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3.7 AVERAGE
3.7 AVERAGE
Some of the stories were less boring than others, but in general this book is rather repetitive in the sense that for better or worse it is about monsters. In the genre, I preferred Goro Goro by L. Imai Messina.
Alcune storie erano meno noiose di altre, ma in generale questo libro é piuttosto ripetitivo nel senso che bene o male si parla di mostri. Sul genere ho preferito Goro Goro di L. Imai Messina.
Alcune storie erano meno noiose di altre, ma in generale questo libro é piuttosto ripetitivo nel senso che bene o male si parla di mostri. Sul genere ho preferito Goro Goro di L. Imai Messina.
Pretty nice, though the later stories are much weaker than the earlier ones, and some don't even feature ghosts. The annotations are scarce and brief, but generally a joy to read.
This was a mixed bag.
The tales themselves range from startling (a blind musical priest who, unsuspecting, gives a week long command performance to a posse of appreciative but dangerous demons) to surreal (a man who falls asleep under a tree, has his soul kidnapped by a giant ant, and lives an entire life as adopted royalty before waking up five minutes later).
If you're used to modern jump-scare paranormal monster movies, these won't seem "scary" but there's definitely a glimpse of a world beyond our knowledge and control that seethes with strange beings and stranger happenings and skulls stuck to the hems of cloaks. There are ghosts and demons... but there is also magic, poetry, and wonder.
The translator-narrator has a way of spoiling the atmosphere of the tales he tells, however. Interrupting a story to explain a cultural point about magic may have seemed helpful when these were first translated for a Western audience very unfamiliar with Japanese folklore or tradition, but still other meaningful points are relegated to footnotes, and I couldn't discern a method here. I'd have preferred an introductory primer on key ideas in Japanese myths and then an uninterrupted narrative.
And! Beyond the odd encyclopaedic interjection, the stories were interspersed with editorial and essays, including a protracted musing on ants as a moral analogy to human civilization and what their sex-lives imply about the role of duty in human social evolution. I love a good essay, and if it's a slightly silly introspection that attempts to take an offbeat analogy to some kind of logical conclusion, so much the better. I guess when I read "Studies of Strange Things" in the title, this just wasn't what I was expecting.
The tales themselves range from startling (a blind musical priest who, unsuspecting, gives a week long command performance to a posse of appreciative but dangerous demons) to surreal (a man who falls asleep under a tree, has his soul kidnapped by a giant ant, and lives an entire life as adopted royalty before waking up five minutes later).
If you're used to modern jump-scare paranormal monster movies, these won't seem "scary" but there's definitely a glimpse of a world beyond our knowledge and control that seethes with strange beings and stranger happenings and skulls stuck to the hems of cloaks. There are ghosts and demons... but there is also magic, poetry, and wonder.
The translator-narrator has a way of spoiling the atmosphere of the tales he tells, however. Interrupting a story to explain a cultural point about magic may have seemed helpful when these were first translated for a Western audience very unfamiliar with Japanese folklore or tradition, but still other meaningful points are relegated to footnotes, and I couldn't discern a method here. I'd have preferred an introductory primer on key ideas in Japanese myths and then an uninterrupted narrative.
And! Beyond the odd encyclopaedic interjection, the stories were interspersed with editorial and essays, including a protracted musing on ants as a moral analogy to human civilization and what their sex-lives imply about the role of duty in human social evolution. I love a good essay, and if it's a slightly silly introspection that attempts to take an offbeat analogy to some kind of logical conclusion, so much the better. I guess when I read "Studies of Strange Things" in the title, this just wasn't what I was expecting.
A bit lackluster in certain parts but definitely interesting and different.
Beautiful. You can tell how much Hearn loves the subject matter that he translates, most especially in Hourai .
Tidbit: Hearn was a Greek-Irishman whom poverty forced him to become an American and then providence brought him to newly-opened Japan where he married and became Koizumi Yakumo, taking his wife's name. In pictures, you'll never see his left eye. His right side was his "good side," apparently. Maybe I'm romanticizing him a bit but seriously his love of the culture comes though in his translations.
So these aren't your classic western horror stories, all the sudden some ghost pops out or something (though Hi-Mawari ended on a shocker), sometimes even funny (Oshidori, though that may be unintentional), sometimes very sweet. Great stories to read by dim light on some rainy evening. More like "tales of the strange" than ghost stories. The Dream of Akinosuke was absolutely beautiful.
**Note, I read a totally different version, which is part of a Hearn omnibus, but since I only really bought the book for Kwaidan, it may take me some time to read the other stories (Some Chinese Ghosts sounds great already) and maybe the letters. It has a totally sweet dragon on the cover however. You can find copies of Kwaidan (in public-domain) pretty much anywhere on the internet.
Tidbit: Hearn was a Greek-Irishman whom poverty forced him to become an American and then providence brought him to newly-opened Japan where he married and became Koizumi Yakumo, taking his wife's name. In pictures, you'll never see his left eye. His right side was his "good side," apparently. Maybe I'm romanticizing him a bit but seriously his love of the culture comes though in his translations.
So these aren't your classic western horror stories, all the sudden some ghost pops out or something (though Hi-Mawari ended on a shocker), sometimes even funny (Oshidori, though that may be unintentional), sometimes very sweet. Great stories to read by dim light on some rainy evening. More like "tales of the strange" than ghost stories. The Dream of Akinosuke was absolutely beautiful.
**Note, I read a totally different version, which is part of a Hearn omnibus, but since I only really bought the book for Kwaidan, it may take me some time to read the other stories (Some Chinese Ghosts sounds great already) and maybe the letters. It has a totally sweet dragon on the cover however. You can find copies of Kwaidan (in public-domain) pretty much anywhere on the internet.
I really loved the ghost tales, but did not enjoy the animal based musings towards the end.
A good 90% of this book deals with Hearn's retelling of classic Japanese and some Chinese tales. Almost all revolve around death and the spirit world with priests roaming the countryside being forced to settle restless souls, or lost loves returning in spirit/animal form. There is an eerie but mystical feel to most of them with strength of will often triumphing over death and dismemberment. And then the last 10% of the book is "Insect Studies" whereby Hearn examines the role of butterflies, mosquitoes, and ants in terms of symbolism and literature. And each is treated so differently to really bring out the "strange" part of the book's title. The section on ants veers off into a wonderful metaphysical discussion about ant society being a morally superior existence to human society due in large part to its physiological removal of selfish behaviors (sex and greed) in favor of behaviors that support the whole community over the individual.
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Words I Learned While Reading This Book:
lancinating | faute de mieux | vestal | parthenogenesis | pellucid
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Words I Learned While Reading This Book:
lancinating | faute de mieux | vestal | parthenogenesis | pellucid
Hearn's acclaimed ghost story book doesn't work very well as a faithful compendium of Japanese tales. His quirks of translation are prevalent, visible most when he shows the reader the original text he's working from, as is the case with his poem translations. It becomes quickly visible to even the most rookie of Japanese-speaking readers that he has taken odd liberties towards a decidedly Anglophonic flowery style. This is only a minor knock against this book, though, because it's at its best when Hearn indulges in a more personal approach.
I refer, mainly, to the short section near the end on mosquitos. This scant chapter has lived in my head for days after reading, above any of the regular stories that make up the meat of the book. Here he disposes of the regular format and discusses his frustration with the mosquitos that inhabit the local cemetery. It quickly evolves into a brief meditation on reincarnation, and consequentially a window into Hearn's mind.
My favourite story in the main section, which should be of no surprise, is Yuki-Onna. This particular iteration of the tale, unlike most others, has come to him orally rather than textually, and it creates a contract between Hearn and the reader to mutually appreciate it with a special level of care, and to regard it with the same level of anticipation as we would a campfire tale. (Even if you've already watched Masaki Kobayashi's fabulous movie adaptation of this book!) There are other strong stories pulled from the annals - "The Story of Aoyagi" is beautifully melancholic and universally appreciable - but it is where Hearn exists as part of the story that shines the most, after all.
I refer, mainly, to the short section near the end on mosquitos. This scant chapter has lived in my head for days after reading, above any of the regular stories that make up the meat of the book. Here he disposes of the regular format and discusses his frustration with the mosquitos that inhabit the local cemetery. It quickly evolves into a brief meditation on reincarnation, and consequentially a window into Hearn's mind.
My favourite story in the main section, which should be of no surprise, is Yuki-Onna. This particular iteration of the tale, unlike most others, has come to him orally rather than textually, and it creates a contract between Hearn and the reader to mutually appreciate it with a special level of care, and to regard it with the same level of anticipation as we would a campfire tale. (Even if you've already watched Masaki Kobayashi's fabulous movie adaptation of this book!) There are other strong stories pulled from the annals - "The Story of Aoyagi" is beautifully melancholic and universally appreciable - but it is where Hearn exists as part of the story that shines the most, after all.
mysterious
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Super into old-school Japanese ghost stories (and the KWAIDAN movie is one of my favorites) so this was catnip to me.