Japanese Tales of Mystery and Imagination
This Book is Currently in the Wild!
2 journalers for this copy...
Picked this up for GoryDetails's wish. I'm pretty sure I attempted this once before and couldn't get into it because the first story seems familiar. I'm glad Gory's wish made me take another stab at it. Sometimes, the book has to hit you at the right time. This is a collection of creepy short stories, most in the form of a confession that ends with a psychological twist. Saki mixed with The Twilight Zone.
The books and the yummy treats arrived safely on this chilly day - many, many thanks! I've read one or two of these stories in other collections and have long wanted to delve into more of the author's work. (I see that there's an anime based - perhaps loosely - on the stories, called Ranpo Kitan: Game of Laplace.)
Later: I enjoyed revisiting some stories and discovering the rest - a very entertaining, often-creepy collection, with atmospheric illustrations by M. Kuwata!
"The Human Chair" is perhaps the best-known story, an unnerving tale of stalking and fetishism that - just perhaps - isn't real after all.
"The Psychological Test" features a man who plans the perfect crime, intending to use his intellect to defeat the police psychologist's psychological test - an interesting plan that's carried out in great detail, but with one teeny flaw...
"The Caterpillar" is the most chilling tale here, with its account of a woman's anguish and frustration at having to tend her war-scarred, limbless husband (the "caterpillar" of the title). It has all-too-human pain and suffering on all sides, with a setting that's truly horrifying.
"The Red Chamber" has a familiar plot - a private club where the members try to outdo each other with horror stories - but it goes in an entertaining direction. Though given that the reader of the book could be put in the same class as the club members, the story might be seen as a mild "take that" to Rampo's reader!
And there's more here, all very moody, sometimes with twists of dark humor and sometimes nightmare-inducing. Good collection!
Later: I enjoyed revisiting some stories and discovering the rest - a very entertaining, often-creepy collection, with atmospheric illustrations by M. Kuwata!
"The Human Chair" is perhaps the best-known story, an unnerving tale of stalking and fetishism that - just perhaps - isn't real after all.
"The Psychological Test" features a man who plans the perfect crime, intending to use his intellect to defeat the police psychologist's psychological test - an interesting plan that's carried out in great detail, but with one teeny flaw...
"The Caterpillar" is the most chilling tale here, with its account of a woman's anguish and frustration at having to tend her war-scarred, limbless husband (the "caterpillar" of the title). It has all-too-human pain and suffering on all sides, with a setting that's truly horrifying.
"The Red Chamber" has a familiar plot - a private club where the members try to outdo each other with horror stories - but it goes in an entertaining direction. Though given that the reader of the book could be put in the same class as the club members, the story might be seen as a mild "take that" to Rampo's reader!
And there's more here, all very moody, sometimes with twists of dark humor and sometimes nightmare-inducing. Good collection!
Journal Entry 3 by 
GoryDetails
at Broad Street (see notes for details) in Nashua, New Hampshire USA on Saturday, March 26, 2016
GoryDetails at Broad Street (see notes for details) in Nashua, New Hampshire USA on Saturday, March 26, 2016
Released 8 yrs ago (3/26/2016 UTC) at Broad Street (see notes for details) in Nashua, New Hampshire USA
WILD RELEASE NOTES:
I left this book, bagged against the elements, in a small tree near the You You Japanese bistro on Broad Street (close to the Nashua Mall). Hope the finder enjoys the book! *** Released as part of the 2016 Keep Them Moving release challenge. ***
*** Released as part of the 2016 Oh, the Places We Can Go release challenge. ***
