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charleyroxy's review against another edition
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
mysterious
reflective
slow-paced
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death and Death of parent
Minor: Rape and Suicide
wenwanzhao's review against another edition
emotional
funny
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
This was a nice and easy-to-read short story compilation. I love stories that involve folklore intertwined with modern life and I enjoy it when short stories connect to each other so suffice to say, this book felt extremely catered to my tastes.
I enjoyed the new interpretations of Japanese myths and stories and especially liked comparing the story the author wrote with the original tale it was based off of. The writing generally had an amused and lighthearted tone to it, employing different styles and perspectives.
There is a thrill that comes with reading each new story and being able to somewhat piece things together. It all reads like a calm insight into a world similar to our own, but slightly different.
Overall, I enjoyed reading this book, and would recommend it to others.
I enjoyed the new interpretations of Japanese myths and stories and especially liked comparing the story the author wrote with the original tale it was based off of. The writing generally had an amused and lighthearted tone to it, employing different styles and perspectives.
There is a thrill that comes with reading each new story and being able to somewhat piece things together. It all reads like a calm insight into a world similar to our own, but slightly different.
Overall, I enjoyed reading this book, and would recommend it to others.
Content Warnings
Minor: Death, Infidelity, Rape, Sexism, Sexual violence, and Toxic relationship
sarah984's review against another edition
lighthearted
mysterious
fast-paced
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
This is a super fun collection of short stories that take Japanese mythology and reimagine the ghost/monster characters in a modern context. All the stories are set in the same world, so various characters are shared between them. There is a short summary of the story each piece in the book is based on at the end, which was interesting for me.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death, Domestic abuse, Grief, Rape, Sexism, Suicide, and Toxic relationship
Minor: Animal death
rorikae's review against another edition
fast-paced
3.5
In 'Where the Wild Ladies Are,' Aoko Matsuda retells classic Japanese stories with a feminist edge. I thoroughly enjoyed Matsuda's writing translated by Polly Barton and there were a number of stories in this collection that I thought were wonderful. In particular, I thought the stories "Smartening Up,""A Day Off," and "The Missing One" were excellent and did a great job of retelling their original folktales.
What I think falls flat about this collection though is that I didn't feel like most of the stories were particularly feminist in their retellings. There were a few that stood out but many of the stories were centered around male characters and the female characters in those stories weren't center stage. A male main character would often encounter or discuss a female ghost that he knew but the woman herself was kept at a distance and we weren't given the amount of time to delve into her backstory.
I also found it interesting that there is a throughline to many of the stories though I wished it had been more centerstage. If it had been introduced at the beginning of the collection or in the first story, I think it would have gone a lot further toward connecting all of the stories.
I would recommend reading this book in its physical form as I found the Kindle edition impeded how I would have liked to read the book. Matsuda summarizes all of the folktales that have inspired her retellings at the end of the book but in the Kindle edition, there isn't an easy way to flip to these summaries after each story to learn about its inspiration . I had to wait to read them until the end and by then, I had forgotten many of the stories and could only connect a few to their original versions.
Despite some of the issues that I had with this collection, I am interested to read more of Matsuda's work in the future as I did really like her prose and there were a few really excellent stories that stood out.
What I think falls flat about this collection though is that I didn't feel like most of the stories were particularly feminist in their retellings. There were a few that stood out but many of the stories were centered around male characters and the female characters in those stories weren't center stage. A male main character would often encounter or discuss a female ghost that he knew but the woman herself was kept at a distance and we weren't given the amount of time to delve into her backstory.
I also found it interesting that there is a throughline to many of the stories though I wished it had been more centerstage. If it had been introduced at the beginning of the collection or in the first story, I think it would have gone a lot further toward connecting all of the stories.
I would recommend reading this book in its physical form as I found the Kindle edition impeded how I would have liked to read the book. Matsuda summarizes all of the folktales that have inspired her retellings at the end of the book but in the Kindle edition, there isn't an easy way to flip to these summaries after each story to learn about its inspiration . I had to wait to read them until the end and by then, I had forgotten many of the stories and could only connect a few to their original versions.
Despite some of the issues that I had with this collection, I am interested to read more of Matsuda's work in the future as I did really like her prose and there were a few really excellent stories that stood out.
Content Warnings
Minor: Suicide, Death, and Body horror
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