wordsaremything's review against another edition
emotional
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
I can recognize that these are interesting stories and are likely very enjoyable for others, but this collection didn't work for me for two reasons: one, I've determined I don't like short story collections and two, I've determined I don't really like magical realism, and this has both.
I think I would have enjoyed this collection more had I paid attention to the inspiration for the stories prior to reading them all. Reading these straight through, without any context, the stories are interesting, if a bit weird. My brain kept making connections to vampires, and a succubus (though these are not part of the story, actually.
I enjoyed the examination of femininity and womanhood without it really going into motherhood (a change of pace from most stories that talk about womanhood). The closest is Enoki, which I originally read as a metaphor for breast milk and mothers only being useful for what they can produce for their children.
These stories also explore the not-so-wonderful parts of being a woman without making them evil: in The Jealous Type (I believe my favorite story), jealousy is celebrated, not abhorred. We also talk about death in a way that is not just negative (reminiscent of grief and death in How High We Go In the Dark, which I loved). It also explores jobs as something that give both life and death meaning — no matter your age, which Silently Burning points out — and that you can be recruited for a position in the afterlife. But, as On High alludes to: not every job is one you want, even if you're really good at it.
Favorite lines:
Every man you fell in love with, every man you went out with, caught a glimpse of hell.
I don't know why, but the living and the dead have always looked exactly the same to me.
I think I would have enjoyed this collection more had I paid attention to the inspiration for the stories prior to reading them all. Reading these straight through, without any context, the stories are interesting, if a bit weird. My brain kept making connections to vampires, and a succubus (though these are not part of the story, actually.
I enjoyed the examination of femininity and womanhood without it really going into motherhood (a change of pace from most stories that talk about womanhood). The closest is Enoki, which I originally read as a metaphor for breast milk and mothers only being useful for what they can produce for their children.
These stories also explore the not-so-wonderful parts of being a woman without making them evil: in The Jealous Type (I believe my favorite story), jealousy is celebrated, not abhorred. We also talk about death in a way that is not just negative (reminiscent of grief and death in How High We Go In the Dark, which I loved). It also explores jobs as something that give both life and death meaning — no matter your age, which Silently Burning points out — and that you can be recruited for a position in the afterlife. But, as On High alludes to: not every job is one you want, even if you're really good at it.
Favorite lines:
Every man you fell in love with, every man you went out with, caught a glimpse of hell.
I don't know why, but the living and the dead have always looked exactly the same to me.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death of parent and Death
Moderate: Suicide
Minor: Infidelity
aroseshaw's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Suicide
bexi's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
funny
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? N/A
3.75
Weirdly delightful. Would recommend.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Suicide, Sexism, Death, and Misogyny
Minor: Ableism, Child death, Murder, Sexual content, Sexual harassment, Animal death, Animal cruelty, Domestic abuse, Cursing, Infidelity, and Rape
mandkips's review against another edition
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Domestic abuse, Death, and Suicide
Minor: Animal death and Body horror
lexisrat's review against another edition
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.75
It is hit and miss, with some of them being really intruiging while others are cut short. Overall they could have all been developed more.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death
Minor: Domestic abuse, Suicide, and Sexual assault
meganmagicmusings's review against another edition
lighthearted
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death of parent, Death, Suicide, and Domestic abuse
charleyroxy's review against another edition
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
mysterious
reflective
slow-paced
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death and Death of parent
Minor: Rape and Suicide
sarah984's review against another edition
lighthearted
mysterious
fast-paced
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
This is a super fun collection of short stories that take Japanese mythology and reimagine the ghost/monster characters in a modern context. All the stories are set in the same world, so various characters are shared between them. There is a short summary of the story each piece in the book is based on at the end, which was interesting for me.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death, Domestic abuse, Grief, Rape, Sexism, Suicide, and Toxic relationship
Minor: Animal death
rorikae's review against another edition
fast-paced
3.5
In 'Where the Wild Ladies Are,' Aoko Matsuda retells classic Japanese stories with a feminist edge. I thoroughly enjoyed Matsuda's writing translated by Polly Barton and there were a number of stories in this collection that I thought were wonderful. In particular, I thought the stories "Smartening Up,""A Day Off," and "The Missing One" were excellent and did a great job of retelling their original folktales.
What I think falls flat about this collection though is that I didn't feel like most of the stories were particularly feminist in their retellings. There were a few that stood out but many of the stories were centered around male characters and the female characters in those stories weren't center stage. A male main character would often encounter or discuss a female ghost that he knew but the woman herself was kept at a distance and we weren't given the amount of time to delve into her backstory.
I also found it interesting that there is a throughline to many of the stories though I wished it had been more centerstage. If it had been introduced at the beginning of the collection or in the first story, I think it would have gone a lot further toward connecting all of the stories.
I would recommend reading this book in its physical form as I found the Kindle edition impeded how I would have liked to read the book. Matsuda summarizes all of the folktales that have inspired her retellings at the end of the book but in the Kindle edition, there isn't an easy way to flip to these summaries after each story to learn about its inspiration . I had to wait to read them until the end and by then, I had forgotten many of the stories and could only connect a few to their original versions.
Despite some of the issues that I had with this collection, I am interested to read more of Matsuda's work in the future as I did really like her prose and there were a few really excellent stories that stood out.
What I think falls flat about this collection though is that I didn't feel like most of the stories were particularly feminist in their retellings. There were a few that stood out but many of the stories were centered around male characters and the female characters in those stories weren't center stage. A male main character would often encounter or discuss a female ghost that he knew but the woman herself was kept at a distance and we weren't given the amount of time to delve into her backstory.
I also found it interesting that there is a throughline to many of the stories though I wished it had been more centerstage. If it had been introduced at the beginning of the collection or in the first story, I think it would have gone a lot further toward connecting all of the stories.
I would recommend reading this book in its physical form as I found the Kindle edition impeded how I would have liked to read the book. Matsuda summarizes all of the folktales that have inspired her retellings at the end of the book but in the Kindle edition, there isn't an easy way to flip to these summaries after each story to learn about its inspiration . I had to wait to read them until the end and by then, I had forgotten many of the stories and could only connect a few to their original versions.
Despite some of the issues that I had with this collection, I am interested to read more of Matsuda's work in the future as I did really like her prose and there were a few really excellent stories that stood out.
Content Warnings
Minor: Suicide, Death, and Body horror
beholderess's review against another edition
funny
reflective
relaxing
slow-paced
- Strong character development? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
4.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Grief and Suicide
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