A review by jess_mango
Where the Wild Ladies Are by Aoko Matsuda

4.0

I kind of have a thing for Japanese fiction, so was excited to read this new collection of short stories from Aoko Matsuda. Where the Wild Ladies Are is a collection inspired by Japanese fairy tales and folklore, but with a definite feminist twist. A large portion of the stories feature ghosts or bizarre events but they are all oh so subtle. These are spooky ghost stories, they are understated and just take the ghosts as an every day occurrence. The women in these stories challenge the cultural gender norms. A number of the stories have a common thread of a theme or a character between them.

I took a slower approach to this book and read a story here or there over the course of a week and a half. As with many short story collections, some of the stories resonated with me more than others, but overall it is a very strong collection that I highly recommend.

Thank you to the publisher for the review copy!