Review: MONKEY New Writing from Japan: Volume 6: HORROR

MONKEY New Writing from Japan: Volume 6: HORROR by Ted Goossen
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

As always, a very interesting collection of writings.

My favorite stories were:
The Key , by Kaori Fujino
In-House Ghost photos, by Kikuko Tsumura
The Ghosts of Lexington, by Haruki Murakami

Possibly The Collector of Scents, by Yoko Ogawa (not sure if I liked it, but it was haunting).
The same goes for The Man from the Hansa Quarter, by Yuko Yamao
The same goes for Baseball Player Soup by Aoko Matsuda


My absolute favorite was: The Human Chair, by Ranpo Edogawa


And, having recently read The Third Love, by Hiromi Kawakami, it was interesting to read her journey and thought process when writing it.




View all my reviews

Review: Where the Wild Ladies Are

Where the Wild Ladies Are by Aoko Matsuda
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

A book of short stories inspired by Japanese folk tales, but that also tie into themselves and relate to each other tangentially. These were fun, all dealing with ghosts and (often) with relationships. At the end there is a brief explanation as to how each story relates to a famous folk tale, although I realize that, not knowing these stories ahead of time, much of the significance was probably over my head.

Still, they were fun to read.


https://4201mass.blogspot.com/

View all my reviews

Review: Planting

Planting by Aoko Matsuda
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I loved "The Girl who is getting married", by this same author. But this story just didn't click for me. Maybe it was a tad too ambiguous.



View all my reviews

Review: MONKEY New Writing from Japan: Volume 4: MUSIC

MONKEY New Writing from Japan: Volume 4: MUSIC by Ted Goossen
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

A nice collection. I'll have to get more of these the next time I go to Japan. And the authors are seriously a who's who of contemporary Japanese fiction writers. 

My favorites were:

Yoshiwara Dreaming, by Hiromi Kawakami

Flight, by Hiroko Oyamada (not as good as her books, but still good)

The Zombie, by Haruki Murakami

Angels and Electricity, by Aoko Matsuda (this may have been my favorite)

Transformers: Piano, by Kaori Fujino (this was so weird)

Takasago, a Noh Play, was surprisingly fun

I also really liked "A man opens a cafe in a shopping arcade, dreaming that it will become like the jazz cafe he used to frequent as a student; the cafe is open for nearly thirty years, then closes down" (real title), by Tomoka Shibasaki

Satoshi Kitamura's "Five Parallel Lines" was refreshingly odd as well. 

In other words many more hits than misses. Contemporary Japanese Fiction is really a delight to read these days. 

View all my reviews

Review: The Girl Who Is Getting Married

The Girl Who Is Getting Married by Aoko Matsuda
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I had no idea what to make of this story. The rhythm is odd, yet strangely comforting, with the repetition of "the girl who is getting married" (she is never given a name, nor even referred to as 'she' or 'her').

Unlike normal stories, however, the more that is told of this story the more it falls apart. By the end I didn't know if I was imagining things or not. I had to go back and make sure I had understood other sections correctly.

This is also a steady path into the uncomfortable (for lack of a better word); from an innocuous "There was not the slightest tension in the smile of the girl who is getting married", to a girl who is getting married who is wearing a flu-mask, surprised to see the narrator, trying to communicate by mouthing something with her lips which are obscured.

This is a very short read, but very involving. I loved it.

View all my reviews