Where the Wild Ladies Are
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- Create Date：2021-08-29 09:55:38
- Update Date：2025-09-06
- Status：finish
- Author：Aoko Matsuda
- ISBN：191128438X
- Environment：PC/Android/iPhone/iPad/Kindle
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Summary
I never thought of Okon and Oiwa as terrifying monsters。 If they were terrifying， so was I。 If they were monsters， that meant I was a monster too。
Witty， inventive， and profound， Where the Wild Ladies Are is a contemporary feminist retelling of traditional ghost stories by one of Japan’s most exciting writers。
In a company run by the mysterious Mr Tei， strange things are afoot – incense sticks lead to a surprise encounter; a young man reflects on his mother’s death; a foxlike woman finally finds her true calling。 As female ghosts appear in unexpected guises， their gently humorous encounters with unsuspecting humans lead to deeper questions about emancipation and recent changes in Japanese women’s lives。
Witty， inventive， and profound， Where the Wild Ladies Are is a contemporary feminist retelling of traditional ghost stories by one of Japan’s most exciting writers。
In a company run by the mysterious Mr Tei， strange things are afoot – incense sticks lead to a surprise encounter; a young man reflects on his mother’s death; a foxlike woman finally finds her true calling。 As female ghosts appear in unexpected guises， their gently humorous encounters with unsuspecting humans lead to deeper questions about emancipation and recent changes in Japanese women’s lives。
Reviews
Becky Robison
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My friend Maureen was kind enough to send me a copy of this short story collection。 Translated by Polly Barton， the stories are all inspired by Japanese folktales， usually involving ghosts。 But Matsuda’s writing is more funny than it is scary; how could a factory that produces incense to raise the ghosts of your loved ones not be a little bit funny？ Or a visit from a ghost aunt demanding that you lay off the hair removal already？ The imagery is often bizarre， but delightfully so。 If you’re searc My friend Maureen was kind enough to send me a copy of this short story collection。 Translated by Polly Barton， the stories are all inspired by Japanese folktales， usually involving ghosts。 But Matsuda’s writing is more funny than it is scary; how could a factory that produces incense to raise the ghosts of your loved ones not be a little bit funny？ Or a visit from a ghost aunt demanding that you lay off the hair removal already？ The imagery is often bizarre， but delightfully so。 If you’re searching for something playful and weird， this is the collection for you。This review was originally published on my blog。 。。。more
Annikky
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4。5 This was delightful。 I was just complaining the other day that I'm often （not always， of course） frustrated by Japanese fiction， there either seems something lost in translation or I simply don't fully connect to what's there in the first place。 I had no problem connecting to these stories， though。 While clearly inspired by traditional stories， these aren't retellings but rather explorations of elements present in the originals。 They are feminist and magical and while not 'funny' stories， Ma 4。5 This was delightful。 I was just complaining the other day that I'm often （not always， of course） frustrated by Japanese fiction， there either seems something lost in translation or I simply don't fully connect to what's there in the first place。 I had no problem connecting to these stories， though。 While clearly inspired by traditional stories， these aren't retellings but rather explorations of elements present in the originals。 They are feminist and magical and while not 'funny' stories， Matsuda has a great feel for comedy。 What I liked best about this collection was how the stories are connected， so that after a while they start building on each other， making the whole into something larger and more impactful than the sum of its parts。 。。。more
Trigger Warning Database
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Trigger & Content WarningsRape & sexual assault mentionedSexual harassment mentionedArson & immolation
Calzean
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I learnt that Japan has a rich history of ghost and mysterious creatures in story telling， books and plays。 This book apparently retells many of these old tales in a modern setting。 This is not a set of horror stories。 The spirits or ghosts all appear to be quite nice。 The writing is whimsical。 Overall a fun read。
Becky J
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Thoroughly enjoyed this
Amanda Dee
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I was drawn to Aoko Matsuda through her translation work for Carmen Maria Machado and Karen Russell， and so was delightfully surprised by the light humor and whimsy of this collection。 Loosely spun around Japanese folktales （with explanations of their origins in the back of the book） these stories are， for the unacquainted， gateways to the tales of yōkai （supernatural beings） and yūrei （ghosts）。 In Matsuda's world， though， the hauntings are "consensual"*， oftentimes beneficial to the living， and I was drawn to Aoko Matsuda through her translation work for Carmen Maria Machado and Karen Russell， and so was delightfully surprised by the light humor and whimsy of this collection。 Loosely spun around Japanese folktales （with explanations of their origins in the back of the book） these stories are， for the unacquainted， gateways to the tales of yōkai （supernatural beings） and yūrei （ghosts）。 In Matsuda's world， though， the hauntings are "consensual"*， oftentimes beneficial to the living， and vice versa。 With a feminist bent， these stories tap into the anxiety of living in the modern world， which， especially in Japan， is necessarily about interloping between different times and value systems。 In response， Matsuda has imagined an entire factory mediated by spirits， a world where past and present can coexist in strange joy。Favorites: "Smartening Up，" "The Peony Lanterns，" "Silently Burning，" "What a Catch" （queer monster romance）*（https://japaneselit。net/2021/04/26/wh。。。） 。。。more
T
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Short stories， originally written in Japanese。 Modern twists on classic Japanese folklore， full of mystical realism。 Enjoyable in its twistiness， but it’s like a fruit that needed to mature a little longer。
Siska
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This book contains 17 short stories and inspired by Japanese folklore。 I loved it。 They're unique， lil bit bizzare， and so engaging from the beginning。 My two favorite story: The Peony Lanterns and Smartening Up。 And i kinda startled when i know that every story related to each other。 It was impressive。 This book contains 17 short stories and inspired by Japanese folklore。 I loved it。 They're unique， lil bit bizzare， and so engaging from the beginning。 My two favorite story: The Peony Lanterns and Smartening Up。 And i kinda startled when i know that every story related to each other。 It was impressive。 。。。more
Elaine Ruth Boe
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The description of this collection--feminist Japanese folktale retellings by a writer who's translated Carmen Maria Machado and Karen Russell， and who's won the Shirley Jackson Award--had me super excited。 I read a novel， Breasts and Eggs， from a female Japanese writer earlier this year， and it made me want to explore more Japanese fiction。 This didn't live up to the hype， but I enjoyed this enough to watch out for future work from Matsuda。It took me awhile to get into this collection。 The conve The description of this collection--feminist Japanese folktale retellings by a writer who's translated Carmen Maria Machado and Karen Russell， and who's won the Shirley Jackson Award--had me super excited。 I read a novel， Breasts and Eggs， from a female Japanese writer earlier this year， and it made me want to explore more Japanese fiction。 This didn't live up to the hype， but I enjoyed this enough to watch out for future work from Matsuda。It took me awhile to get into this collection。 The conversational， sometimes clunky or informal， style of writing took getting used to。 But once I realized how the stories were interconnected， I became more invested。 I loved finding the connections across the stories and characters。 It means you have to pay close attention！ A few standouts: a woman who finds power by not shaving or waxing her hair and letting it grow to epic lengths， a woman with raging jealousy addressed by ghosts telling her to keep up the emotional charge， and a tree who is uncomfortable with the objectification of two knobs on her trunk shaped like breasts as a pilgrimage site for women unable to breastfeed。 。。。more
Danielle
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It was a fun read tho I did not realize that the original stories synopsis were in the back of the book！ Would have loved to read the updated version and then immediately followed with the original synopsis for a better understanding。 But still a great book！
H。
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Really delightful short story collection that retells traditional youkai tales， including a retelling of one of Izumi Kyouka's plays。[T]he post-mortem version of [my wife] seems more full of life than the living one ever did。I enjoyed the perspective of death that Matsuda offers us: In the afterlife all people， but especially women， get to cast away the restraints of society and become truer， freer versions of themselves， giving up toxic relationships， dating sassy lady skeletons， and even becom Really delightful short story collection that retells traditional youkai tales， including a retelling of one of Izumi Kyouka's plays。[T]he post-mortem version of [my wife] seems more full of life than the living one ever did。I enjoyed the perspective of death that Matsuda offers us: In the afterlife all people， but especially women， get to cast away the restraints of society and become truer， freer versions of themselves， giving up toxic relationships， dating sassy lady skeletons， and even becoming successful entrepreneurs。 It was a funny， freeing， kind perspective of humanity。 I also loved its suggestions of how traditional Japan might continue to linger even amongst perpetually renovated and innovated old cities。If you enjoy this collection， I additionally recommend Murata Sayaka's Convenience Store Woman and Motoya Yukiko's The Lonesome Bodybuilder。 。。。more
Mandy
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3。5 stars。 The concept was cool and the author executed it well。
Kat
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I liked the idea of this more than the execution。 It reads like the autobiographical one page homework assignments we got in high school。 It's very confessional feeling and I found that off putting; it doesn't read like a published， professional novel。 I don't read short story collections much because usually I'll get 5 and 2 star stories in the same collection。 All of these are a pretty mediocre 2。5 ⭐。 I liked the idea of this more than the execution。 It reads like the autobiographical one page homework assignments we got in high school。 It's very confessional feeling and I found that off putting; it doesn't read like a published， professional novel。 I don't read short story collections much because usually I'll get 5 and 2 star stories in the same collection。 All of these are a pretty mediocre 2。5 ⭐。 。。。more
relja
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Somewhere inside， these people are all quietly on fire。
Julia
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Fun enjoyed this one。 Would have gotten more out of it with more knowledge of the original stories。
05450003081322
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A fun， quick read。 The stories start off independent but slowly interweave， with gaps and loose threads intentionally left to make the world of the book feel a little off-kilter。 A great introduction for me to some Japanese folk legends I had never heard of。 Pro-woman， pro-ghost， doesn't overstay its welcome， has a gorgeous cover - winning all around。 A fun， quick read。 The stories start off independent but slowly interweave， with gaps and loose threads intentionally left to make the world of the book feel a little off-kilter。 A great introduction for me to some Japanese folk legends I had never heard of。 Pro-woman， pro-ghost， doesn't overstay its welcome， has a gorgeous cover - winning all around。 。。。more
Wahid Kurniawan
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Ini retelling cerita-cerita hantu perempuan di Jepang。 Pespektifnya baru dan segar。 Semangatnya sangat feminist。 Disisipi juga dengan humor-humor kecil yang asyik。 Cerita favoritku: Smartening Up， The Peony Lanters， What She Can Do， sama Where the Wild Ladies Are。
Katie
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How unfair society was！ Male employees had to pretend to be capable of doing things they couldn't do， while female employees had to pretend to be incapable of doing things they actually could do。I'm really enjoying short story collections lately， and I definitely enjoyed this one - there was some interesting social commentary and some great concepts。 How unfair society was！ Male employees had to pretend to be capable of doing things they couldn't do， while female employees had to pretend to be incapable of doing things they actually could do。I'm really enjoying short story collections lately， and I definitely enjoyed this one - there was some interesting social commentary and some great concepts。 。。。more
Katie Cat Books
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Japanese。 Short stories。 Ghosts。Story: Inspired by Japenese folklore， these stories take readers into a more contemporary setting。 Some stories are standalones， while others share common characters。 Language: Translated from Japanese， these stories have a definite female centric theme。 Characters: Ghosts and women， mostly！A fun collection。
Bettine
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It was ok just felt a bit empty
ポピ
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2。5I appreciate what this did but wasn't a book for me。My favourite story was The Jealous Type 2。5I appreciate what this did but wasn't a book for me。My favourite story was The Jealous Type 。。。more
Rebecca
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These quirky feminist retellings of old Japanese tales are fun and entertaining。 I absolutely loved Smarting Up。 How did women get trapped into the obligation of removing hair from their bodies in order present themselves with smooth skin？ The author cleverly links the stories and characters to a mysterious company。 I was very happy to find short synopses of original versions of the stories at the end of the book。 These ghost stories and folk tales are witty instead of scary。
Kathy
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Charming folk tales set in the mundanity of the modern world
Bea
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I'm surprised myself that I would end up giving this book just three stars， but I feel this book was a bit of a letdown。 Maybe it's my own fault for hyping it up in my head， but I had been looking forward to reading it since I'd first heard about it。 For any potential readers: still read it， but maybe just don't overhype it beforehand。 The minor problem is some of the content: it just wasn't as radical or innovative as several of the reviews have made it out to be。 I was looking for a bit more o I'm surprised myself that I would end up giving this book just three stars， but I feel this book was a bit of a letdown。 Maybe it's my own fault for hyping it up in my head， but I had been looking forward to reading it since I'd first heard about it。 For any potential readers: still read it， but maybe just don't overhype it beforehand。 The minor problem is some of the content: it just wasn't as radical or innovative as several of the reviews have made it out to be。 I was looking for a bit more of a spooky atmosphere as well， but the majority of yōkai have been scrubbed down and stuffed into modern corporate settings， which I get is a statement on modern Japan， but after the fourth or fifth story like this， it gets repetitive。 This ended up making it so that most of the characters had the same voice--none really stood out as a unique character （but perhaps this can be chalked up to being a work in translation？）。 I also didn't like how the stories had interconnected characters， as I don't feel it added anything。 As someone of Japanese descent who grew up with stories of yōkai， I was expecting so much more， but maybe I went in with too high expectations and that is unfair to the author。 For some positivity， some of the stories I did enjoy are "The Missing One"， "Smartening Up" and "The Jealous Type"。My bigger gripe is with the translation itself。 Whilst I hate Murakami， his work is translated very well to create atmosphere and flow。 That same quality can be said of Geraldine Harcourt's translations of Yuko Tsushima's books and Ginny Tapley Takemori's translation of "Convenience Store Woman"。 Whilst some of the translation here flowed well， many other parts felt awkward and unsophisticated， as if the translator just worked on one draft。 Other sections seemed to be using the vocabulary of a 14-year old， which also created a disjointed effect with the content of the story。 Additionally， there were too many times where I could spot that the translator was caught up by Japanese vocabulary or syntax， and she ended up using too many awkward transition phrases （like "anyways"， which appeared way too much） that sound clunky in English， or translated using many short sentences in a row， which prevented a good flow of text。 Additionally， I know Barton's translation is intended for the British market， but I think in translation it's necessary to skip out on some regionalisms because they are simply too specific to one country and end up distancing the story from its original setting。 There were also some word choices that clashed entirely with the tone of the story or the character （ie， using words too formal or informal， or strangely dated words for modern characters）。 All in all， I think the translation just needs to be polished。 Anyway， that's my pedantic， negative rant over。 I still recommend this book to anyone interested in Japanese literature or translated literature。 However， be warned that if you were hoping for any sense of spookiness in these stories， that's not here （NPR calls the book 'perfect Hallloween reading'。。。it's not even close）。 And whilst I know that literary translation is not an easy job， I do feel that the translation of these stories could have undergone a few more drafts or second opinions， and I do wonder if the translated version was rushed out for publication because currently Japanese literature （especially by women authors） is very popular。 。。。more
K
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I really enjoyed this collection of Japanese myths and legends retold from a modern and feminist angle。 The stories made me smile， spooked me a little， and taught me a lot。 I recommend it to anyone who likes reading modern "slice of life" stories and spotting little coincidences that are more than coincidences。 I really enjoyed this collection of Japanese myths and legends retold from a modern and feminist angle。 The stories made me smile， spooked me a little， and taught me a lot。 I recommend it to anyone who likes reading modern "slice of life" stories and spotting little coincidences that are more than coincidences。 。。。more
Almaz
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3。5 stars， mostly due to short story format。 Some short stories were 5s tho
Plainqoma
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I think it's understandable to rate a collection of short stories as average。 Out of 17 short stories here， unfortunately only 5 of it really captured my attention。 Where The Wild Ladies Are is a collection of stories which inspired from traditional Japanese ghost and yõkai tales， like kabuki and rakugo。 Matsuda wrote it in her own style with a hint of contemporary feminist retelling and modernized version of this age。 Some of my favourite : The Peony LanternsQuite A Catch The Jealous TypeLoved I think it's understandable to rate a collection of short stories as average。 Out of 17 short stories here， unfortunately only 5 of it really captured my attention。 Where The Wild Ladies Are is a collection of stories which inspired from traditional Japanese ghost and yõkai tales， like kabuki and rakugo。 Matsuda wrote it in her own style with a hint of contemporary feminist retelling and modernized version of this age。 Some of my favourite : The Peony LanternsQuite A Catch The Jealous TypeLoved OneA Fox's Life 。。。more
Starr ❇✌❇
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TW: jealous rage & intimidation， toxic relationships （The Jealous Type）， mentioned rape， threats to infant （Enoki）， mentioned arson/death by fire （Silently Burning）， mentioned sexual harassment/attempted assault （A Day Off） 3As always， short story collections are full of stories that all differ in terms of quality。 I picked up this book because I 1） try to read translated works and 2） really love adaptations of folk tales， mythology， etc。 But I was disappointed in the experience of reading t TW: jealous rage & intimidation， toxic relationships （The Jealous Type）， mentioned rape， threats to infant （Enoki）， mentioned arson/death by fire （Silently Burning）， mentioned sexual harassment/attempted assault （A Day Off） 3As always， short story collections are full of stories that all differ in terms of quality。 I picked up this book because I 1） try to read translated works and 2） really love adaptations of folk tales， mythology， etc。 But I was disappointed in the experience of reading this collection。 My rule of thumb for short stories （what I was taught as a Creative Writing major） was that there needs to be a reason you're seeing this moment in time， and there needs to be some kind of arc; and my rule of thumb for adaptations/stories inspired by others is that you should still be able to enjoy the work even without the context of the source material。Unfortunately， the vast majority of these stories missed all three marks。I'm glad that there's a list of the inspirations for each story， but that occasionally just baffled me more， and， again， most of the time I'd be reading these stories with zero understanding of what was done except an assumption that Matsuda was doing something potentially clever with the source material。This doesn't mean I disliked al of the stories， and I did like where the stories touched each other， sharing characters。 My favorite stories in this collection were "Smartening Up" and "Having a Blast"， both of which were fun， interesting， and meant something to me even without context。 I also liked "Loved One"， but I'm sad we don't get to see if he ever gets to see his cat。If you already know all of the folklore here， you may really enjoy reading this collection picking and choosing from them， and spinning them apart。 But these stories mostly do not have the ability to stand alone。 。。。more
Hayley
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It's rare to find a book of short stories where I enjoy every single tale。 Maybe it's because these are adapted from folklore and I have always loved stories that do that。 Anyhow， I enjoyed learning about Japanese stories and legends I didn't know before， and I always love a good ghost story。 The recurring characters in several of the tales also made for a fun continuity。 It's rare to find a book of short stories where I enjoy every single tale。 Maybe it's because these are adapted from folklore and I have always loved stories that do that。 Anyhow， I enjoyed learning about Japanese stories and legends I didn't know before， and I always love a good ghost story。 The recurring characters in several of the tales also made for a fun continuity。 。。。more
Cindy
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