Margaret Atwood's first collection of short stories in almost a decade is a dazzling mixture of tales showcasing her imagination and humor — and exploring everything from love to the afterlife.
(Image credit: Doubleday)
UnCovered review by Samantha LeRoy, ACLS Mays Landing Branch
There’s a reason Junji Ito is considered the king of horror manga and nowhere clearer is this proven than in UZUMAKI.
Perhaps Ito’s most famous and recognizable work, UZUMAKI chronicles the horrific downfall of Kurouzu-cho, a small, somewhat isolated town in Japan sandwiched between the mountains and the sea. What brings down this community? A serial killer? A demon? A spiral. The town is cursed by the shape. Some characters become entranced and obsessed with the shape, some develop horrible, debilitating phobias. Some turn into literal spirals themselves (amongst many other things)! On the surface, this seems like a pretty silly concept for a book, but Junji Ito’s writing and artwork forces the reader to take it seriously. Each chapter is a story in itself and with each story the book gets more and more disturbing and grotesque until the entire town and all its inhabitants succumb to the horror. Ito’s art style is as striking and dark as his imagination, but its captivating all the same. The body horror in this book will make you cringe in discomfort, but it’s rendered in such stunning detail you can’t look away. Chapter 8: the Snail literally made my jaw drop in shock, and one panel in chapter 11 scared me so much, I had to cover it with my own hand. Each story never ends the way you think it will, which keeps up the momentum of the book and makes you more excited for each chapter.
If you’re a horror fan and maybe are
wanting to take a break from American horror, UZUMAKI is required reading.
Maki Kashimada's work is a fascinating exploration of the sources of our own cruelty and our level of individual agency when healing from trauma.
(Image credit: Europa Editions)
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