Book Review: "Nails and Eyes" by Kaori Fujino; Creepy Liminal Dread
Some stories don’t just unsettle you; they linger in the periphery of your mind like a shadow in the corner of a dimly lit room. Nails and Eyes by Kaori Fujino is one of those rare and haunting books. It’s a quiet yet deeply disorienting meditation on motherhood, grief, and domestic life, infused with an eerie liminality that makes the mundane feel sinister. Reading it felt like stepping into a David Lynch film—where everything looks familiar on the surface but is charged with an unsettling wrongness underneath.
About the Author: Kaori Fujino is an award-winning Japanese writer known for her ability to blend psychological horror with everyday domestic settings. Her writing is sharp, evocative, and deeply introspective, often exploring themes of identity, memory, and the subconscious. Nails and Eyes won the prestigious Akutagawa Prize, marking Fujino as a literary force worth paying attention to.
Synopsis: The titular novella, Nails and Eyes, is told from the perspective of a young girl whose father quickly remarries after her mother’s sudden passing. The girl becomes obsessed with her father’s new wife, scrutinizing her every move with a detached yet deeply unnerving fascination. As the narrative unfolds, the child’s perspective warps reality, transforming seemingly benign domestic details into something sinister. The novella is a disquieting meditation on the eerie intimacy of family life, where love and horror intertwine in unsettling ways.
The collection also features two short stories: What Shoko Forgets and Minute Fears. What Shoko Forgets leans further into cryptic, surreal horror, as its protagonist experiences strange memory lapses that distort her perception of reality. The story refuses easy interpretation, making it all the more unsettling. Minute Fears, while more traditional in its horror elements, is no less haunting. Its creeping dread lingers long after the final page, proving that Fujino’s mastery of atmosphere and unease is quite a force.
Notable Quote: “The shape of her eyes, the way she moved, the sound of her voice—none of it felt entirely real, as if she had been drawn into the world from somewhere else, a place I wasn’t meant to understand.”
Highlights:
- A Liminal, Uncanny Atmosphere: Fujino has a gift for taking everyday settings and infusing them with a creeping sense of unease. The uncanny pervades every moment, making even the most ordinary objects feel haunted.
- A Unique Perspective on Motherhood: The book examines the maternal figure from an entirely unexpected and unsettling angle, offering a fresh and eerie meditation on what it means to be a mother, a daughter, and an outsider in one’s own home.
- Psychological Horror Without Easy Answers: Unlike conventional horror that relies on clear threats, Fujino crafts a reality where the horror is nebulous, existential, and impossible to define—making it all the more terrifying.
Final Thoughts: Nails and Eyes is a chilling, mesmerizing read that lingers long after you finish it. If you enjoy psychological horror that thrives on ambiguity, distortion, and a pervasive sense of dread, this book is a must-read. While each story in the collection varies in its execution, they all share the same eerie liminality, making for an unsettling but wholly rewarding experience. Kaori Fujino’s voice is sharp, precise, and deeply affecting—I can’t wait to read more of her work.