January 7, 2024

Four stories by four different narrators, all taking place in Kyoto. While all four stories stand on their own, they're obviously interconnected in subtle, disguised ways. I regret leaving long intervals between some of the stories, as I'm sure I would have noticed more connections if I had read the book without breaks. This is a book that is definitely worth a careful reread.

The stories offer a glimpse on a shorter or longer period of a university student's life in Kyoto: the first narrator works part time at a strange, small antiques store, the second one spends most of his time with a senpai who is full of amazing stories. In the third one the narrator gets a tutor job for a high school student and gets to know his cycle of friends, while in the last one the narrator comes to Kyoto for his grandfather's funeral.

All stories mix the everyday with the eerie in a way that appealed to me very much. With the foreground being nothing but normal, everyday life, there are frequent glimpses of something else going on in the background, an unseen Kyoto alive with strange creatures and mystery. These may be horror stories, but the horror lies in what remains unseen. The mystery is as deep at the end of the story as it is in its beginning, or rather, much deeper. I wonder if a deliberate reread might shed more light to these secret connections between the stories. If so, I'll add to this review when I get to it.

Language wise this book is not nearly as hard as Tatami Galaxy. There is some historical information on Kyoto and some specialized vocabulary here and there, but all in all it flows easily.

Gradings:10
1
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omk3 graded
on May 27, 2024
harder thanララピポL32
omk3 graded
on February 24, 2024
harder thanあひるL26
omk3 graded
on January 8, 2024
similar in difficulty to硝子の塔の殺人L33
omk3 graded
on January 8, 2024
omk3 graded
on January 8, 2024
easier thanL36
omk3 graded
on January 8, 2024
easier than人間椅子L36
omk3 graded
on January 8, 2024
omk3 graded
on January 8, 2024
omk3 graded
on January 8, 2024
omk3 graded
on January 8, 2024
harder than秋の牢獄L31