The English translation of Japanese mystery thriller Strange Buildings by Uketsu has hit the shelves.
Translated by Jim Rion, the book takes place in eleven strange buildings: a lonely hut in the woods, a murder house, a hidden chamber, a mysterious shrine, a home in flames and a nightmarish prison, with each one being a part of a puzzle leading to a horrifying revelation.
This is the second instalment of the Strange Houses series, which blends conventional prose with visual elements (drawings, diagrams, floor plans) that are presented as clues within the text.
Puzzle: The book cover
Author Uketsu is a Japanese YouTuber and author of unknown identity who creates surreal short films and writes mystery and horror fiction.
He appears in public wearing a white papier-mâché mask and a black bodysuit and uses a voice changer to conceal his identity.
In an article, translator Jim expressed his joy in presenting the anonymous writer’s work to a broader audience, after discovering his YouTube videos in 2021 and getting hooked.
“I wanted to bring this very odd, very unusual ouevre to English audiences, and I thought it would sell,” Jim recounted.
“So, around the end of 2022, I put together a little sample of the debut book Strange Houses and author intro for (publisher) Pushkin Vertigo. Sometime in the spring of 2023, Pushkin told me that they had made a successful offer on Uketu’s two books,” he added.
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