Wonderful Fool

Gaston Bonaparte, a young Frenchman, visits Tokyo to stay with his pen-pal Takamori. His appearance is a bitter disappointment to his new friends and his behavior causes them acute embarrassment. He is a trusting person with a simple love for others, and he continues to trust even after they have demonstrated deceit and betrayal. He spends his time not sightseeing but making friends with street children, stray dogs, prostitutes, and gangsters. This novel charts his misadventures with sharp irony, satire, and objectivity.

Shusaku Endo is widely regarded as one of the greatest Japanese authors of the late 20th century. He has won many major literary awards and was nominated for the Nobel Prize several times. His novels, which have been translated into 28 languages, include Deep River, The Samurai, Scandal, The Sea and Poison, and Silence.