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Negative Space
Not yet published
Expected 25 Feb 27第149回芥川賞作家が描くシュールでリアルな世界。同じ大学に入学した妹と同居することになった「私」。久しぶりに会った妹は意図的に「私」を無視し続ける。写真部に入部した妹を追うように「私」も入部するが、妹はやめてしまい、やがて奔放な生活を始める。しばらく家を空けていた妹は、戻るなり規則正しい生活を始めた。しかしある日、妹は荷物とともに姿を消してしまい……。中年主婦ＶＳ双子の悪魔を描いた第141回芥川賞候補作「いけにえ」を収録。
- GenresHorror
176 pages, Paperback
First published March 26, 2012
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Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
I started confused and stayed confused for the remainder of the story. But somewhere along the lines I got sucked in and I suppose that’s gotta count for something.
I feel as if this book warrants a re-read now that I have finished to see if my assumption for what is going on is actually what was going on.
Overall, this was definitely an interesting read that had me questioning everything. However, it is definitely speculative and leaves a lot up to the imagination.
Thank you to NetGalley and Pushkin press for gifting me this eARC in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts and comments are my own.
I feel as if this book warrants a re-read now that I have finished to see if my assumption for what is going on is actually what was going on.
Overall, this was definitely an interesting read that had me questioning everything. However, it is definitely speculative and leaves a lot up to the imagination.
Thank you to NetGalley and Pushkin press for gifting me this eARC in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts and comments are my own.
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
Thank you netgalley and publishers for the arc of this book 🖼📸
⏔⏔⏔ ꒰ ᧔ෆ᧓ ꒱ ⏔⏔⏔
I just got done reading this at 2am and someone please tell me what just even happen to me? Like what even happened in these 2 stories? It was so so creepy and mind bending to be but so well done at the same time, one thing Japanese authors know and that is to write a good horror book or storyline, over all a good short creepy novella to read.
⏔⏔⏔ ꒰ ᧔ෆ᧓ ꒱ ⏔⏔⏔
I just got done reading this at 2am and someone please tell me what just even happen to me? Like what even happened in these 2 stories? It was so so creepy and mind bending to be but so well done at the same time, one thing Japanese authors know and that is to write a good horror book or storyline, over all a good short creepy novella to read.
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
Negative Space by Kaori Fujino is an intriguing, quirky and distinctly surreal collection of two stories that prioritises the uncanny and dreamlike over conventional horror.
The title novella follows Emi, a university student whose estranged younger sister unexpectedly moves into her apartment and begins to take over her life, seemingly without acknowledging her existence. As Emi grows more isolated, her physical and psychological deterioration leads the story into increasingly peculiar territory. It becomes an unsettling exploration of identity, family relationships and the gradual erosion of one’s sense of self.
The second story, Burnt Offerings, is equally bizarre. It centres on a woman and a series of strange encounters inside an art museum, where reality feels distorted and events take on a dreamlike, almost absurdist quality laced with dark symbolism.
Although marketed as horror, neither story relies on jump scares or visceral terror. Instead, Fujino creates atmospheres of quiet unease in which ordinary situations slowly slide into the strange without offering clear explanations. The prose is precise and the focus on subtle everyday anxieties is sharp, giving the collection a memorable oddness that sits comfortably in the realm of weird fiction.
As a short collection it can feel somewhat light and fleeting, and the strangeness is sometimes more interesting as a concept than fully satisfying as a reading experience. Readers seeking traditional horror may come away underwhelmed. Those who enjoy experimental, disorientating translated fiction, however, will find an imaginative and atmospheric pair of stories that linger through their sheer peculiarity.
An unusual and original little book — more surreal than frightening, but well worth a look if you appreciate the unconventional.
The title novella follows Emi, a university student whose estranged younger sister unexpectedly moves into her apartment and begins to take over her life, seemingly without acknowledging her existence. As Emi grows more isolated, her physical and psychological deterioration leads the story into increasingly peculiar territory. It becomes an unsettling exploration of identity, family relationships and the gradual erosion of one’s sense of self.
The second story, Burnt Offerings, is equally bizarre. It centres on a woman and a series of strange encounters inside an art museum, where reality feels distorted and events take on a dreamlike, almost absurdist quality laced with dark symbolism.
Although marketed as horror, neither story relies on jump scares or visceral terror. Instead, Fujino creates atmospheres of quiet unease in which ordinary situations slowly slide into the strange without offering clear explanations. The prose is precise and the focus on subtle everyday anxieties is sharp, giving the collection a memorable oddness that sits comfortably in the realm of weird fiction.
As a short collection it can feel somewhat light and fleeting, and the strangeness is sometimes more interesting as a concept than fully satisfying as a reading experience. Readers seeking traditional horror may come away underwhelmed. Those who enjoy experimental, disorientating translated fiction, however, will find an imaginative and atmospheric pair of stories that linger through their sheer peculiarity.
An unusual and original little book — more surreal than frightening, but well worth a look if you appreciate the unconventional.
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
I enjoyed the first story "Negative Space", while finding it a bit predictable. The second offering "Burnt Offerings", wasn't much of anything.
Negative Space: Emi is a university student living a quiet and private life when her younger sister shows up at her flat, moves in, and uniformly ignores Emi. Emi joins the same clubs as her sister for a sense of community, but her sister still ignores her. Emi begins going to the dermatologist regularly, as an old skin condition returns, though nothing seems to work. As Emi's sister creates her life in their apartment, Emi's seems to be in question.
Burnt Offerings: Hisako Sugita has started volunteering at the Municipal Kadono Memorial Art Museum. She only wants to volunteer in the Tomino Okada room, and luckily for her, most of the other volunteers want to stay far away from the room. She is fascinated with two small creatures that seem to reside in the room.
Thank you to NetGalley for an eARC of this collection.
Negative Space: Emi is a university student living a quiet and private life when her younger sister shows up at her flat, moves in, and uniformly ignores Emi. Emi joins the same clubs as her sister for a sense of community, but her sister still ignores her. Emi begins going to the dermatologist regularly, as an old skin condition returns, though nothing seems to work. As Emi's sister creates her life in their apartment, Emi's seems to be in question.
Burnt Offerings: Hisako Sugita has started volunteering at the Municipal Kadono Memorial Art Museum. She only wants to volunteer in the Tomino Okada room, and luckily for her, most of the other volunteers want to stay far away from the room. She is fascinated with two small creatures that seem to reside in the room.
Thank you to NetGalley for an eARC of this collection.
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
This is my second time reading something by Kaori Fujino, and I have a lot of fondness for her work.
Fujino is able to add tension and creeping dread to the most mundane domestic scenes. No matter how her works start, or how ordinary they seem, she always takes her stories to an unexpected place.
Negative Space
The first of the two novellas, Negative Space, focuses on a young woman's relationship with her sister, her skin condition, and a photography club. This is the more obviously feminist of the two works, and although I was a bit puzzled by the ending, I loved the pacing and eerie feelings the novella evoked.
Burnt Offerings
Burnt Offerings is Fujino at her best, as she takes the reader on an unexpected ride. At no point could I guess what was going to happen next!
Thanks to Pushkin Press and NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.
Fujino is able to add tension and creeping dread to the most mundane domestic scenes. No matter how her works start, or how ordinary they seem, she always takes her stories to an unexpected place.
Negative Space
The first of the two novellas, Negative Space, focuses on a young woman's relationship with her sister, her skin condition, and a photography club. This is the more obviously feminist of the two works, and although I was a bit puzzled by the ending, I loved the pacing and eerie feelings the novella evoked.
Burnt Offerings
Burnt Offerings is Fujino at her best, as she takes the reader on an unexpected ride. At no point could I guess what was going to happen next!
Thanks to Pushkin Press and NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
This was creepy. I'm not sure I fully understood what was going on and I went in thinking it was one thing, but by the end, I was wrong. Japanese horror is just so different than regular horror and I absolutely love it. I love it when horror books give me physical creeps and this does especially with the body horror aspects. I felt my skin being very itchy while reading this and I got a little panicked with Emi having to go to the dermatologist constantly. Kaori Fujino is a masterclass in eerie and atmospheric in that aspect for sure. I think I liked Negative Space a bit more than Burnt Offerings, but both short stories are excellent. Thank you so much for the opportunity to read this and expand on my reading in Japanese horror!
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
As a fan of Nails and Eyes, I really rushed to read this new Pushkin Press! Just like the previous novel, both stories in the novel explore the unknown depths of oneself, along with challenges in interpersonal relationships, while cultivating such an eerie atmosphere and sense of dread throughout their narratives.
I'm a lover of how Kaori Fujino has subtle callbacks to Nails and Eyes in Negative Space and how my morbid curiosity is still pondering the entirety of that story...
This is seriously a must-have for your Pushkin Press Novella collection. Thank you so much Pushkin Press US & NetGalley for letting this ghoul have early access to another brilliantly written novel by Kaori Fujino/Kendall Heitzman, in exchange for their honest opinions and thoughts!
I'm a lover of how Kaori Fujino has subtle callbacks to Nails and Eyes in Negative Space and how my morbid curiosity is still pondering the entirety of that story...
This is seriously a must-have for your Pushkin Press Novella collection. Thank you so much Pushkin Press US & NetGalley for letting this ghoul have early access to another brilliantly written novel by Kaori Fujino/Kendall Heitzman, in exchange for their honest opinions and thoughts!
Review of advance copy received from Netgalley
Thanks to Netgalley and Pushkin Press for an early e-copy.
I'm new to Japanese horror and its such an interesting genre.
This book is actually 2 short stories. I'll be honest, I have no idea what happened in either of these. They both succeeded in creating a sense of unease, bordering on dread.
I'm new to Japanese horror and its such an interesting genre.
This book is actually 2 short stories. I'll be honest, I have no idea what happened in either of these. They both succeeded in creating a sense of unease, bordering on dread.
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews