Yoko Ogawa – Revenge

One of the books I got from the recommendations at NPR’s Book Concierge for 2013 before leaving for the US was Yoko Ogawa‘s Revenge. Famous for her book The Housekeeper and the Professor, she leads the reader through eleven short stories, ranging from slightly queer to really strange, probing the abyss of human crookedness. Ladies growing carrots in the shape of hands, bags hand-made for a heart, murder, suicide, all is there.

In addition, the stories are linked to each other, either by different people’s viewpoint of an incident, or just sheer luck. The author herself appears a few times, too.

All in all very recommendable, unless you are easily disturbed or do not like macabre or dark stories.