The Crimson Thread of Abandon Stories

Terayama Shuji (Author), Elizabeth L. Armstrong (Translated by), Elizabeth L. Armstrong (Introduction by)

9781937385491

Paperback / softback, published 31 July 2014

175 pages
19.3 x 12.4 x 1.2 cm, 0.162 kg

The crimson thread noted in the title of this book aptly describes the nature of Teriyama’s stories and the interstitial webbing joining them together thematically by the metaphorical twisting together of unrequited love, abandonment, irremediable separation, and disappointment. Told in the manner of fantasy and magic realism, the stories are populated with characters who face the vagaries of fortune, happiness always just out of their reach. Terayama is a realist speaking through the medium of fantasy. The stories are “tales for adults”, and indeed they are written in such a way as to mimic and sometimes parody classic fairy tale style. Yet, these tales are far from traditional in content; rather, they turn our conventional thinking and expectations upside down.

This topsy-turvy world of Terayama is unsettling and disconcerting at times, but his world is, without a doubt, thought provoking.