A review by booklywookly
Nails and Eyes by Kaori Fujino

4.0

Japanese authors have this uncanny ability to talk about a problematic subject without addressing it. Or maybe these issues are so much ingrained into the daily life that they invariably flow over and be referenced in literature as “the usual”. 

In either case, Japanese literature is extremely layered. By the time your frontal lobe is done recovering from the jarring what-the-hell-did-I-just-read ending, the back of your brain is already mulling over the very subtle social commentary on patriarchy, motherhood, and societal mistreatment of elderly and children.

Case in point, Nails and Eyes by Kaori Fujino. The book includes the title novella, Nails and Eyes, along with two shorter stories: What Shoko Forgets and Minute Fears 

The novella begins with a young girl addressing her stepmother (“you”), who has moved in shortly after her mother’s death under unusual circumstances. The girl possesses strangely detailed knowledge of the older woman’s life, and as her extremely sociopath stepmother settles into the house, the girl’s obsession sharpens to an ever finer point, leading to an unexpected conclusion. *shudders*. 

The other two stories continue building up on this eerie atmosphere in a spectacular way. Subtly disturbing, with an omniscient narrative that reveals hidden thoughts and actions. Each page forward contributes to a creeping tension. There is a recurring theme of obsession and paranoia, unreliable nature of memory, and trauma. Just the right amount of visceral without the gore. Not Sayaka Murata level unhinged. 

Oh, all the conclusions are super-ambiguous by the way. Do not engage if what you desires is a squeaky clean ending. 

Literary horror is a genre, right? I am told Kaori Fujino is a master of writing such stories and her writing style is characterized by its subtlety and the ability to evoke a sense of creeping tension and fear without resorting to overt horror. I would love to see her old works being translated as well.