A quirky collection of stories that bring to life feminist Japanese ghosts? Oh yes, please.
Where the Wild Ladies Are by Aoko Matsuda are retellings of traditional Japanese folktales. Many feature ghosts and spirits that exist beside still-living humans. Some of those still alive sense their presence, or more, while others are oblivious. Sometimes that is by design, and sometimes that ignorance implies something of the character of those still alive.
Some of the stories are of the slice-of-life variety, showing glimpses of lighthearted or serious observations and caring about other beings. Others are complex, layered contemplations of human character.
The opening story, Smartening Up, is the latter. A woman voices self-affirmative phrases while undergoing a beauty treatment. She shops for just-so things she deems necessary to her exactly right life. At home, enjoying the way she has arranged things physically and mentally, her aunt appears like a thundercloud on a sunny sky. She criticizes everything about her niece's life.
Eventually, the aunt rips the veneer of a satisfied life into shreds. Matsuda uses apt metaphors to describe this as ripping the lid of a Pandora's box or tearing the paper off a package without a thought for decorum. The Pandora's box imagery is used brilliantly at the end to show what the narrator's life has been, and what it may become.
That the transformation is both physical and psychological is reinforced by the aunt's story, and by how empowered the narrator feels by the story's conclusion. Everything fits together as perfectly as the story of Pandora and her box.
And as with all books that strike my fancy, this one features connections. Seeing different aspects of characters as the stories roll along adds to the enchanting style of this book. In both voice and sensibility, Matsuda recalls both Murakami and Saunders while telling her own truths. To be able to smile while reading is a gift that I was able to reclaim, thanks to these wild ladies.