Prelude, Puzzle and Premonition

Even the smallest unsettling gut feeling works as a precaution for unwanted occurrences. Uketsu, the anonymous writer and a macabre enthusiast, fictionalizes himself as the protagonist in the novel Strange Houses, where he is introduced to a series of unpleasant experiences in several houses through his acquaintances. The architectural design, floor planning, and interior of these certain houses give the idea of an unconventional way of reconsidering spaces, highlighting the psychological factors that influence people in terms of comfort and safety. 

Chapter one opens up with Yanaoka, a friend of the author (Uketsu), who decides to search for a new house since he and his wife are preparing to welcome their first child. They come across a beautiful house near a suburban area in Tokyo with spacious features that they easily fall in love with. However, what seemed to concern them was the uncanny floor plan containing "dead space" between the kitchen and living room. 

Is it intentional? Or simply just a coincidence? The author indicates, "It was nothing that would affect the couple if they lived there, but something about it felt unsettling." Together with Kurihara, an architect acquaintance, the author unravels the floor plan, which looks deceptively normal until they further inspect it and find out the history connected to the house. 

Uketsu's work is notably impressive since the narration is engaging in a distinct manner. There are detailed visual layouts of floor plans through which the readers are able to solve the mystery alongside the characters. The house itself is a puzzle, as the unnecessary and inaccessible empty spaces or even hidden rooms hint for further investigation. From architectural layout to superstitious customs, the novel eventually connects all the scattered dots. The story suggests how even the most normal-looking safe space can have eerie secrets. 

Although there are several twists that can easily captivate the readers; what breaks the flow of immersion is how linear the mystery solving is. The narrative shows how discussions among the characters who are diligently solving the mystery presumes the plot accurately without any difficulties or being wrong about their assumptions. Also, the assumptions they make seems to be extremely far-fetched—something the protagonist acknowledges in the novel several times. 

But in the end, that doesn't entirely diminish the quality of the narration. Uketsu captivates the reader until the very end with eerie suspense. This novel is for those who enjoy strange unraveling of mysteries with several plot twists, the kind of creepy feeling that lasts long after you've finished the book. 

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The structure of the novel is quite simple, containing dialogues between the author and other characters, yet this simplicity builds the intensity. Also, the flow of the novel is perfectly preserved by translator Jim Rion, whose prior collaborations with Uketsu, such as Strange Pictures, reveal his understanding of the tone used by the writer. The mood is always clear and isn't lost in translation. Strange Houses fits perfectly into this type of genre. For curious investigators fascinated by the dark and those who relish the eerie, the uncanny, and the morbid.

Juhi Rubaba Jurana Jahan is a writer, creative enthusiast, and someone who lives through art.