Kelly Luce

Set in Japan, these stories tip into the fantastical, plumb the power of memory, and measure the human capacity to love.

Stories

Three Scenarios in which Hana Sasaki Grows a Tail

Leafling

[3.5, but rounded up]

I'm not sure why I expected this collection of short stories to be creepy, but I did and I was slightly misled by that. Though certainly strange, they're often delightful or beautifully haunting. Bizarre things happen, like people growing tails or a toaster predicting how people will die, but these are fully stories about reality and humans' relations to one another.

All of these stories are based in or focused on Japan, where Luce lived for three years. What was so lovely about these stories was how they were all told by or about outsiders, be they gaijin (foreigners) or Japanese people who feel like they are on the outskirts of their communities. I was startled by the appearance of demons and magical karaoke machines just as much as I was by how gently Luce could break my heart and tenderly stitch it back together again with her hope for our world.

FAVORITE STORIES: The Blue Demon of Ikumi, Ash, Rooey, Cram Island

Full review: Outlandish Lit - 3 Startling Short Story Collections

Three Scenarios in which Hana Sasaki Grows a Tail Stories

Reviews