Strange Pictures by Uketsu

 

Synopsis From Flap:

A pregnant woman's sketches on a seemingly innocuous blog conceal a chilling warning. 

A child's picture of his home contains a dark secret message.

A sketch by a murder victim in his final moments leads an amateur sleuth down a rabbit hole that will reveal a horrifying reality. 

Strange Pictures is Uketsu's first book, which I didn’t know when I read Strange Houses. On the face of it, they aren’t connected in any way, so the reading order doesn’t matter. That said, had I read Strange Pictures first, I'm not totally sure I would have picked up the second book—which would have been a shame, since I really enjoyed Strange Houses.

I'm not saying I didn’t like Strange Pictures; I'm just not sure I liked it enough to continue with the author's writing style—a judgment I'm not completely sure would have been fair. That’s the dilemma with translated work. Some of what I may not be fully connecting with could be due to tonal and cultural markers that are hard to translate from one language to another, especially when the two languages don’t share a common linguistic origin, like Japanese and English. Because of that, I try my damndest to go into a translated work with an open mind and an understanding that I may be missing something.

That said, I loved how twisted and interconnected the overarching story becomes as its many tributaries come together. What seems at first to be three separate stories, taking place on overlapping timelines that aren’t clear from the beginning, becomes a singular tale of murders most foul. In that, I think the author ingeniously wove this tapestry of a story—pictures and all.

What didn’t work for me was how exposition-heavy the storytelling became. At times, it felt like the author was walking me through every connection, explaining how the pieces fit rather than letting me discover it for myself. I don’t mind a bit of guidance, but I don’t want to feel guided. I wish there had been a lighter touch. And that’s where my dilemma lies: how much of that heavy-handedness comes from the author, and how much might be a byproduct of translation?

If you like twisted little mysteries, Strange Pictures is absolutely worth picking up. However, if you're only willing to try one of his two current books, I'd recommend you pick up Strange Houses instead.

Strange Houses by Uketsu

Unatural layouts, trap doors, and windowless rooms - a sinister conspiracy is concealed within a house's warped and unsettling floor plans. 

I'm an impulse buyer. When I go grocery shopping, I'll end up with fifteen things I never planned on getting. I've tried an abundant amount of chip and Oreo flavors this way. As I've aged, I've tried to get those impulses under control to limited success. With bigger items, say a coat that looks like a watercolor of a birch forest, I'll walk away to ponder things over for a day or two. For the record, I wear that coat a lot. 

It should come as no surprise that my lack of impulse control isn't constrained to the grocery store, put me in a

book store and all the samplings start looking like the newest flavor of Lays. It's why I'm trying my damndest to stay out book stores as much as I can. Long story short, I saw Strange Houses by Uketsu on a cute little side table in the east side Barnes & Noble and knew instantly that I needed to take it home. 

Don't get me wrong, when I see a blurb touting how sensational a book is, I'm always a little skeptical. Nevertheless this little guy came home with me and I loved every second of it. I wasn't sure what to expect, but what I got was a fiendishly clever murder mystery that had me second guessing myself a couple of times. 

Our narrator is approached by a friend who while shopping for a new home for his young family comes across a house that despite its attributes, left him feeling off. With the help of a draftsman friend, our narrator dives into the mystery of the house and the sinister reason behind its design. 

There isn't a lot I want to divulge regarding the nature of the mystery or the way it plays out, mainly because I think it's best for readers to discover it for themselves. What I will say is I enjoyed the heck out of the journey and I'm really looking forward to reading more of this author.