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sisareads2476's review against another edition
4.0
Otsuichi never failed to impress me with his wickedly twisted stories
juliwi's review against another edition
3.0
Short stories are some of my favourite things. Not only are short stories incredibly difficult to write but, when you get them right, they are absolutely amazing. They also allow an author to really stretch their imagination, covering different topics and maybe even experiment with different writing styles. So when I saw ZOO I knew I wanted to give it a try! Thanks to Shueisha and Netgalley for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
Part of the reason I started A Universe in Words was because I wanted to push myself to read more literature from different countries and cultures. Perhaps short stories are one of the best ways to get to know the literature of a different country because you get so many different takes of an author's style. ZOO contains a range of stories written over four years, between 1998 to 2002, which range across different topics but retain a dark sense of humour. The stories in ZOO should all be classed as horror, technically, with dark twists, morbid realizations, and absurd overtones. Some of the situations created by Otsuichi in this collection are hilarious and yet they are intensely uncanny and creepy at the same time. The original ideas behind almost every story is fascinating and often the core plot will stay with you way after you've finished the story, but at times the writing style doesn't entirely do justice to the stories itself.
Otsuichi has a very stripped back writing style, which doesn't rely on overt dramatization to get the tension in a situation across. Horrid things are coldly spelled out and partially this is what makes the stories so fascinating. However, this means that sometimes it also feels as if the stories are rushed or written too simply. The stories unfold, with one twist after another, and then simply end. This sounds like exactly what a short story must do, but being used to horror stories which focus more on the interiority of its characters, Otsuichi is both refreshing and also strange. It might take some getting used to but in the end ZOO is very rewarding collection of horror stories from a truly different voice. Among my favourite stories are probably 'The White House in the Cold Forest' which gave me the shivers and 'Seven Rooms', which was amazing.
I am really happy to have read ZOO, every story had something unique and interesting to offer the reader. Otsuichi has a fascinating imagination and I basically want to see full length film adaptations of each of these short stories. I'd recommend this to fans of Horror fiction and Absurd fiction.
Part of the reason I started A Universe in Words was because I wanted to push myself to read more literature from different countries and cultures. Perhaps short stories are one of the best ways to get to know the literature of a different country because you get so many different takes of an author's style. ZOO contains a range of stories written over four years, between 1998 to 2002, which range across different topics but retain a dark sense of humour. The stories in ZOO should all be classed as horror, technically, with dark twists, morbid realizations, and absurd overtones. Some of the situations created by Otsuichi in this collection are hilarious and yet they are intensely uncanny and creepy at the same time. The original ideas behind almost every story is fascinating and often the core plot will stay with you way after you've finished the story, but at times the writing style doesn't entirely do justice to the stories itself.
Otsuichi has a very stripped back writing style, which doesn't rely on overt dramatization to get the tension in a situation across. Horrid things are coldly spelled out and partially this is what makes the stories so fascinating. However, this means that sometimes it also feels as if the stories are rushed or written too simply. The stories unfold, with one twist after another, and then simply end. This sounds like exactly what a short story must do, but being used to horror stories which focus more on the interiority of its characters, Otsuichi is both refreshing and also strange. It might take some getting used to but in the end ZOO is very rewarding collection of horror stories from a truly different voice. Among my favourite stories are probably 'The White House in the Cold Forest' which gave me the shivers and 'Seven Rooms', which was amazing.
I am really happy to have read ZOO, every story had something unique and interesting to offer the reader. Otsuichi has a fascinating imagination and I basically want to see full length film adaptations of each of these short stories. I'd recommend this to fans of Horror fiction and Absurd fiction.
daynpitseleh's review against another edition
3.0
I received this from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
This is very dark Japanese fiction - the stories don't start out as dark, but they all have that knife twist that makes you feel uncomfortable. It's not an altogether pleasant experience, but it's an interesting, thought-provoking, unusual one. My favorite story was SO-far.
This is very dark Japanese fiction - the stories don't start out as dark, but they all have that knife twist that makes you feel uncomfortable. It's not an altogether pleasant experience, but it's an interesting, thought-provoking, unusual one. My favorite story was SO-far.
readswithaimee's review against another edition
3.0
I definitely didn’t enjoy this book as much of Otsuichi’s other works. Some stories were big misses with me but there were a few great ones like the sandbox story and the final one. Definitely worth a read but I did feel there were more misses than hits.
quinnhuynh's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
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
3.5
kokoro's review against another edition
4.0
11 historias cortas de diversos temas; algunos más oscuros, otros bordeando el humor negro, uno o dos con finales no muy satisfactorios, otros que son totalmente inesperados, cuyo final te sacude. De todo un poco, pero esta selección confirma una vez más porque Otsuichi es mi autor japonés de historias cortas.
mistrum_crowe's review against another edition
4.0
Overall, I was very impressed with this collection. The dark tone and macabre characters that inhabit these stories were very refreshing, considering the lighter material that you often find in shorter prose. I would definitely recommend these to someone who enjoyed horror or the darker end of the fantasy spectrum.
emmairl's review against another edition
4.0
ZOO is a translated collection of short horror stories by Japanese writer Otsuichi. Don’t be fooled by the bright and cheery front cover – many of the stories focus on death, and will shock you, or at the very least get you thinking.
Otsuichi adopts a minimalist writing style throughout the collection. Sometimes this works better than other times, but mostly I enjoyed using my imagination to fill in the gaps – this works particularly well with horror I think. The stories range in length from half a dozen chapters to just a couple of pages, but they all have one thing in common: they all challenged my preconceptions of the horror genre. There is a brilliant quote in the afterword by Amelia Beamer that sums this up well:
“So here’s what I know about horror: it’s a genre without rules.”
That’s definitely what it felt like reading through ZOO. Otsuichi was making up his own rules, with such interesting results.
Most of the stories in the collection are very well written, and most of them have a twist or two! One of the first stories is ‘In A Falling Plane’, about two passengers haggling over the price of a euthanasia drug while their plane is being hijacked. I particularly enjoyed the slither of humour with the rolling can that keeps tripping up those who try to tackle the gunman. That’s an element of the collection that I feel is very unique – most stories have an injection of humour into them, which makes for an interesting contrast alongside some quite gruesome themes.
My favourite story was ‘Song Of the Sunny Spot’. I would say it is more science fiction than horror, and is about a synthetic being who is created to care for a dying man. As time goes on, the android develops through experience, aned begins to understand what death really means. It was an exceptionally good and thought-provoking short story, and I didn’t see the twist coming at all!
Following on from this great story is another favourite of mine, ‘Kazari and Yoki’. It is a sad tale of twins who are not equally loved by their mother, which ends in tragedy – though not how you would expect. This was a gritty story of abuse in the home and though it can’t be considered horror in the traditional sense, it is still a chilling tale of inequality.
The collection is not for the faint-hearted. Some stories made me flinch, others I simply had to tell someone about, as they were just too awful to keep to myself. It isn’t a perfect short story collection, and there were a few stories that I skimmed through, and one that I didn’t finish. Nevertheless, ZOO definitely stands out, and I recommend it to any horror fans out there who want to tackle something a little different.
Star Rating: ★★★★ (4/5)
You can read the full review at: www.wanderingwords.co.uk
Otsuichi adopts a minimalist writing style throughout the collection. Sometimes this works better than other times, but mostly I enjoyed using my imagination to fill in the gaps – this works particularly well with horror I think. The stories range in length from half a dozen chapters to just a couple of pages, but they all have one thing in common: they all challenged my preconceptions of the horror genre. There is a brilliant quote in the afterword by Amelia Beamer that sums this up well:
“So here’s what I know about horror: it’s a genre without rules.”
That’s definitely what it felt like reading through ZOO. Otsuichi was making up his own rules, with such interesting results.
Most of the stories in the collection are very well written, and most of them have a twist or two! One of the first stories is ‘In A Falling Plane’, about two passengers haggling over the price of a euthanasia drug while their plane is being hijacked. I particularly enjoyed the slither of humour with the rolling can that keeps tripping up those who try to tackle the gunman. That’s an element of the collection that I feel is very unique – most stories have an injection of humour into them, which makes for an interesting contrast alongside some quite gruesome themes.
My favourite story was ‘Song Of the Sunny Spot’. I would say it is more science fiction than horror, and is about a synthetic being who is created to care for a dying man. As time goes on, the android develops through experience, aned begins to understand what death really means. It was an exceptionally good and thought-provoking short story, and I didn’t see the twist coming at all!
Following on from this great story is another favourite of mine, ‘Kazari and Yoki’. It is a sad tale of twins who are not equally loved by their mother, which ends in tragedy – though not how you would expect. This was a gritty story of abuse in the home and though it can’t be considered horror in the traditional sense, it is still a chilling tale of inequality.
The collection is not for the faint-hearted. Some stories made me flinch, others I simply had to tell someone about, as they were just too awful to keep to myself. It isn’t a perfect short story collection, and there were a few stories that I skimmed through, and one that I didn’t finish. Nevertheless, ZOO definitely stands out, and I recommend it to any horror fans out there who want to tackle something a little different.
Star Rating: ★★★★ (4/5)
You can read the full review at: www.wanderingwords.co.uk