My Review of Japanese Gothic by Kylie Lee Baker

Japanese Gothic by Kylie Lee Baker
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

There’s a little house hidden among the ferns somewhere in southern Japan. Don’t go there.

This is a good book. Just read it and don’t worry too much about reviews or what other people say. If you enjoy a good story with Japanese gothic vibes, give it a try.

I added this book to my reading list after I read Bat Eater and Other Names for Cora Zeng, though the pacing and structure couldn’t be more different. Japanese Gothic takes a bit longer to get going, and it took me a while to realize I was dealing with unreliable narrator(s).

It’s hard to pin this book down to a single genre: mystery, horror, gothic? (Whatever that means. I’m still not entirely sure what makes a novel “gothic” rather than just plain horror. I googled it, but I’m still not 100% convinced.)

I got completely lost in this maze of a book. There are so many themes to explore, along with plenty of emotional depth. I don’t want to spoil too much, but I’ll say I was pleasantly surprised. I’m not sure what I expected, maybe the equivalent of Mexican Gothic set in Japan, or something closer to What Moves the Dead. Instead, it gave me more Cloud Atlas vibes.

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