In addition, unexpected twists increase the sense of the uncanny. For example, the carrots in the previous example are referred to in two later tales. Ogawa also links each tale through small continuities. J,” otherwise fairly ordinary at that point, vague overtones of cannibalism. Ogawa’s art for making the everyday uncanny also marks each tale, with examples ranging from lines like “I could sense the trembling of the kiwis” (31) to the depiction of hand-shaped carrots that, when chopped for salad, give the story “Old Mrs. Ogawa rarely describes these narrators physically rather, we generally see the world only through their sometimes unreliable perspective. Each tale is written in the first person, though each has a unique narrator. Ogawa masterfully achieves this sense of commonality through 1) the similarities in each individual tale’s construction and 2)the tone that she builds throughout the whole collection. Ironically, however, Revenge shows that this suffering, though ineffable for each individual character, is common to all. Thus stifled, Ogawa’s characters are overtaken by the metaphorical, titular “poison plants” of the collection’s final tale, and Revenge showcases the toxicity of internalized suffering. But Revenge does more than simply shock for shock’s sake, for the characters’ base instincts grow from a common seed: an oppressive sense that they can never fully share the longing, grief, or disappointments that arise not only from extraordinary situations but also from everyday life. Why bother? Because it keeps them from getting out.” Certainly, on an individual level, Ogawa’s jealous lovers, murderers, and mourners each succumb to their own base instincts.

It is morbidity unchained, our most base instincts let free. It deliberately appeals to all that is worst in us.

Stephen King wrote that “the mythic horror movie. The purpose behind the Gothic tone of Ogawa’s collection compares, in part, to that of the horror genre. The blurb on the interior cover of Yoko Ogawa’s Revenge: Eleven Dark Tales appeals in sensationalist terms, highlighting “jealous lover,” “violent envy,” and “murderers and mourners,” all appeals that engage with the same enduring interest that drives the popularity of crime shows and romantic dramas.

Revenge yoko ogawa review