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cindypepper's review against another edition
3.0
On paper, Where the Wild Ladies Are is prime Cindy-bait: feminist retellings of Japanese folklore. In the stories where the elements of magical realism were strongest, I was hooked. I loved the setup of "Having a Blast" (the ghost of a woman works alongside her husband, who is still alive), and I loved "A Fox's Life", which is very overt in its allusions to Japanese folklore. The first story, "Smartening Up", is clever, elegant, and wry in its perspective on beauty.
There were two main factors that colored my reading experience though:
- The adaptation of folklore tales are often ingratiated in a very contemporary setting. Starbucks iced chai lattes are easily namedropped alongside Dean & Deluca and The Avengers. The magical elements feel so subtle that you could easily miss them in the blink of an eye. When I was reading about the book, I had expected spoop of the ghost story variety. I'm not sure if I felt spooked out at any point. Maybe weirded out, but not the same psychological terror from reading or watching pure horror.
- I've yet to get used to the slice-of-life structure of the stories. I'm often too used to short stories that follow a buildup/conflict, climax, and resolution (the latter part isn't always necessary; sometimes a good cliffhanger can really bring it home), that some of the stories felt abrupt to me. A setting would be described in intricate detail, only to feel suddenly cut off, without any conflict or resolution (e.g. "My Superpower", "Team Sarashina"). Or maybe I just tend to conflate short stories with novellas and novels, and expect a lot more plot and heft.
There were two main factors that colored my reading experience though:
- The adaptation of folklore tales are often ingratiated in a very contemporary setting. Starbucks iced chai lattes are easily namedropped alongside Dean & Deluca and The Avengers. The magical elements feel so subtle that you could easily miss them in the blink of an eye. When I was reading about the book, I had expected spoop of the ghost story variety. I'm not sure if I felt spooked out at any point. Maybe weirded out, but not the same psychological terror from reading or watching pure horror.
- I've yet to get used to the slice-of-life structure of the stories. I'm often too used to short stories that follow a buildup/conflict, climax, and resolution (the latter part isn't always necessary; sometimes a good cliffhanger can really bring it home), that some of the stories felt abrupt to me. A setting would be described in intricate detail, only to feel suddenly cut off, without any conflict or resolution (e.g. "My Superpower", "Team Sarashina"). Or maybe I just tend to conflate short stories with novellas and novels, and expect a lot more plot and heft.
jaina8851's review against another edition
funny
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.75
I enjoyed this book but I wish I could have done a buddy read with a Japanese person so that I could understand all of the references! The summaries of the original myths at the end of the book were illuminating, but I still felt like a lot of the individual stories went a bit over my head, like I was missing a cultural anchor that would have made the story even more enjoyable. I could see how *some* of the stories related to each other, recognizing character names or descriptions from previous stories, but some of them felt stand-alone to me, and I don't know if that's because I was missing something or if it was because indeed they were stand-alone. I'm also not entirely sure what the high level arc was meant to be, if there was one.
All of that said though, I really loved the whimsical writing style. There were many moments where I genuinely laughed out loud, and I appreciated the empowering feminist take in these stories. Coincidentally, while I was reading this, a friend recommended Revenge by Yōko Ogawa to me, which seems like a similar structure with interconnected short stories, and so I'm interested to explore more Japanese fiction and maybe revisit this book someday when I have better understanding of some of the stories it is based on.
All of that said though, I really loved the whimsical writing style. There were many moments where I genuinely laughed out loud, and I appreciated the empowering feminist take in these stories. Coincidentally, while I was reading this, a friend recommended Revenge by Yōko Ogawa to me, which seems like a similar structure with interconnected short stories, and so I'm interested to explore more Japanese fiction and maybe revisit this book someday when I have better understanding of some of the stories it is based on.
lunaballz's review against another edition
4.0
When a book is being marketed as "feminist reimaginings", I'm always a little bit suspicious, but this book really is a collection of amazing feminist retellings. I loved how the stories for the most part have overlap so you can see familiar characters and how they interact with different people in the different stories. My only problem is some of the stories require you to have a pre-existing knowledge of Japanese cultures or festivals, as it never explains some of the terms. Other than that, a great read!
alexandryareads's review
adventurous
funny
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? N/A
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexism and Death
Moderate: Sexual harassment
Minor: Toxic relationship and Suicide
papelgren's review against another edition
4.0
An intriguing collection of short stories that reclaims the feminine from seriously misogynist folk tales from Japan. The book is at its best as the stories connections become more apparent. It made me crave more connections. I want a novel with all these characters teaming within. There are some fantastic stories in here, many of them with ghosts. But Matsuda turns horror on its head by making these ghosts completely unscary. It can be a very wry and funny read.
goddessssssssss's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
5.0
Lovely collection of short stories based on Japanese ghost stories. Really recommend.
primsky's review against another edition
4.0
3.5 rounding to 4
The stories made more sense the farther along you got, and I really enjoyed listening to the inspiration for the stories. I think I'll do some research and read up on more Japanese folk stories and re-read this book so I can appreciate it more.
The stories made more sense the farther along you got, and I really enjoyed listening to the inspiration for the stories. I think I'll do some research and read up on more Japanese folk stories and re-read this book so I can appreciate it more.
aggressive_nostalgia's review
3.0
It took me too long to realize these stories were all connected! I quite liked them, but I’d enjoy rereading these in print instead of audio; I think I would pick up a lot more (and it would be really nice to be able to look up all the Japanese terms I don’t know)!
hhm013's review against another edition
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.75
deathbear's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
4.5
I loved how the stories wove together.