Stephen Snyder

Yōko Ogawa

Offers eleven interwoven macabre short stories that take an ominous look at grotesque characters, violent emotions, and murder.

Eleven Dark Tales

Revenge

julia

FROM THE AUTHOR OF THE MEMORY POLICE 'A conspicuously gifted writer...To read Ogawa is to enter a dreamlike state tinged with a nightmare, and her stories continue to haunt. She possesses an effortless, glassy, eerie brilliance' Guardian Murderers and mourners, mothers and children, lovers and innocent bystanders – locked in the embrace of an ominous and darkly beautiful web, their fates all converge through the eleven stories here in Yoko Ogawa’s Revenge. As tales of the macabre pass from character to character – an aspiring writer, a successful surgeon, a cabaret singer, a lonely craftsman – Ogawa provides us with a slice of life that is resplendent in its chaos, enthralling in its passion and chilling in its cruelty. Translated by Stephen Snyder Elegant, pocket-sized paperbacks, VINTAGE Editions celebrate the audacity and ambition of the written word, transporting readers to wherever in the world literary innovation may be found.

Ghofran Mustafa 

i loved how the stories were interlaced, and i genuinely wanted so savour each and every one, even though some of them appeared clumsy. i believe afternoon at the bakery, the little dustman were crafted with the greatest care. it truly could have been a more compelling reading, but oh, how i enjoyed it 

lily lily 

azliana aziz

read this on cold, rainy days and you are in for some creepy, unsettling mood™

my first yoko ogawa and definitely not the last.

Good but something about it fell flat to me

FROM THE AUTHOR OF THE MEMORY POLICE 'A conspicuously gifted writer...To read Ogawa is to enter a dreamlike state tinged with a nightmare, and her stories continue to haunt. She possesses an effortless, glassy, eerie brilliance' Guardian Murderers and mourners, mothers and children, lovers and innocent bystanders - locked in the embrace of an ominous and darkly beautiful web, their fates all converge through the eleven stories here in Yoko Ogawa's Revenge. As tales of the macabre pass from character to character - an aspiring writer, a successful surgeon, a cabaret singer, a lonely craftsman - Ogawa provides us with a slice of life that is resplendent in its chaos, enthralling in its passion and chilling in its cruelty. Translated by Stephen Snyder Elegant, pocket-sized paperbacks, VINTAGE Editions celebrate the audacity and ambition of the written word, transporting readers to wherever in the world literary innovation may be found.

charisa

it's yoko ogawa, so of course it's masterfully written with the most felicitous descriptions, but also it's yoko ogawa so it's SO FREAKING UNCOMFORTABLE. enormously creative, with none of the warmth of some of her other works. i remember why i adore her writing.

Alex Leong

Enjoyed how the individual lives intertwined with each other to create a unsettling story. I thought the stories were original and refreshing. Wouldn’t classify it as horror but rather leaves you with shivers and questions.

A woman goes into a bakery to buy a strawberry cream tart. The place is immaculate but there is no one serving so she waits. Another customer comes in. The woman tells the new arrival that she is buying her son a treat for his birthday. Every year she buys him his favourite cake; even though he died in an accident when he was six years old. From this beginning Yoko Ogawa weaves a dark and beautiful narrative that pulls together a seemingly disconnected cast of characters. In the tradition of classical Japanese poetic collections, the stories in Revenge are linked through recurring images and motifs, as each story follows on from the one before while simultaneously introducing new characters and themes. Filled with breathtaking images, Ogawa provides us with a slice of life that is resplendent in its chaos, enthralling in its passion and chilling in its cruelty.

Midori Kobayashi

an interconnected collection of short stories which might seem ordinary but leave us feeling extremely horrified. I didn’t like it as much as Memory Police, but it was still an enjoyable read.

tina

2.5 stars

there were a few stories that were good, some were just okay, and some i just didnt like. however i did like the writing style. perhaps the most disappointing thing about this tho was that it wasnt as horrific and disturbing as i expected it to be :/

A woman goes into a bakery to buy a strawberry and cream tart. The place is immaculate but there is no one serving. She waits. Another customer comes in. The woman tells the new arrival that she is buying a cake for her son's birthday. It's his favourite. But he is dead. He died twelve years ago. Nevertheless, every year, on his birthday, she still buys him his favourite cake. From this beginning Yoko Ogawa weaves a dark and beautiful narrative that pulls together an unlikely ensemble cast, all of whom are affected by dramatic events that change their lives. In Sad Acts of Revenge Yoko Ogawa uses her stunning imaginative powers to take us deep into a recognisable yet strangely unfamiliar world that leaves the reader both moved and disturbed

Patty Pforte

** spoiler alert **
           Although there are eleven short stories there are subtle and obvious connections between them. On there own each story, each character is compelling, and together Revenge is a rich tapestry about loss, loneliness, love, and longing.

Amy 

First time I've read and come across this author!!

I was curious about this little gem of a book after watching a book tuber i follow read and fall in love with the book.

Started as soon as the book arrived, I couldn't put it down. Yoko Ogawa writing of short stories captivated me into need to read more and to find out what happens.

The stories become more intense as you read on these stories interlink and clears up some curiosities your left with. I didn't always felt like i knew what was going on but i loved that aspect and your left feeling a bit lost as to what went on but in a good way.

I'm definitely going to look into more of Yoko Ogawa's book and recommending this book not one i normally go for but really loved this book

Thea Sophie

Remarkable author. Every book of hers has a unique concept and can be very gripping and a bit unsettling. Loved the concept of interrelated short stories. Ogawas style of writing can be a bit confusing due to the characters not being named. 

Mabel Palomera

Wow, the way these stories connected, but at the same time weren’t  connected at all was amazing. I would reread just to see what I missed before knowing certain stories.

New fan of Japanese horror!!! Very subtle writing that lures you in and then sucker punches you with a WTF right hook. In this book, each chapter seems like it's coming out of left field and you have no idea what's going on & then you have an ooookkkk moment and say- I get it now. Loved this writing style and I'm off to look for more.

Jade Flynn

An interweaving fun house.

Afternoon at the Bakery - 3/5
Fruit Juice - 3/5
Old Ms. J - 4/5
The Little Dustman - 3/5
Lab Coats - 3/5
Sewing for the Heart - 4/5
Welcome to the Museum of Torture - 3/5
The Man Who Sold Braces - 3/5
The Last Hour of the Bengal Tiger - 2/5
Tomatoes and the Full Moon - 2/5
Poison Plants - 3/5

Michael Chen

Prashant Prasad

4.5!!!

such a great collection of short stories each as engaging as the last and i love how they inter-lap in small (but significant) ways!!

Chelsey

this is a short story collection, kind of. it’s more like 11 stories that are all very interwoven. i went into this book expecting creepy, but really it’s just dark. it is a bit unsettling at times but never advances far past that. i would say it verges on surreal and dreamlike, which is something i always love. i enjoyed watching the stories unfold in their own cryptic ways and trying to pinpoint the way they all bled into one another. the ending made me go “huh!” out loud. i think this is one i’d definitely read again and get more out of the second time. i would really like to read more short story collections like this - where each story is intertwined and you feel like you realize more about the previous stories the more you continue to read.

Momo

This book to me a while to get through. I was powering through it at first but then I became bored with it. Whilst each chapter was interesting, it was still boring. I really just didn't see the what the point was in this book. 
The writing and pacing was fantastic but things came to am end as soon as I became fascinated. 
Revenge is set out in a way whereby each chapter is a completely different story but they all have connections. Thus, you can get a lot of perspectives. And it's interesting to see how things pan out but I just wasn't really into it. 
Great book but not my thing.

Revenge Eleven Dark Tales

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