Genre : Science Fiction / Horror Format : Paperback Pages : 230 Published : 1983 Illustrated : Yoshitaka Amano

In the distant past , when the town was still a small mountain village , a young flute maker had thrown himself into the Yubue River , and at times , the murmur of the river sounded like a flute , enticing the girls who walked by . “

Summary : Meet Katagiri , a young kendo practitioner in Japan in a bit of a tough situation . You see the love of his life recently died and on top of that a bunch of gangsters are trying to take him out to prevent him from entering a kendo tournament . Oh , and he has a reporter basically stalking him . Things seem bad right ? Well that stuff is just the side plot for the guy . The main problem is that one day on his walk to his former lover’s grave he encounters a mysterious girl who just happens to have the same name as his dead lover . He thinks it’s weird but moves on until one day she shows up outside his school and all the males fall in love with her . With the exception of our protagonist of course the men all start obsessing with and start hallucinating . On top of all that it looks like the history books are in constant change and butterflies turn into dragons . How does this all connect ? You’ll have to read to find out .

“You saw them . You can see through their clothes , right through to their internal organs . And we haven’t found any kind of light source . And did you see the color of the light ? If they are dolls , I bet they aren’t made of anything that can be found on this planet . “

Review : This is one part traditional ghost story , one part crime drama , and one part Lovecraftian nightmare . It’s very good at getting you to question everything going on . I would say this is one of the more unique stories . I’ve read and would recommend it to anyone with a taste for weirdness .

“For Katagiri , the thing in front of him at this moment was naught but a mere opponent . It did not matter what the shape . If his sword did not strike true , he would be defeated . That was all . The only difference between Katagiri and other people was whether or not they could remain fearless in light of this fact – that was all . “

Recommendations : Books

1. A Wind Named Amnesia by Hideyuki Kikuchi
2. The Colour out of Space by H.P. Lovecraft
3. Phantoms by Dean Koontz
4. The Great and Secret Show by Clive Barker
5. The Dark Half by Stephen King

Songs

1. Jeanie with the Light Brown Hair – Stephen C. Foster
2. E.T.I. – Blue Oyster Cult
3. Hymne A L’amour – Edith Piaf
4. Cold Ethyl – Alice Cooper
5. Obsession – Animotion

Movies

1. A Wind Named Amnesia (1993)
2. Stage Coach (1939)
3. House of Dracula (1945)
4. Picnic (1955)
5. Color Out of Space (2019)

Story Lesson : Don’t talk to girls you just met near a graveyard . Especially if she has the same name as your dead girlfriend .