ZOO is a translated collection of short horror stories by Japanese writer Otsuichi.
The stories range in length from half a dozen chapters to just a couple of pages, but they all have one thing in common: they all challenged my preconceptions of the horror genre. There is a brilliant quote in the afterword by Amelia Beamer that sums this up well:
“So here’s what I know about horror: it’s a genre without rules.”
That’s definitely what it felt like reading through ZOO. Otsuichi was making up his own rules, with such interesting results.
Most of the stories in the collection are very well written, and most of them have a twist or two. One of the first stories is ‘In A Falling Plane’, about two passengers haggling over the price of a euthanasia drug while their plane is being hijacked. I particularly enjoyed the slither of humour with the rolling can that kept tripping up those who tried to tackle the gunman. That’s a feature of the collection that I feel is very unique – most stories have an injection of humour into them, which makes for an interesting contrast alongside some quite gruesome themes.
My favourite story was ‘Song Of the Sunny Spot’. I would say it is more science fiction than horror, and is about a synthetic being who is created to care for a dying man. As time goes on, the android develops through their lived experiences, and begins to understand what death really means. It was an exceptionally good and thought-provoking short story, with a hell of a twist!
Another favourite of mine was ‘Kazari and Yoki’. It is a sad tale of twins who are not equally loved by their mother, which ends in tragedy – though not how you would expect. This was a gritty story of abuse in the home and though it can’t be considered horror in the traditional sense, it is still a chilling tale of inequality.
The collection is not for the faint-hearted. Some stories made me flinch, others I simply had to tell someone about, as they were just too shocking to keep to myself. It isn’t a perfect short story collection, and there were a few stories that I skimmed through, and one that I didn’t finish. Nevertheless, ZOO definitely stands out, and I recommend it to any horror fans out there who want to tackle something a little different.
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