers of corruption, hatred and revenge. An engaging and well-crafted novel, profound and frank in its questions of the post-war world. In it, idiocy oscillates between comedy and tragedy, and Ando rewrites Dostoevsky's Idiot with modern variations.

Commenting on its release, British novelist Graham Greene said, "Ando is, in my view, one of the finest living novelists. His novel The Wonderful Idiot is a complete narrative guide to Tokyo and the Japanese experience."