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oxnard_montalvo's review against another edition
4.0
Some excellent, atmospheric ghost stories. Enjoyed the somewhat florid language. Was intrigued about the book after watching the film adaptation.
lemonbun's review against another edition
I ended up having to dnf. I was taking ages to read these fairly small stories. Some were interesting! But others were dull, and a fair few had some bizarre endings. I would've probably kept going, because I do like Japanese folk/creepy/fantasy stories, but I saw that half the book was dedicated to essays about butterflies, ants and mosquito's. I can't be bothered, basically. My interest was wavering anyway and those essays just seem very off topic.
abigel's review against another edition
dark
emotional
informative
mysterious
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
I thoroughly enjoyed the stories, but maybe my favourite part was the Insect Studies section, where Hearn goes into the folklore surrounding ants, butterflies, and mosquitoes. The book is short, but felt very intense because of the diverse, sometimes dark, sometimes sad, but always beautiful tales. I recommend this read for anyone interested in Japanese Yokai.
cararenee55's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? N/A
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
danaandrade52's review against another edition
informative
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? N/A
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? N/A
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
3.0
hotsake's review against another edition
medium-paced
4.25
This was mostly fairy tales and myths with a few oddball insect musings. These were some of the myths that ignited my fascination with Japanese Culture back in the early '90s.
vero_readviews's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? N/A
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
3.75
alanffm's review against another edition
4.0
A fascinating collection of Japanese folk stories about ghosts and spirits.
ipanzica's review against another edition
3.0
A fascinating collection of stories that are hard to find anywhere else. It had great imagery and unique characters. Some of these stories were very spooky, so it is a great book to read around Halloween. Though I felt that while the section about bugs was interesting, it felt out of place in this book.