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Book Review: A Darker Shade of Noir: New Stories of Body Horror by Women Writers edited by Joyce Carol Oates

Cover art for A Darker Shade of Noir edited by Joyce Carol Oates

 

A Darker Shade of Noir: New Stories of Body Horror by Women Writers

Edited by Joyce Carol Oates

Akashic  Books, 2023

ISBN: 978-1636141343

Available: Hardcover, paperback, Kindle edition

Buy:  Bookshop.org | Amazon.com

 

 

A Darker Shade of Noir: New Stories of Body Horror by Women Writers  disturbs the imagination and makes horror reality. Writers Megan Abbott, Margaret Atwood, Aimee Bender, Tananarive Due, Elizabeth Hand, Cassandra Khaw, Sheila Kohler, Aimee LaBrie, Raven Leilani, Lisa Lim, Joanna Margaret, Valerie Martin, Joyce Carol Oates, Lisa Tuttle, and Yumi Dineen Shiroma offer many strange, twisted stories that attest to the diversity of approaches to the genre.

 

Editor Joyce Carol Oates divides these little masterpieces into three sections: “You’ve Created a Monster,” “Morbid Anatomy,” and “Out of Body, Out of Time.” Aimee Bender’s story “Frank Jones” opens the book with the weird creation of a skin tag doll that should not have been taken to the office. Margaret Atwood delves into female anatomy through a snail who suddenly becomes a woman customer service rep in “Metempsychosis, or The Journey of the Soul.” And then we find a new wife, in ““Sydney” by Sheila Kohler, who finds herself in a shocking sexual situation with a gender-bending robot when she ventures into a part of her home that is designated as off limits by her husband.

 

There are often very surprising developments in these stories. In “Concealed Carry” by Lisa Tuttle, Kelly, fresh from London, finds out that there is a strict moral code in Texas that is enforced in a way she could never imagine.  In “Malena” by Joanna Margaret, Laura, who makes sculptures of women with missing body parts, discovers that the artistic “gift inside her” is also literally inside her. In “Dancing with Mirrors” by Lisa Lim,   a beautiful woman addicted to mirrors hides spectacularly murderous veins..

 

In addition to being entertaining, these writers are not afraid to tackle serious issues. “Dancing” by Tananarive Due and “Breathing Exercise” by Raven Leilani grapple with the impact of racism on the mind, body and soul.. Aimee Labrie in “Gross Anatomy”, and Cassandra Khaw in “Muzzle”, deal with physical violence against women. These are stories that head straight to the heart of the matter without becoming entangled in politics and platitudes.

 

Readers truly benefit from iconic writer Joyce Carol Oates’s expert shaping of this excellent collection of stories. There is not one dull moment in this book, and beginning the next story is like the start of a new and darker adventure.

 

Reviewed by Nova Hadley

 

 

 

Posted on April 23, 2024 by , Reply

Graphic Novel Review: Tombs: Junji Ito Story Collection by Junji Ito

Cover art for Tombs: Junji Ito Story Collection by Junji Ito

Tombs: Junji Ito Story Collection by Junji Ito

Viz Media, 2023

ISBN: 9781974736041

Available: Kindle, hardcover

Buy: Bookshop.org | Amazon.com

 

Junji Ito’s Tombs presents a collection of nine original horror manga tales. In the titular story, Kaoru and her brother Tsuyoshi take a trip to visit their mutual friend, Izumi, in her new town. One the way, Tsuyoshi hits a young woman with his car. The siblings load her into the vehicle, only to find out she is dead and they transfer the body to the trunk. When they make it to town, they are perplexed by the random countless tombstones in the middle of the road. A few townspeople explain that they appear where people have died. Izumi corroborates these claims, even showing them tombstones that are inside her family home. The dead are not to be touched.

 

“Clubhouse” is an intriguing haunted house story. Friends Yukari, Chikako, and Minae enter an abandoned building. Minae decides to explore the second floor, while the other two wander the first. Soon after they leave, the friendship between Chikako and Minae deteriorates. Yukari, upset by her friends not speaking anymore, pleads with Chikako to make up with Minae. Chikako, however, has a new group of friends who frequent the haunted house they explored.

 

The “Slug Girl,” poor Yuko, hates these little creatures. She used to be so talkative, but she falls silent when her tongue transforms into, well, a giant slug. She’s tried cutting it off, but it grows back. Can her family and friends help her?

 

In “The Window Next Door,” Hiroshi and his parents move into a new house, where the closest neighbor only has one window on the second floor. Unlucky for him, it’s right across from his bedroom window. In the middle of the night, Hiroshi hears the woman next door calling to him. He is met with a terrifying sight when he looks out his window. She repeats her call to him night after night.

 

“Washed Ashore” is the story of the corpse of a strange, massive sea creature found on a beach. It is mysteriously luring people to it. The scientists studying the monster notice clear patches along the body. A commonality between all of those who are drawn to it is that they are missing loved ones. When bystanders get closer to the body and look closely into the clear patches, they find the unexpected.

 

In “The Strange Tale of the Tunnel,” a town is plagued by disappearances tied to a train tunnel. Goro, whose mother committed suicide in the tunnel when he was young, finds his sister wandering there when she is not watched. A group of scientists starts to study strange occurrences associated with the disappearances, such as strange sounds, unexplained wind, and blood dripping from the stones.

 

“Bronze Statue” is a cautionary tale. Mrs. Sonobe is a jealous woman obsessed with the beauty she has lost. Tsuchiya, a master of working in bronze, made the statues of Mr. and Mrs. Sonobe installed at the local park. Through her statue, she eavesdrops on conversations of the mothers who bring their children to the park, and she doesn’t like what she hears. She unexpectedly invites them for a social to unveil another statue. When their hostess leaves the room, they begin to discuss their honest feelings about the situation. Mrs. Sonobe, of course, doesn’t like this. How far she is willing to go to preserve her beauty in statues knows no bounds, and the women, as well as her bronzeworking miracle man and herself, will find out the lengths she will go before she exhausts her options.

 

In “Floaters,” Ryoichi finds his friend Masao, who has been out of school for a few days, with a bug net at the side of the road. He tells mutual friend, Kyoko, about it, when they see a hairy mass on a tree branch. It shifts in Ryoichi’s hand and starts proclaiming it’s love for Masao…in Masao’s voice. Soon, everyone in town is seeing these things floating around, some stating other townspeople’s secrets and innermost thoughts. The floaters from celebrities become the most coveted to catch and keep

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The last story in this collection is “The Bloody Story of Shirosuna”. Dr. Furuhata moves to a small village where the townsfolk are all weak and emaciated. Perplexed at what could possibly be afflicting everyone in town, he starts an investigation that reveals a disturbing secret.

 

This is a strong addition to the Junji Ito Story Collection series that Viz Media has been releasing. The body horror in all of the stories is up to par with the best of Ito’s work, such as Uzumaki and Gyo. Highly recommended.

 

 

Reviewed by Lizzy Walker

Posted on March 5, 2024 by , Reply

Graphic Novel Review: Fragments of Horror by Junji Ito

Fragments of Horror - Ito, Junji

Fragments of Horror by Junji Ito

Viz Media, 2015

ISBN: 9781540050465

Available: Hardcover, Kindle edition

Buy: Bookshop.org |  Amazon.com

 

 

Junji Ito’s Fragments of Horror, consists of eight original manga horror stories published in Nemuki+ in 2014, created after a hiatus from horror. Tales have a wide range in terms of content and atmosphere.

 

In “Futon,” new wife Madoka is lamenting her husband Tomio’s strange affliction. He refuses to come out from under his futon because of strange visions. Soon, Madoka experiences her own visions. Is there something supernatural going on, or is there a more mundane explanation for the strange occurrences the couple is witnessing?

 

Megumi and her father are quite proud of their old house and accept a new boarder in “Wooden Spirit.” The young woman eventually charms her way into the family, but it isn’t Megumi’s father that is attracting her affection.

 

“Tomio: Red Turtleneck” is one of the strangest stories in this anthology. Tomio returns to his ex-girlfriend Madoka, desperate for help. He has his hands covering his ears when he arrives at her house. At first, she tells him to return to “that woman” when the story turns to three days earlier. We see Madoka breaking up with Tomio for being unfaithful with a fortune teller they consulted. He goes back to the fortuneteller who turns out to have a unique collection, and she wants to add Tomio. If he removes his hands from his head, she will surely get her new addition.

 

“Gentle Goodbye” is a touching story, a departure from Ito’s usual horror fare. Riko, who is afflicted with nightmares of her deceased father, marries Makoto Tokura, although the family disapproves of their marriage. When she sees ghosts in the familial home, Makoto explains that his family has the ability to create afterimages of family members who have passed on. Through this ability, Riko discovers the shocking secret about her own nightmares.

 

In “Dissection-chan,” a class in the dissection lab at Chuo Medical University is preparing to dissect a cadaver. When they open the body bag, however, the body within is not dead. One of the students recognizes her as a childhood friend, and when the young woman realizes who he is, she won’t leave him alone, begging him to cut her open.

 

Rescued and injured hiker Kume is taken to the hospital in “Black Bird.” When he reveals how long he was lost- for a month– nobody can believe it. Then, there is the strange woman who visits him and feeds him every night..

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“Magami Nanakuse” is a somewhat problematic story in this anthology. Kaoru Koketsu finally meets her favorite author, the titular Magami. The author is strangely obsessed with people’s nervous tics and uses them as a sort of muse for their work. They’ve gotten bored with the current run of tics their associates have and needs to find new ones. Hence the reason for Kaoru’s presence. Can Kaoru provide the ultimate tic the author is searching for? The problematic part of the story is that it is revealed the villain is a transgender woman, where the main character exclaims, “She’s a man…?” with a disgusted facial expression. It could also be a look of surprise–it really can be viewed both ways. The character is written as a fairly distasteful person. Regardless, this could have been written without the “man in a dress” stereotype.

 

In “Whispering Woman,” Mayumi cannot make decisions on her own. She requires someone to tell her what to do constantly. Mitsu Uchida has been hired as the girl’s latest attendant. Mitsu has an uncanny ability to be at Mayumi’s side at all times, despite the fact that her health is clearly being effected. Mitsu becomes frail and emaciated, but she is faithful to her charge. What would happen if Mayumi’s external voice fails?

 

Fragments of Horror isn’t my favorite Ito collection. It feels like more of an exercise or warm-up to get back into his rhythm of horror. However, I would recommend this for the Ito completist. There are a few strong chapters, such as “Tomio: Red Turtleneck”, “Gentle Goodbye”, and “Dissection-chan”, so it is worth reading. Just do not expect Ito’s best work in this volume. Recommended.

 

 

Reviewed by Lizzy Walker

Posted on February 9, 2024 by , Reply
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