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tamarant4's review against another edition
emotional
funny
inspiring
lighthearted
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? N/A
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
4.0
I want a special skill, a power that I can wield with all my force when the time comes. I don’t mind what kind of creature I am. It doesn’t bother me if I stay as a nameless monster. [loc. 91]
A collection of feminist, or at least female-centred, short stories by Japanese author Aoko Matsuda, fluently translated by Polly Barton: the stories are interlinked by references to a company run by a Mr Tei. This company remains nameless, but seems to employ both the living and the dead, ghosts and non-human supernatural creatures. One of their products is an incense which allows a bereaved human to see their lost loved one as they were in life: this incense is the focus of one of my favourite stories in the collection, 'Loved One', in which Mr Tei visits a customer to find out if there is 'some issue preventing [the incense] taking effect'. The narrator has no sense of smell, and the only creature she mourns is her cat Tortie. Mr Tei promises that the technical team will adjust the incense so that it's not limited to human beings -- 'a truly embarrassing oversight on our part, a bug in our system that we've been too short-sighted to recognise'.
Elsewhere we find fox-spirits, vengeful ghosts (and a pathologically jealous wife who learns that she'd be perfect as a vengeful ghost, and would it be all right for the company to approach her once she's dead?), as well as a giant toad that protects women; a young lady whose aunt advises her to reject the beauty industry's blandishments and focus on her own power; and a number of women who find, or bestow, peace and kindness after their deaths. And a delightful sapphic romance between a skeleton and a living woman. There are definitely feminist themes here, but perhaps the major theme is of finding a place to be oneself, and to belong -- whether that's in this life or the next.
Many of the stories are drawn from Japanese folklore and ghost stories: references to the original stories are provided, and the Introduction provides context for the telling of ghost stories in summer, during the Buddhist festival of Obon, when the deceased return to wander the earth (and when the chill of a well-told spooky story can offset the summer heat).
You can read a couple of the stories on the Granta site: here is 'Smartening Up'.
Fulfils the ‘a yellow spine’ rubric of the 52 books in 2024 challenge.
Fulfils the ‘A short story collection in translation’ rubric of the Something Bookish Reading Challenge.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Murder
Moderate: Suicide
Minor: Death of parent and Death
alexandryareads's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? N/A
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexism and Death
Moderate: Sexual harassment
Minor: Toxic relationship and Suicide
jayisreading's review against another edition
funny
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
3.0
This is an interconnected short story collection that puts a feminist spin on different Japanese folktales and ghost stories. Revolving almost completely around women, Matsuda takes a deep dive to question how women are perceived and upheld to particular standards in Japanese society, often using wit and humor. I do think that this collection will be far more enjoyable for those who are already familiar with the original stories. Even with the brief explanations provided though, I still felt fairly disconnected from (and, thus, not entirely engaged with) most of these stories because I couldn't entirely follow the references being made.
Overall, a quirky collection to read, though a bit hard to work with if you're not familiar with the original material.
Overall, a quirky collection to read, though a bit hard to work with if you're not familiar with the original material.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Domestic abuse, Death, Body shaming, and Suicide
Minor: Sexual harassment and Rape
leannanecdote's review against another edition
funny
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Abandonment, Animal death, Bullying, Sexism, Sexual harassment, Death, Fire/Fire injury, Misogyny, Pregnancy, Grief, Classism, Death of parent, Body shaming, Child death, Chronic illness, and Injury/Injury detail
bexi's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
funny
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? N/A
3.75
Weirdly delightful. Would recommend.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Suicide, Sexism, Death, and Misogyny
Minor: Ableism, Child death, Murder, Sexual content, Sexual harassment, Animal death, Animal cruelty, Domestic abuse, Cursing, Infidelity, and Rape
mandkips's review against another edition
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Domestic abuse, Death, and Suicide
Minor: Animal death and Body horror
lexisrat's review against another edition
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.75
It is hit and miss, with some of them being really intruiging while others are cut short. Overall they could have all been developed more.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death
Minor: Domestic abuse, Suicide, and Sexual assault
kellyofcali's review against another edition
funny
lighthearted
reflective
relaxing
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.5
I think this book was an easy read, with clever twists put on Japanese ghost stories...unfortunately, for whatever reason, I had a hard time connecting to a lot of it. There are definitely some fun legends in there, and a lot of clever humor, but I was not enthralled.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death and Death of parent
meganmagicmusings's review
lighthearted
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death of parent, Death, Suicide, and Domestic abuse
unknight's review
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
An interesting and eclectic collection of short stories with fun twists of modern magic! The more I read it the more I enjoyed it, and now that I've reached the end, I want to go back and read the first stories again. The section explaining the inspiration/source of the tales is worth a read, too.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death