These spine-tingling tales include the strange story of a quadruple amputee and his perverse wife; the record of a man who creates a mysterious chamber of mirrors and discovers hidden pleasures within; the morbid confessions of a maniac who envisions a career of foolproof psychological murders; and the bizarre tale of a chair-maker who buries himself inside an armchair and enjoys the sordid loves of the women who sit on his handiwork. Lucid and packed with suspense, the stories of Edogawa Rampo have enthralled Japanese readers for over half a century.
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YOSHIKO SAW HER HUSBAND OFF to his work at the Foreign Office at a little past ten o'clock. Read the first page
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YOSHIKO SAW HER HUSBAND OFF to his work at the Foreign Office at a little past ten o'clock. Read the first page
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
5 of 10 people found the following review helpful
By A Customer
Format:Mass Market Paperback
Rampo's stories are startling and disquieting. He also has the taste for the bizarre (the Human Chair). His tales demonstrate the lengths that human beings will seek out or succumb to evil.
Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta)
Amazon.com:
4.3 out of 5 stars
13 reviews
30 of 30 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars
Japanese Wierd Tales
19 Oct 2004
By Zack Davisson
- Published on Amazon.com
Format:Mass Market Paperback
I can think of few more truly disturbing stories than Edogawa Rampo's "The Chair." A psychologically fable describing in minute detail how a master furniture maker, obsessed with an unachievable woman, creates a chair with himself hidden inside. This chair is given to the woman, and each time she sits in it she nestles unknowingly in his lap, puts her weight onto him, lays her head against his face. The furniture maker silently feels her every night, without her ever knowing. The atmosphere, the detail of the language, and the sheer nature of the story combine for one of the classics of this genre.
"The Chair" is of course included in "Japanese Tales of Mystery & Imagination," a compilation by the father of Japanese mystery writing. Much is made of his adopting the Japanese pronunciation of Edgar Allan Poe as his pen name, but Rampo's style is his own. He favors psychological horror, and there are few elements of the supernatural to be found. Sociopaths and obsessives seem to be his stock in trade, with detailed exercises on how to commit the perfect, untraceable murder. Many of the stories end with some unexpected revelation, although I would not call it a "twist ending." The obsessive nature of the stories renders them all the more disturbing, as almost every story is something that could conceivably happen.
In addition to the excellent "The Chair," you will find "The Caterpillar" featuring a cruel wife's abuse of her de-limbed husband, "The Cliff," a back-and-forth story that will leave you wondering who is manipulating who, "The Hell of Mirrors," a man obsessed with optics and reflecting surfaces descent into insanity, "The Red Chamber," revealing the true nature of those who are attracted to stories of others deaths, "The Two Crippled Men," a story of a murderous sleepwalker who commits crimes without ever knowing it and "The Traveler with the Pasted Rag Picture," the only story with a supernatural twinge, showing brotherly devotion and love of the unreal.
Each story in "Japanese Tales of Mystery & Imagination" is well-selected, and James B. Harris does a fine job with the translation, maintaining the tension and original intention. The only real shame is that this is the only collection of Rampo's works that has been translated into English. After reading this you will long for more.
"The Chair" is of course included in "Japanese Tales of Mystery & Imagination," a compilation by the father of Japanese mystery writing. Much is made of his adopting the Japanese pronunciation of Edgar Allan Poe as his pen name, but Rampo's style is his own. He favors psychological horror, and there are few elements of the supernatural to be found. Sociopaths and obsessives seem to be his stock in trade, with detailed exercises on how to commit the perfect, untraceable murder. Many of the stories end with some unexpected revelation, although I would not call it a "twist ending." The obsessive nature of the stories renders them all the more disturbing, as almost every story is something that could conceivably happen.
In addition to the excellent "The Chair," you will find "The Caterpillar" featuring a cruel wife's abuse of her de-limbed husband, "The Cliff," a back-and-forth story that will leave you wondering who is manipulating who, "The Hell of Mirrors," a man obsessed with optics and reflecting surfaces descent into insanity, "The Red Chamber," revealing the true nature of those who are attracted to stories of others deaths, "The Two Crippled Men," a story of a murderous sleepwalker who commits crimes without ever knowing it and "The Traveler with the Pasted Rag Picture," the only story with a supernatural twinge, showing brotherly devotion and love of the unreal.
Each story in "Japanese Tales of Mystery & Imagination" is well-selected, and James B. Harris does a fine job with the translation, maintaining the tension and original intention. The only real shame is that this is the only collection of Rampo's works that has been translated into English. After reading this you will long for more.
22 of 23 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars
A wonderful collection of stories!
18 April 2004
By maxmasa31
- Published on Amazon.com
Format:Mass Market Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
I am a huge Japanophile and a lover of dark tales of mystery and I found that this book is the best of both worlds. After reading these stories, I pulled out my dusty old collection of Poe stories and started reading them all over. The translations are excellent (despite a few questionable spellings) and the overall feel of the novel is very Poe-esque (undoubtedly because Edogawa Ranpo, himself, assisted the translator in the creation of this collection).
While a few reviewers have criticized Edogawa Ranpo for his stories lacking Poe's feel for the dark horror novel, one must know that Edogawa Ranpo is regarded as the father of the Japanese MYSTERY novel, not horror. So, for anyone hoping to get a good scare from this book, you will be let down.
But, with that said, the stories are wonderful and I, quite honestly, would have forgotten that the stories were set in Japan if not for character names. A beautiful collection of dark mysteries that would please fans of Poe's "The Purloined Letter" and "The Tell-Tale Heart," but not necessarily fans of "The Pit and the Pendulum."
I highly recommend this book to fans of Japanese literature, those who like the "Kindaichi Case Files" (Kindaichi Shounen no Jikenbo) and fans of a good mystery.
8 of 9 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars
Weird Fiction that deserves recognition
9 Sep 2006
By R. Benardes
- Published on Amazon.com
Format:Mass Market Paperback
First let me say that I picked this volume up with low expectations and now I must say that I'm deeply impressed.Here is a writer whose vision is entirely his own, his style succint and easy to understand.
Although frequently labelled as a mystery writer, Rampo`s short stories are best viewed as weird fiction with pulp mystery flavour.
All stories are worth reading but THE HUMAN CHAIR is an undisputed masterpiece and in my humble opinion one of the best weird short stories ever written
Edogawa Rampo is an original and deserves recognition and a larger audience.
THE JAPANESE TALES OF MYSTERY AND IMAGINATION:
The Human Chair ======================== *****
Psychological Test ===================== ***
The Caterpillar ======================== *****
The Cliff ============================== ****
The Hell Of Mirrors ==================== *****
The Twins ============================== ****
The Red Chamber ======================== ***1/2
The Two Cripple Man ==================== ***1/2
The Traveller with the Pasted... ======= ***1/2
Although frequently labelled as a mystery writer, Rampo`s short stories are best viewed as weird fiction with pulp mystery flavour.
All stories are worth reading but THE HUMAN CHAIR is an undisputed masterpiece and in my humble opinion one of the best weird short stories ever written
Edogawa Rampo is an original and deserves recognition and a larger audience.
THE JAPANESE TALES OF MYSTERY AND IMAGINATION:
The Human Chair ======================== *****
Psychological Test ===================== ***
The Caterpillar ======================== *****
The Cliff ============================== ****
The Hell Of Mirrors ==================== *****
The Twins ============================== ****
The Red Chamber ======================== ***1/2
The Two Cripple Man ==================== ***1/2
The Traveller with the Pasted... ======= ***1/2
›
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4.3 out of 5 stars
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