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koalaautumn 's review for:
Strange Pictures
by Uketsu
dark
mysterious
Thank you to HarperVia for kindly providing this book for review consideration via NetGalley. All opinions are my own.
OVERALL THOUGHTS:đź“–
This was such an innovative and masterful way of weaving a mystery, and I nod my metaphorical mask in the direction of Uketsu. (Yes, perhaps the greatest mystery surrounding this novel is the author's true identity. Uketsu—literally "rain hole" in Japanese—is a masked Youtuber who, in all public and virtual appearances, dons a black bodysuit and white mask and electronically alters his voice—and he is changing the world of mystery writing in Japan and beyond. I'd never heard of him before this book, but after reading it, I'm hooked... much like the rest of Japan. He's very popular. But I digress. Back to the book review.) Strange Pictures is a psychological mystery with elements of horror, told through a mixture of prose and (quite literally) strange pictures. The story opens with a child's drawing, presented to a class of psych students by a child psychologist, who explains that, though the child murdered her mother, she showed a proclivity toward rehabilitation based on her art. (Yeah, we're immediately off to the races.) Later, we are introduced to more strange pictures on a blog, drawn by the blogger's young, pregnant—and now deceased—wife. Our last strange picture is a hillside sketch done by a murdered artist. Though these drawings, stories, and characters seem unrelated, the intricate and twisty web of mystery that Uketsu weaves slowly unravels as we read. Readers will delight in solving the mystery alongside the sleuths of the book. However, even self-proclaimed amateur detectives (such as yours truly) will likely be in for a pleasant surprise by the story's end.
The story is told in a simple, matter-of-fact way that I've found common in Japanese literature. Personally, I dig it. It's easy to read. The unique storytelling structure, though, is truly the star here. Our "strange pictures" are not the only drawings in the book; the story relies on other diagrams and graphs (such as apartment building layouts and timelines/alibis of murder suspects) to add weight and exposition to the mysteries. I am now a firm believer that nearly every book, and especially mystery and thriller tales, would benefit from the inclusion of such elements. The pictures and diagrams drew me deeply into the story and hooked me to the point where I had to finish this book in one sitting to get to the bottom of it all. Though this isn't so much a horror as it is a thriller, I did find myself reading with bated breaths at certain parts, most notably during the stalking episodes. The mysteries within these pages are top-notch, but the book also touches on more serious topics of motherhood, trauma, obsessions, possessions, and revenge. It was a great read, and I can't wait for it to take off in the States. More books like this on our shelves would make me very happy.
Read this if you love a puzzling, challenging mystery that you likely won't be able to solve yourself. Read this if you love a good detective novel or television show in the fashion of Sherlock or L from Death Note. Read this if you've exhausted all the played-out psychological thrillers by American authors and need something that's truly inventive and a one-of-a-kind read in the genre. Dude, just read this, and if you don't give it above three stars, come back to fight me in the comments.
OVERALL THOUGHTS:đź“–
This was such an innovative and masterful way of weaving a mystery, and I nod my metaphorical mask in the direction of Uketsu. (Yes, perhaps the greatest mystery surrounding this novel is the author's true identity. Uketsu—literally "rain hole" in Japanese—is a masked Youtuber who, in all public and virtual appearances, dons a black bodysuit and white mask and electronically alters his voice—and he is changing the world of mystery writing in Japan and beyond. I'd never heard of him before this book, but after reading it, I'm hooked... much like the rest of Japan. He's very popular. But I digress. Back to the book review.) Strange Pictures is a psychological mystery with elements of horror, told through a mixture of prose and (quite literally) strange pictures. The story opens with a child's drawing, presented to a class of psych students by a child psychologist, who explains that, though the child murdered her mother, she showed a proclivity toward rehabilitation based on her art. (Yeah, we're immediately off to the races.) Later, we are introduced to more strange pictures on a blog, drawn by the blogger's young, pregnant—and now deceased—wife. Our last strange picture is a hillside sketch done by a murdered artist. Though these drawings, stories, and characters seem unrelated, the intricate and twisty web of mystery that Uketsu weaves slowly unravels as we read. Readers will delight in solving the mystery alongside the sleuths of the book. However, even self-proclaimed amateur detectives (such as yours truly) will likely be in for a pleasant surprise by the story's end.
The story is told in a simple, matter-of-fact way that I've found common in Japanese literature. Personally, I dig it. It's easy to read. The unique storytelling structure, though, is truly the star here. Our "strange pictures" are not the only drawings in the book; the story relies on other diagrams and graphs (such as apartment building layouts and timelines/alibis of murder suspects) to add weight and exposition to the mysteries. I am now a firm believer that nearly every book, and especially mystery and thriller tales, would benefit from the inclusion of such elements. The pictures and diagrams drew me deeply into the story and hooked me to the point where I had to finish this book in one sitting to get to the bottom of it all. Though this isn't so much a horror as it is a thriller, I did find myself reading with bated breaths at certain parts, most notably during the stalking episodes. The mysteries within these pages are top-notch, but the book also touches on more serious topics of motherhood, trauma, obsessions, possessions, and revenge. It was a great read, and I can't wait for it to take off in the States. More books like this on our shelves would make me very happy.
Read this if you love a puzzling, challenging mystery that you likely won't be able to solve yourself. Read this if you love a good detective novel or television show in the fashion of Sherlock or L from Death Note. Read this if you've exhausted all the played-out psychological thrillers by American authors and need something that's truly inventive and a one-of-a-kind read in the genre. Dude, just read this, and if you don't give it above three stars, come back to fight me in the comments.