Izumi Suzuki, who died in 1986, wrote stories full of black comedy. In Hit Parade of Tears, just published by Verso Press, Suzuki delivers a series of mind-bending stories. I loved “Trial Witch” where a woman is given powers to transform people and things into radically different objects. I also liked “Full of Malice” which explores the possibility of a woman falling in love with an extraterrestrial.
That theme gets more play in “The Covenant,” a story about adolescent girls whose lack of emotions leads them to believe they may be extraterrestrial rather than human. The male characters in these stories are typically drones who cheat on their girlfriends and wives.
Suzuki’s misanthropic view of human relationships powers these narratives of women whose placid lives are impacted, sometimes comicly, sometimes disastrously, by weird or supernatural incidents. If you’re looking for something different, you’ll find it in Hit Parade of Tears. GRADE: B
TABLE OF CONTENTS:
| My Guy 137 | 1 |
| Trial Witch | 25 |
| Full of Malice | 47 |
| After Everything | 113 |
| THE COVENANT | 117 |
| The Walker | 157 |
| Softly, as in a Morning Sunrise | 163 |
| Memory of Water | 191 |
| I’ll Never Forget | 219 |
| Hit Parade of Tears | 255 |
Izumi rings a Very faint bell, but I’lm pretty sure I haven’t read any. I’ll have to Go Look when (I assume) the fiction was first offered in English…
Todd, HIT PARADE OF TEARS is the second collection of Izumi Suzuki’s works that have been translated into English.
Interesting, George. How do you hear about them all?
Patti, there was a review in the NEW YORK TIMES BOOK REVIEW of HIT PARADE OF TEARS that motivated me to read it. Glad I did!
Never heard of Izumi either. Sounds interesting, if possibly depressing.
Jeff, yes, some of the stories are down-beat. In 1986, Suzuki committed suicide at the age of thirty-six by hanging herself at home.
As usual, George uncovers a writer I’ve never heard of (my claim to be well-read is hanging its head in the corner). While I’m not sure these stories would be to my tastes, I can tell you I had those exact red shoes (from the cover) circa 1980.
Deb, I was drawn to the photo of those red shoes, too! The stories in HIT PARADE OF TEARS aren’t exactly to my taste either, but there’s a unique sensibility in these tales that drew me in.
Very interesting. “Down” fiction is my preferred “beat” in fiction and will certainly seek this out. The ISFdb lists two books in English, the first published in 2021, thirty-five years after her death. Any idea why she has only recently come to the attention of the English speaking world?
Frank, I can only speculate that the dark and off-kilter aspects of Izumi Suzuki’s stories might not appeal to a large audience. The publisher, Verso, is a small press.