Let's Talk Books

Strange Pictures was… well… strange. A who-and-why-dunnit unlike anything else I have ever read, I was expecting a truly unsettling mystery, shot through with intrigue, racing inexorably toward a thrilling climax. Instead, I found an occasionally creepy mystery novel, which named its own frustrations, and shifted between narrators with a sometimes confusing rapidity. Whilst I suspect this might be stronger in its original Japanese (sometimes you just know), Strange Pictures had some clever twists amongst its meta and far-fetched plot-lines, and came together in unpredictable but intriguing ways.

Now, I am not one who is usually creeped out by horror novels, let alone thrillers, so I’m not exactly an expert witness when it comes to scare-factor! And (so as not to spoil the story,) I am not going to talk about any of the specifics in this review… so where does that leave us?

Let’s start at the top. Strange Pictures opens by explaining its premise, that the pictures, included through out, can help us understand the mysteries of this story. It’s unique. and it’s not poorly done. The pictures are well rendered, even in my e-copy, and their arrangement and ordering has been considered from the first. 

Then the characters, Uketsu is a master of interiority. Most of this book is inside people’s heads. What they see. What they feel. What they know. And yet the world feels expansive. The web of intrigue seems to spiral out far beyond the view not just of us, the reader, but whomever we are living inside of, and that is addressed. We are reassured that our confusion is allowed, and brought to understanding alongside our host, through clues and interactions.

And finally, the overall… Overall, this book could have been stronger. I wanted to be creeped out. I wanted to be thrilled! But it had strengths, moments of profound impact and creeping fear in an otherwise mysterious and engaging story. 3 stars.