Reviews

Japanische Geistergeschichten by Lafcadio Hearn

inukara's review

dark mysterious reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? N/A
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

4.0

tnt307's review

3.0

Es war eine spannende Lektüre. Manche Geschichten fand ich natürlich besser als andere.
Direkt am Anfang hat mich "Ingwa-banashi" ziemlich schockiert (alte Frauen im Sterbebett können ziemlich fiess sein). Auch Yurei-Daki (Geisterkaskade) war ziemlich spannend. An der Stelle wurde ich an ältere Balladen erinnert.
Und der Traumfresser (Baku) hat mir auch gut gefallen. Ich dachte ein Traumfresser wäre etwas negatives...

Im Allgemeinen fand ich vielleicht nicht so sehr die einzelnen Geschichten so spannend, sondern die Atmosphäre und Motive, die sie vermitteln. Sehr viele Geister, Nachleben, Emotionen, die Gestalten annehmen. Und teilweise die Erzählweisen, die manchmal gefühlt keinen richtigen Anfang und Ende haben. Wir erwarten am Ende von einer Geschichte eine Aufschlüsselung oder Belehrung, einfach ein Ende. Und hier war es oft nur einer Darstellung von "aktuellem" Zustand.

Das einzige, was mich durchgehend gestört hat, waren die japanische Bezeichnungen, die nirgendwo erläutert wurden. Einfach nur kurze Fußnoten hätten das schon getan. Oder ein Vorwort, dass auf die japanische Kultur und gesellschaftliche Gewohnheiten eingeht.

Ich habe auch gehört, dass das Audiobook besser sein soll (kann ich mir gut vorstellen).

claireakiko's review against another edition

5.0

This book was the perfect mix of short ghost stories, written observations and notes on Japanese culture, proverbs and poems, and Hearn’s own philosophical perspective on the element of “ghostliness” in nature as it relates to Buddhism. I really liked that Hearn is not just translating and recording tradition but also meditating on these concepts himself, pondering how they relate to his own experience of the world.

joraud's review against another edition

dark informative inspiring reflective relaxing medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? N/A
• Strong character development? N/A
• Loveable characters? N/A
• Diverse cast of characters? N/A
• Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A

4.0

mercurialrush's review against another edition

4.0

This was less of a collection of Japanese ghost stories and more a series of essays about ghostly things, or things that are hidden and beyond the understanding of humans. There's a good mix between actual ghost stories ("Furisode", "A Passional Karma"), stories and essays about Buddhism ("Story of a Tengu", "Footprints of the Buddha"), and even poetry ("Bits of Poetry").

My favorite piece was probably "Ululation", where Hearn remembers an old wolf that used to protect his home and who was adopted by the entire village. He speaks of the superstitions behind dogs (and canines) howling at night and connects it to life. Here's one of my favorite lines from this essay:

"[...] but there is nothing beautiful in the fact that life is fed by continual murder, — that the tenderest affection, the noblest enthusiasm, the purest idealism, must be nourished by the eating of flesh and and the drinking of blood. All life, to sustain itself, must devour life."

vincentkonrad's review against another edition

2.0

western imperialist fluff. couple of curious stories, but they're bound to be better represented elsewhere by now.

vanlir's review against another edition

informative mysterious reflective slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? N/A
• Strong character development? N/A
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

lichtgeist07's review against another edition

mysterious medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.75

fortiora's review against another edition

dark informative mysterious reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? N/A
• Strong character development? N/A
• Loveable characters? N/A
• Diverse cast of characters? N/A
• Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A

3.0

This book was not at all what I expected. I expected a lot of folklore and ghost stories, but instead got a lot of informative essays with a big focus on Buddhism. Though this was unexpected, it was interesting to read about. I do want to say that the book could profit from adding more cultural context when referring to certain things. Also, I found a piece of displaced text in one of the information sections, which gives a sloppy impression. All with all this book is definitely very readable, given that it was written over one hundred years ago, but I definitely expected more from it. 

j_wnklr's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

3.0