"It's not just Murakami but also the shadow of Borges that hovers over
this mesmerizing book... [and] one may detect a slight bow to the
American macabre of E.A. Poe. Ogawa stands on the shoulders of giants,
as another saying goes. But this collection may linger in your mind --
it does in mine -- as a delicious, perplexing, absorbing and somehow
singular experience." --Alan Cheuse, NPR
Sinister forces collide---and unite a host of desperate characters---in
this eerie cycle of interwoven tales from Yoko Ogawa, the critically
acclaimed author of The Housekeeper and the Professor.
An aspiring writer moves into a new apartment and discovers that her
landlady has murdered her husband. Elsewhere, an accomplished surgeon is
approached by a cabaret singer, whose beautiful appearance belies the
grotesque condition of her heart. And while the surgeon's jealous lover
vows to kill him, a violent envy also stirs in the soul of a lonely
craftsman. Desire meets with impulse and erupts, attracting the
attention of the surgeon's neighbor---who is drawn to a decaying
residence that is now home to instruments of human torture. Murderers
and mourners, mothers and children, lovers and innocent
bystanders---their fates converge in an ominous and darkly beautiful
web.
Yoko Ogawa's Revenge is a master class in the macabre that will haunt
you to the last page.
An NPR Best Book of 2013
