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.




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Review: MONKEY New Writing from Japan: Volume 5: CREATURES

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

Another great collection of stories/poems/essays by some excellent authors.

The ones that stuck with me are:
Communications from a Wandering Planet, by Makoto Takayanagi, translated by Michael Emmerich.
Once again Sci-fi, a genre I don't usually enjoy, surprises me. This was excellent and thought provoking.

Cathedral, by Hiromi Kawakami, translated by Ted Goosen.
All of Hiromi Kawakami's books feel like they are choc full of symbolism that I can spot, but don't recognize. This was no exception. Another example of the "reality-adjacent" style. I loved it.

Bearman, by Natsuki Ikezawa, translated by Chris Corker.
A new author for me who, apparently, is from Hokkaido. A great story. I'll be looking for more by this author.

To Abuse a Monster, by Kaori Fujino, Translated by Laurel Taylor.
Another new author for me. And quite a disturbing, but at the same time entertaining, story.

https://4201mass.blogspot.com/


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