home
"A Robe of Feathers" by Thersa Matsuura
My debut collection, A Robe of Feathers and Other Stories, was just published by Counterpoint LLC.
Some say it’s literary fiction, others dark fantasy. I’ve also heard it labeled magic realism and horror. Me? I’ve decided to make up my own genre (one that includes all the above) and call it dark mythical realism.
Publishers Weekly says:
“Inspired by Japanese folklore, Matsuura’s debut story collection is as clever as the mythical spirits and creatures who romp through her fable-like tales. Although her penchant is for the malevolent and unforgiving, the humans who populate these seventeen stories are seldom innocent victims. Even when led astray by otherworldly tricksters (such as in oni in “The Seed of the Mistake”) or tortured by spiteful gods (like the God of Smallpox in “Yaichiro’s Battle“), it is the human’s flaws–greed, cowardice, lack of compassion–that make them vulnerable. Matsuura depicts such failings insightfully, and, at her best, reveals them gradually.”
