Things that go bump in the night...
This is an original English-language ghost story set in contemporary Japan, involving only Japanese characters. The time period is around the mid-nineties, before the advent of mobile phones and the Internet. It concerns university-age students who plan to stay a night in a large farmhouse in rural Japan, during the winter season. Initially, focus falls on Eri's relationship with her boyfriend Toru. This story possesses elements of the ghost story genre, but it is also a study in human interaction and behaviour. This is a novella.
Yes, it was the first work I produced via Snowchild Press, but I have since issued a second edition. Unlike the first, the second edition can now be sold, appropriately, on Amazon Japan. Furthermore, the new edition carries a Postscript which provides some background information on the origins of the story and my interest in buildings like the one pictured above, Japanese 'minka', or farmhouse. Below are a few extra pictures I took, which may help to enhance the image in the story. These pictures are taken at either Nihon Minka-En in Kawasaki, or at the Ugakubunko house in Isehara, Kanagawa.
Testimonials & news...
Review in Publishers Weekly, October 30th, 2017:
'Eri, the heroine of Connolly’s haunting novella set in contemporary Japan, feels neglected by her boyfriend, Toru, a convenience store employee whose priority always seems to be his job. He disappoints again when he can’t join her on a planned get-together with friends on an unnamed mountain, increasing her fears that he will become enslaved to his work. As Naoko, a friend of Eri’s, has warned, “even the best men, with the very best intentions, would ultimately fall into the arms of his company rather than into the arms of his wife.” Eri sets out on her own to the remote house where her friends are gathering, but soon rues her decision. Her solitary trek up the silent and isolated mountain leaves her feeling vulnerable, at risk of being buried by the snow. Her anxieties increase when she reaches her destination, only to find it empty but for the sound of unintelligible whispers. Connolly does a good job keeping the reader off-balance throughout this enigmatic, ambiguous tale.' (BookLife) Click here for link to article.
'Eri, the heroine of Connolly’s haunting novella set in contemporary Japan, feels neglected by her boyfriend, Toru, a convenience store employee whose priority always seems to be his job. He disappoints again when he can’t join her on a planned get-together with friends on an unnamed mountain, increasing her fears that he will become enslaved to his work. As Naoko, a friend of Eri’s, has warned, “even the best men, with the very best intentions, would ultimately fall into the arms of his company rather than into the arms of his wife.” Eri sets out on her own to the remote house where her friends are gathering, but soon rues her decision. Her solitary trek up the silent and isolated mountain leaves her feeling vulnerable, at risk of being buried by the snow. Her anxieties increase when she reaches her destination, only to find it empty but for the sound of unintelligible whispers. Connolly does a good job keeping the reader off-balance throughout this enigmatic, ambiguous tale.' (BookLife) Click here for link to article.
Short Eri Film on YouTube (captures the atmosphere of the setting and the story)
From Tsurumi University Emeritus Professor Kunio Mori:
“At the beginning, the story seems to be a love story of young people, but it gradually becomes a psychological novella, in which the thoughts and perceptions of the main character, Eri, become the major content. The manner of the author seems to have a touch of Henry James’ The Turn of Screw, which is sometimes considered as a ghost story. But I think both stories are essentially psychological stories, concerned with the characters' psychology mainly- each character’s doubt, anxiety, fear, relief -where the stream of consciousness narrative, often detailed and descriptive, is very effective. After detailed descriptions of Eri’s pyschological take on things- like the nightmarish confused communication with her friends- the story develops towards an unexpected ending.
The author sets his story in modern Japan, just before the mobile phone era. Yet, there are also many traditional Japanese elements on display here, like “shoji,””fusuma,” and so on, in addition to the cover of the book design “ tatami. This is Japan, but it is the focus on the characters' pyshological aspects which give the story an almost placeless feel. This novella is a very well-designed contemporary psychological story.”
“At the beginning, the story seems to be a love story of young people, but it gradually becomes a psychological novella, in which the thoughts and perceptions of the main character, Eri, become the major content. The manner of the author seems to have a touch of Henry James’ The Turn of Screw, which is sometimes considered as a ghost story. But I think both stories are essentially psychological stories, concerned with the characters' psychology mainly- each character’s doubt, anxiety, fear, relief -where the stream of consciousness narrative, often detailed and descriptive, is very effective. After detailed descriptions of Eri’s pyschological take on things- like the nightmarish confused communication with her friends- the story develops towards an unexpected ending.
The author sets his story in modern Japan, just before the mobile phone era. Yet, there are also many traditional Japanese elements on display here, like “shoji,””fusuma,” and so on, in addition to the cover of the book design “ tatami. This is Japan, but it is the focus on the characters' pyshological aspects which give the story an almost placeless feel. This novella is a very well-designed contemporary psychological story.”