about book:
SINISTER FORCES COLLIDE - AND UNITE A HOST OF DESPERATE CHARACTERS - IN THIS EERIE CYCLE OF INTERWOVEN TALES FROM YOKO OGAWA, THE CRITICALLY ACCLAIMED AUTHOR OF THE HOUSEKEEPER AND THE PROFESSOR.
An aspiring writer moves into a new apartment and discovers that her landlady has murdered her husband. Elsewhere, an accomplished surgeon is approached by a cabaret singer, whose beautiful appearance belies the grotesque condition of her heart. And while the surgeon's jealous lover vows to kill him, a violent envy also stirs in the sole of a lonely craftsman. Desire meets with impulse and erupts, attracting the attention of the surgeon's neighbor - who is drawn to a decaying residence that is now home to instruments of human torture. Murderers and mourners, mothers and children, lovers and innocent bystanders - their fates converge in an ominous and darkly beautiful web.
Yoko Ogawa's Revenge is a master class in the macabre that will haunt you to the last page.
my thoughts:
READ THIS BOOK, ASAP!! Seriously, you must - it is just so damn good. The writing is excellent and the stories are unputdownable. I actually made myself read one story at a time, because I did not want the book to finish - so, yeah, it took me eleven days to read this book (and I loved every day of it.)
In my opinion, Revenge is one of the BEST short story books ever written. Eleven dark tales filled with ordinary people experiencing sad, fascinating, shocking, and rather odd experiences definitely makes for quite an amazing read. There are five-fingered carrots, strawberry cakes, tigers, kiwis, a tongue, a handbag for your heart, and so much more. With Ogawa, you never know what you are going to get and that is precisely what I love about her works. They always leave me feeling shocked, curious, awed, and, even speechless at times. She is just so talented at exploring the dark and twisty aspects of life and writing about them in such a matter of fact manner, that you almost accept these events as part of the daily norm. And its crazy, because dead husbands buried in the garden, and tongues popping out of coat pockets are not part of the daily norm; but they are in Ogawa's world. What makes these stories even more interesting is that all they connect to one another in the most unexpected ways. I loved figuring out how each story related to the next one - it made reading the book even more fun.
So, do yourself a favor and get your hands on a copy of Revenge - you will love it!!