#10
Title: Strange Buildings
Author: Uketsu
First published: 2023
Pages: 382
MY RATING: 9.5/10
I had my eye on this book for a while.. kept noticing it every time I went into the bookstore but I realised after I bought it that this book is part of a series and is maybe the second or third book in the series, oops, but unlike other series the books in this one seem like they can be read in isolation or out of order and it won’t take away from the reader’s understanding, immersion and enjoyment of the story
quick summary: the author’s passion lies in uncovering secrets about strange entities in Japan, strange buildings in this book (as per the title). he presents information he has gathered in the form of 11 files about 11 buildings that have a bizarre, often dark or violent truth attached to them, the files containing interviews with people connected to those buildings, book or magazine excerpts etc. the seemingly unrelated buildings and their stories end up being related in a pretty twisted way, which the author and an acute draughtsman figure out and discover after the 11 files are presented, additional interviews in this final part of the book reveal further truths that solve the mystery of the buildings and yeah it was crazy I’m still flabbergasted
I say seemingly unrelated because the buildings are spread out across Japan and the events being investigated in each happened at different times, some events even decades apart
I’m not gonna lie I was hating at first because I thought some dots were kinda connecting in obvious ways between the files and I felt unstimulated, but nothing could have prepared me for the insane way that the 11 buildings all related to each other and painted the chronology and backbone of a single story that was honestly really depressing and messed up
the author is certainly skilled at making a mystery appear easy on the surface but is actually layered and a lot more complex than meets the eye, I fell for it for sure
and then was pleasantly surprised, definitely was on the edge of my seat (my brother’s bed) in the last 40-50 pages where the dots were connecting real fast and also the tragedy that connects the buildings approached completion, the diagrams throughout were also really fun and included stuff like floor plans and family trees
loved this one, wasn’t disappointed
I loved that it captured the darkness that humans can harbour and nurture in their hearts, whether it be greed or lust or a want for revenge, and use it to hurt (or murder) the people closest to them, 9.5/10
If a fantasy book has romance... meh but romance books on their own are so boring
