秋の牢獄

The author has nailed the atmosphere yet again

秋の牢獄 is comprised of three short stories:

• 秋の牢獄: The titular story finds us following a young lady who one day finds she's been trapped into a never-ending loop of November 7ths.
• 神家没落: A man one evening comes across an old house, and upon the former owner passing away, finds he can't leave said house unless there's another person there with him.
• 幻は夜に成長する: We follow the history of a young woman who can create illusions at will and is being kept prisoner by a group who revere her as a god.

I enjoyed each of these stories, though perhaps some more than others. (神家没落 was my favorite.) The biggest issue most will likely come across is pacing: these stories are unhurried, introspective looks at particularly unique and isolating situations. The author has some neat ideas, and they're not fussed about getting there quickly. It's all about the journey, not the destination, and if you vibe with that you'll likely like this book.

Furigana is scattered but generally not present, and the vocabulary tends to cover a wide variety of situations due to the nature of the stories. I feel like this would be a good intermediate book for those looking to get some more pages under their belt.