Reviews

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

prosiaczekk's review against another edition

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adventurous lighthearted relaxing medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? N/A
Strong character development? N/A
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.5

catherineward's review against another edition

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funny lighthearted fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Loveable characters? Yes

3.5

paintedverse's review against another edition

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emotional funny informative mysterious reflective medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

I have never been a fan of ghost stories, but this book is an absolute masterpiece. The stories in this collection can't exactly be called ghost stories. Yes, it has ghosts, spirits or whatever you might want to call them, but it is also a beautiful mix of Japanese folk tales and supernatural elements, basically something like to call genre-bending. For me, the best part about this book is the inclusion of background of the retellings. I wasnt aware of the folk tales but this thoughtfulness made it easy for me and I truly appreciate it. A book l'd definitely be revisiting.

bassclarinet's review against another edition

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lighthearted medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character

4.0

jess_mango's review against another edition

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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!

thecatmouse's review against another edition

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adventurous dark mysterious reflective medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix

4.5

love how all the stories intertwined and brought more depths to some characters or ideas
highly appreciated the chapters introductions about the origins of each story (even though some were really brief)
overall a really appreciable read

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