Hirai Tarō (平井 太郎), better known by the pseudonym Rampo Edogawa ( 江戸川 乱歩), sometimes romanized as "Ranpo Edogawa", was a Japanese author and critic who played a major role in the development of Japanese mystery fiction.
This is a very morbid horror story. I am at a loss for words. Every paragraph I read, the more graphic the depictions of "the caterpillar" got. I really felt the emotions from each page and couldn't help but feel like I was there. I feel bad for both the main characters in this story, and I just wish a compromise was made within the story much sooner so the wife did not have to struggle as much as she did, not to mention how much the husband went through. I usually do not like body horror and stray away from it, but this was done really well.
Until I read this story, I never bothered to sit through the psychological effects people had during wartime. Still, this is a strange tale that will lead to multiple interpretations. To me, despite the discriminatory language Ranpo used, it is extremely important to keep track of historical contexts while reading.
Not an enjoyable read, yet fascinating flow of words to keep you on the edge.
Cerpen yang dark & disturbing. Nggak terlalu horror sih, tapi lebih pada perasaan nggak nyaman yang entah kenapa bikin mual.
Yang bikin cerpen ini menarik adalah mengambil sudut pandang yang berbeda dari cerita-cerita pada umumnya. Di sini diperlihatkan sudut pandang seorang istri yang kelelahan mental akibat merawat suami yang cacat, sampai-sampai sang istri merasa ada kepuasan tersendiri menyiksa sang suami.
Untuk endingnya sih sesuai prediksi ya. Cerita yang menarik, namun kalau ditanya apa bakal baca ini lagi, sepertinya tidak.
its a sad and [mostly] pretty drawn story. the only "horror" parts are her dreams to be fair, otherwise is only sex between a nondisabled and a disabled person, and maybe the horrors of war.