published works
"A Robe of Feathers" by Thersa Matsuura
Counterpoint LLC has just released A Robe of Feathers and Other Stories — my debut collection of seventeen dark stories introducing you to that dreamy place in Japan where reality mixes with folklore, superstition, and myth.
Back-of-the-book-blurb:
“In Japan, the line that divides myth from reality is not merely blurred, it is nonexistent. Superstitions, legends, and folk myths are passed down through generations and pervade daily living.
When a child playing near a river fails to return home, it is whispered that she was swept away by an adzuki arai, or Bean Washer. When a man boarding a ship hears the ringing of an unseen insect, it is announced that a funadama (Boat Spirit) is present and so the auspicious harbinger of smooth seas and abundant catch is celebrated. Even something as innocuous as waking up to find your pillow at the foot of your bed is thought to be the trick of a makura gaeshi, otherwise known as a Pillow Turner. Nothing is as simple as it seems. Your neighbor isn’t merely an eccentric old woman—she might very well be a shape-shifting, grudge-harboring Water Sprite.
The Japanese examine life and living with the keenest eyes and the most vivid of imaginations. Thersa Matsuura has captured that essence in this darkly insightful collection illuminating the place where reality falters and slips into the strange and fantastical.”
And this is some of what Publishers Weekly had to say:
A Robe of Feathers: And Other Stories
Thersa Matsuura. Counterpoint (PGW, dist.), $14.95 paper (192p) ISBN 9781582434896
“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 the oni in “The Seed of the Mistake”) or tortured by spiteful gods (like the God of Smallpox in “Yaichiro’s Battle”), it is the humans’ flaws – greed, cowardice, lack of compassion – that make them vulnerable. Matsuura depicts such failings insightfully, and, at her best, reveals them gradually.”
“The captivating stories gathered here offer lively glimpses of Japanese culture, urban and rural, present and past.” (May)
※And here on Shambhala SunSpace you can find one of the stories from the collection, “Yaichiro’s Battle”. It’s a tale about love and loss and the god of small pox.
Touched by Wonder
