Welcome to Litsy!

Don't be lulled into a false sense of security by the cute town on a lovely Sunday afternoon: things rapidly go off-kilter, and then the stories get darker and darker but in a way that makes you think, "Wait a minute: what did she just say?!" I enjoyed looking out for the things/events/characters that linked the stories together. I found it a fabulous, unsettling book all round.

And last but not least. Also December's #AuthoroftheMonth. So different from anything else I read last year. Creepy, weird, sad, and altogether great.

#12Booksof2022 @Andrew65

Different stories but all of them connected in a very dark, creepy sinister way. I like this author‘s writing style, so psychological, love how she describes the characters and the plot. The psychological dynamic of these characters is so terrible but interesting. I really liked it. This book gave me a vibe of another author I like very much Kanae Minato. 4.5/5⭐️

December 2022 #AuthorAMonth @Soubhiville
#BookSpinBingo @TheAromaOfBooks

Quietly unsettling, loosely related short stories. Not necessarily my cup of tea but an interesting set of stories.

With that, I‘ve stumbled to the end of this year‘s #authoramonth selections. Seven authors read during their assigned month, plus Barbara Kingsolver finished several months later.

Whoa. This was not what I was anticipating. In a good way. Creepy and unexpected. Loved it.

#AuthorAMonth @Soubhiville

This is so freaking good. It's everything I expect from Japanese lit and then some more. It's so dark. The stories are loosely tied together in a very clever way. Read it. Unless you only like cheerful books.

#AuthorAMonth @Soubhiville
And props to whomever nominated this author last year. 😘

#BookSpinBingo @TheAromaofBooks

#BookSpin #DoubleSpin #BookSpinBingo @TheAromaofBooks

Not sure I should even pretend to play bingo this month. It's going to be slightly insane. Like running to Marshall's to buy new undies because there's no time for laundry insane.

REVENGE by Yoko Ogawa

This is a collection of eleven twisted tales that intersect in unexpected ways. The characters are unknown to each other, yet their strange lives nonetheless affect one another.

I love short story collections—especially dark and messed-up stories like these. They‘re ominous, cruel, and somber. Strung together, they weave a wickedly beautiful web. It was fun to read each story and see how it would connect with the previous.

Wonderfully creepy interlocking stories that twist into each other like mobius strips. Ogawa conveys a lot of information with few unsettling details, a turn of phrase, a slip of dialogue - it all adds up to an atmospheric post-modern gothic tale.

I consider this a short story collection, but they are quite intertwined – each is connected to several others by common characters or events. It‘s an uneven collection; some stores are fabulous (the Poe-like Lab Coats!) and others, that at first were mundanely grotesque or odd, became darker when it is referenced or expanded in another story. I loved the uncertain timeline and hints of coexisting realities and the use of details to create dread.

This is a book for my liking! 😍 All stories are connected, and of course it's a lot of fun to search for the clues and hints. Most of the texts are rather dark and sometimes utterly disturbing. The more you read, the deeper it goes. It really has this Inception vibes. Also, the further you come in the book, the more layers the book gets. An amazing read!

@TheAromaOfBooks #BookSpin #BookSpinBingo

This was a great set of short stories. I didn‘t love all of the individual pieces, but I loved the interconnectedness of them. My favorites were Welcome to the Museum of Torture, The Man Who Sold Braces, and Tomatoes and the Full Moon.

Thank you again @readordierachel for sending this my way! I really enjoyed it! ❤️

The stories in this book aren't so much interwoven as they are just resting up against one another, gently mingling at the edges. It's one of the most well-constructed collections of short stories I can remember reading. Gentle, eerie, jarring, several of these stories gave me chills. The first story, "Afternoon at the Bakery," is just about perfect and an excellent intro to the collection.

(11x15) + 1 = 166 pts for #TeamHarkness #scarathlon2020

"It was a beautiful Sunday."

#FirstLineFridays @ShyBookOwl

Thanks so much for the book mail @readordierachel ! Can‘t wait to read these! The Memory Police will be on its way to you soon! 😃

These interconnected stories were interesting, though my mind wandered during a few of them. Probably 3.5 ⭐

I'll sum up my feelings with a direct quote from the story Tomatoes and the Full Moon, which was actually one of my favorites of the collection:
"The prose was unremarkable, as were the plot and characters, but there was an icy current running under her words, and I found myself wanting to plunge into it again and again."

Excellent collection of creepy, interconnected stories. The perfect spooky read!

#Screamathon @4thhouseontheleft

While our prime minister announces another set of restrictions for the coming weeks, I hide from reality in this book.

In Revenge Ogawa treats us readers with a web of losely connected stories, all dark and macabre. I love how clever and cruel she writes in a minimalistic way. Very amusing despite the subject.

Finally narrowed down my #Screamathon TBR! It‘s ambitious, especially with me reading slower than usual right now. I mean, two of these were on last year‘s pile! But I‘ll do my best.

@4thhouseontheleft

3⭐️ My younger self would love this novel very much 🤪 There was a time when I was so into crime stories, and was impressed by the wickedness of Japanese crime fictions (try Miyuki Miyabe, Keigo Higashino). In Revenge, Ogawa gave us 11 connected stories. It was fun to link the details in one story with those preceeding it. I was hoping for a conclusion, but I should have known better 😆

I‘m longing for the days when the world is no longer fixated on Haruki Murakami when one‘s talking about Japanese literature

I really enjoy Yoko Ogawa's work; her novel The Memory Police came out in English last year and has gotten a lot of buzz/award nominations, and I loved her short story collection (tagged). I love dark/weird fiction!

I'm also currently reading Confessions by Kanae Minato; this thriller has been on my TBR for ages. Liking the style very much!

A few other authors I've enjoyed:
Han Kang (The Vegetarian)
Hye-Young Pyun (The Hole)
#integrateyourshelf

#BookReport #WeeklyForecast

I read : These Women & Loved it ❤️
I read : Revenge & Loved it

I‘m reading Seven Years of Darkness ... so far 👍🏻

Reading a bit slow again 🤷🏼‍♀️... but that‘s ok , waiting on Bookpost & also going to start American Dirt for our IRL Bookclub
Hope you are well Cindy x x
Good luck with the reading All 👍🏻❤️

Not short stories, but a series of connected stories.. I watched out for the connection , but was always taken aback , surprised. The details of each scene so beautifully & strangely written... I gasped outloud at certain times. A short book , which was just as well as I wanted to linger in it & take it in ❤️💔

Beautiful day here 🌞& an intriguing new book

#ScreamsByMail people, eet eez here!!!! HALLELUJAH, finally!! @kamoorephoto I will most likely wait for the last book from @scripturient before sending both to you, as I think we are on the last few books in the cycle now. Wheeee!!!

Unsettling. This is the type of quiet horror that leaves you vaguely uneasy. The characters in these interconnected stories are all grappling with some heavy problems and emotions, some with dark conclusions, some left up in the air, all at least a little chilling.

#24b42020 That's 4 hours 6 minutes total for today, two books finished (though the first was already close to done when I started today)

Just in time for Halloween this arrived on my doorstep: the next round in our #screamsbymail postal book club. Looking forward to reading it! @kamoorephoto @ephemeralwaltz @BookishTrish @Reggie @GatheringBooks @danibolahood

@Reggie I loved this! @scripturient get ready.
An uncanny collection of unexpectedly interconnected stories that left me creeped out!! But they are as beautiful as they are unsettling and I'll be mesmerized these next few days, thinking about the talent behind this apparent simplicity. 🤯🤯🤯
#ScreamsbyMail #horrorpost #round2 @teebe

It's here! It's slim and it's calling to me so I hope to get to it this week 😍
#ScreamsbyMail #horrorpost
@danibolahood @Reggie @GatheringBooks @scripturient @BookishTrish @kamoorephoto

August is Women in Translation Month! I‘m going to attempt to post about a different book each day. ?
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Whenever someone wants to read something creepy, I always recommend this book. It‘s by Japanese author Yoko Ogawa and is translated by Stephen Snyder. It came out in 2013 from Picador, and it was such a 180° from THE HOUSEKEEPER AND THE PROFESSOR, her quiet, beautiful novel that I read before this. It pleased me. #womenintranslationmonth???

Ogawa‘s ability to spin some dark and unsettling tales, is not unlike Shirley Jackson or Roald Dahl‘s adult stories. These eleven tales are strange and eerie; ideally to be read consecutively, for there‘s an item or character in each story which will appear in some of the stories later. Scenes are vividly described (see an excerpt☝️). With clear, terse writing and surreal images, it‘s really well done! Recommend👍

@BookishTrish you spoiled me again!!! Thank you so much!!! I'm having trouble focusing on reading right now so a book of short stories seems perfect!

#screamsbymail
@ephemeralwaltz @reggie @scripturient @GatheringBooks @kamoorephoto

A little something is heading your way @danibolahood #screamsbymail #groupu @Lindy

@kamoorephoto #screamsbymail pick arrived yesterday so I‘m taking the morning to savour the end of @Reggie pick. @danibolahood it‘ll be heading your way early next week.

A little dinner break reading on a rainy rainy evening

I could start the latest #screamsbymail pick or dive into the too generous treats @Reggie sent, but first Go Canucks Go!

This short, translated from Japanese, book is comprised of 11 dark tales all linked to each other in a small way. #screamsbymail ladies, this is the one I‘m going with. All 11 tales have a creep factor to them but all is not what you think and many are somber. The writing contained tons of imagery and was very evocative. Hope you enjoy!!!

These stories were fantastic. They aren‘t scary as I‘d hoped, but rather unsettling. The stories also connect together in some way or another. I found that endearing and it made me keep reading to find out how the next story would relate. Pick up this collection of short stories if you enjoy psychological dark stories. Not to be missed!

I'd recommended these short stories for someone looking to read something a little dark. Yōko Ogawa writes simply without over-complicating things to tell 11 stories of revenge. They may be odd or strange to some but I have really enjoyed spending a few days engrossed in these little stories and give "Revenge" 5 stars.

See my blog for my full review, the link is on my profile! ?

🤘🏼🤘🏾🤘🏿

#books #litsybooks #review #bookreview #bookworm #minireviews #shortreviews

1st book for #BDayBookChallenge is complete!

🍓Prose is seemingly simple, yet laced w/extraordinary meaning.
🍓Eloquent in its subtlety.
🍓Writing style is terse.
🍓Motifs are idiosyncratically pensive.
🍓Ostensibly disjointed short stories come full circle in brilliantly haunting ways.
🍓Addicting & profoundly alluring w/its Gothic ambience.
🍓Highly recommended.
🍓4.25/5.

#revenge #yokoogawa #japaneselit #diversebooks #litsykitty #anthology

First pick in my Birthday Book Challenge (I.e.: reading books authored by Asian people). She's one of my fave authors, so I'm totally psyched! 🍓🍓

#revenge #yokoogawa #japanesebooks #japanese #shortstories #diversebooks #ownvoices #bdbookchallenge

For Oct. I'm going to spend the month reading books authored by Asian people as a way to celebrate my birthday! I've narrowed down my first book to these four. They all sound amazing!! If y'all have a recommendation from this pile, pls lemme know down below! So far Revenge seems to be the popular pick. 😃😃

#revenge #yokoogawa #boyoffireandearth #samishah #thetattoomurdercase #akimitsutakagi #sabaatahir #bdaybookchallenge #litsygram

Superb collection. I loved the style of prose, so stark and spare.

Belated #shelfie from Hong Kong... It's a mess! 🙈📚 #AprilBookShowers

These stories. Oof. I knew I was in for something good because I loved The Housekeeper and the Professor. With the same style of spare prose, Ogawa weaves delicate and somewhat chilling snippets of tales into a series of interconnected stories that resonate. Loved this collection. Loved.

After the third story, I realized I was being drawn into something much greater than eleven disparate stories. The imagery is spare, but let it sink in and you'll realize just how dark this work really is.

Delivered today - I have so much love in my heart for unsettling Japanese fiction. 🖤