Aoko Matsuda

This was an absolute delight of loosely interconnected short stories, which take Japanese folktales and ghost stories and give them modern and often feminist twists. It's also lovely that the book contains a section at the end identifying the folk legends, plays, etc. that the stories are inspired by, making it easier to dig deeper if you want to.

I tore through this book fairly quickly, loving the manic, slightly unhinged energy of many of the stories. For instance, one of my favorite stories is of a woman who goes to absurd lengths of jealousy, specially purchasing cheap bits of ceramic and crockery for smashing in fits of rage, and just when you think she is going to be embarrassed and tone it down, she recommits instead, and moments later is being recruited by someone who mourns that people these days just don't have the necessary passion to become ghosts anymore...

Compulsively enjoyable!… (meer)

Traditional Japanese folktales reimagined as interconnected, contemporary feminist ghost stories, this collection was odd and strangely flat reading. For readers unfamiliar with the Japanese myths and legends these stories are based on, there is an "Inspiration for the Stories" section in the back of the book which helps the reader understand what Matsuda is trying to undermine in her retellings but still doesn't give someone who doesn't know the originals enough of the cultural background and understanding to make this an entirely successful collection. There is a very strong Japanese sensibility here and the stories are all fantastical, populated by the supernatural in some way. The main characters subvert traditional Japanese gender roles, if not in life, then after death as ghosts or other creatures. Each of the stories is strange and complete from a ghostly lover recovered from her watery grave to an aunt against hair removal to a gift shop owner living in the shadow of her namesake shrine to a foxlike young woman and more. Fans of Japanese literature and those who have a working knowledge of the folktales these stories take their inspiration from are probably the best audience for this collection.… (meer)