{"product_id":"where-the-wild-ladies-are-9781593766900","title":"Where the Wild Ladies Are","description":"\u003cb\u003eIn this \"delightfully uncanny\" collection of feminist retellings of traditional Japanese folktales (\u003ci\u003eThe New York Times Book Review\u003c\/i\u003e), humans live side by side with spirits who provide a variety of useful services--from truth-telling to babysitting, from protecting castles to fighting crime.\u003c\/b\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eA busybody aunt who disapproves of hair removal; a pair of door-to-door saleswomen hawking portable lanterns; a cheerful lover who visits every night to take a luxurious bath; a silent house-caller who babysits and cleans while a single mother is out working. \u003ci\u003eWhere the Wild Ladies Are\u003c\/i\u003e is populated by these and many other spirited women--who also happen to be ghosts. This is a realm in which jealousy, stubbornness, and other excessive \"feminine\" passions are not to be feared or suppressed, but rather cultivated; and, chances are, a man named Mr. Tei will notice your talents and recruit you, dead or alive (preferably dead), to join his mysterious company. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eWith \u003ci\u003eWhere the Wild Ladies Are\u003c\/i\u003e, Aoko Matsuda takes the rich, millenia-old tradition of Japanese folktales--shapeshifting wives and foxes, magical trees and wells--and wholly reinvents them, presenting a world in which humans are consoled, guided, challenged, and transformed by the only sometimes visible forces that surround them.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAbout the Author\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAoko Matsuda\u003c\/b\u003e is a writer and translator. In 2013, her debut book, \u003ci\u003eStackable\u003c\/i\u003e, was nominated for the Yukio Mishima Prize and the Noma Literary New Face Prize. Her novella \u003ci\u003eThe Girl Who Is Getting Married\u003c\/i\u003e was published by Strangers Press in the UK in 2016. In 2019, her short story \"The Woman Dies\" was shortlisted for a Shirley Jackson Award. She has translated work by Karen Russell, Amelia Gray, and Carmen Maria Machado into Japanese. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cb\u003ePolly Barton \u003c\/b\u003eis a translator of Japanese literature and nonfiction, currently based in Bristol, UK. Her book-length translations include \u003ci\u003eFriendship for Grown-Ups\u003c\/i\u003e by Nao-cola Yamazaki, \u003ci\u003eMikumari\u003c\/i\u003e by Misumi Kubo and \u003ci\u003eSpring Garden\u003c\/i\u003e by Tomoka Shibasaki. She has translated short stories for \u003ci\u003eWords Without Borders, The White Review\u003c\/i\u003e, and \u003ci\u003eGranta\u003c\/i\u003e. After being awarded the 2019 Fitzcarraldo Editions Essay Prize, she is currently working on a nonfiction book entitled \u003ci\u003eFifty Sounds\u003c\/i\u003e.\u003cbr\u003e","brand":"Soft Skull","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":50611657572626,"sku":"9781593766900","price":12.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0831\/4771\/8930\/files\/img_9495f8a6-f635-4f30-b051-36e76c6362ed.jpg?v=1732365163","url":"https:\/\/surprise-castle.myshopify.com\/products\/where-the-wild-ladies-are-9781593766900","provider":"Surprise Castle","version":"1.0","type":"link"}