I had this buried so deep that I even forgot I had this book to review, but luckily I managed to get an audiobook and I could read/listen this in a days work, I really enjoyed this book, the stories reminded me of bedlam bible, but without the over the top weirdness, but I guess this stories are not for all, expect strange themes that at first seem banal but that are really unexpected.

I could also fell a bit of that Asian mind in the stories, yeah it was a solid 4 too me, I had fun and even laughed out loud a couple of times, yeah a husband turned into a bull while accompanied in female company hahhahah. But if you want to know more you’ll need to read, if you have half the fun I had it will still be worth.

Thank you Netgalley and TVerso Books (US), Verso Fiction, for the free ARC and this is my honest opinion.

Thank you to Net Galley, the author, and the publisher for an ARC in exchange for an honest review!

I tried getting into these stories, but the style just wasn't for me. I can appreciate Izumi Suzuki's unique perspective. Many of these felt ahead of their time. The fact that this is being published in 2023 is not shocking at all; the writing is that fresh. However, I had trouble getting hooked in by the material.

This was very interesting. My first Izumi Suzuki book and I have to say that I Love her style of writing. There is a mixture of horror, fantasy, magic realism, and sci-fi. I wish I could have given it a much higher rating but since I'm not a huge sci-fi and fantasy reader, I felt like I couldn't connect with some stories as much as I wanted to. I did really enjoy the weirdness in the way she expresses herself. Izumi explores loneliness, longing, memory, connections, and much more.

I loved how some stories were based in the '60s-'70s in Japan, even though I did miss some of the references, especially in, "Hey, It's Love Psychadelic" which carries a lot of cultural contexts, and my favorite, the music scene from that time. I felt as if, maybe I would have known more about the artists/records mentioned, I would have felt that nostalgia that was much needed throughout that story.

My favorite story was My Guy and Memory Of Water. Both of these had a perfect mixture of strange humor and melancholy, a rollercoaster of emotions for the mundane.

Thank You so much to Netgalley for allowing me to review this short stories collection!

freaky little short stories i'm so happy to have haunting my brain. not my favorites from this author but I had a nice time.

Having read other things by Suzuki, this was exactly what I was expecting. Weird, wonderful and slightly melancholy, a must read for anyone who enjoys Japanese literature.

"Hit Parade of Tears: Stories" by Suzuki left me unimpressed. The stories lack cohesion, often veering into the bizarre without purpose. Suzuki's attempts at avant-garde fall flat, resulting in a collection that feels disjointed and confusing. The book fails to evoke the intended emotional depth, leaving readers with a sense of frustration rather than resonance.

I adored Izumi Suzuki's Terminal Boredom, so I was very excited to see a second collection coming out in English! What a great cover. And I was not disappointed, loved the short stories

A very interesting collection of short stories! They were weird and wacky but some surprisingly good and others not so much. I haven’t read any of her other work before so I don’t have anything to compare these stories too. I enjoyed a handful, but overall some were either too short or too intense for me. I do like the concept of time travelling, aliens, and other worldly beings though, so overall I myself enjoyed it but won’t recommend this to everyone.

What if you just went completely left-field with your fiction? If you just let your imagination go slightly twisted and wrote down the result? That's what, I think, Suzuki asked herself before she sat down to write these stories. Told in an almost disaffected and joking tone, the stories in Hit Parade of Tears are both hilarious and weird and I had a great time with them. Thanks to Verso Books and NetGalley for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

The eleven stories in Hit Parade of Tears all share a sense of the absurd happening during an otherwise completely normal life. Each story has this one thing that shifts it entirely into something so abstract you just have to keep going with it. Suzuki provides no explanation, or background, or context, she just confronts you with something weird and expects you to deal. It's not just the plots that initially discombobulated me, it is also the writing itself. I've been reading a bit more Japanese fiction lately and have therefore become more familiar with what I'd call the general tone of Japanese writing. You know how you can recognise if I a book was written by a Brit or an American, and not just because of spelling? It's a tone, a vibe, and I'm slowly dialing into the Japanese frequency of writing, I think. But I still had to really get used to Suzuki. Her writing is so... straightforward, in the sense that she just straight out says things you might otherwise build suspense around. Once I'd keyed into it, though, I did enjoy it.

Hit Parade of Tears opens with 'My Guy', a tale of either aliens or love betrayal. 'Trial Witch' was one of my favourite stories, as a woman is suddenly given some magical powers and her philandering husband suddenly finds himself drawing the short end of her experiments. 'Full of Malice' is incredibly brief but fascinating. A young woman in search of her brother, who was sent to a facility for being "slow", may or may not find herself in another dimension and in danger. It is honestly... so odd, but I can't get it out of my mind. 'Hey, It's a Love Psychedelic' honestly kind of went over my head a bit. I didn't catch the music references and so lost a bit of connection with how it played around with time, but I did find it intriguing. 'After Everything' was, I think, connected to 'Full of Malice'? It was incredibly evocative, even if it felt a little plotless. 'The Covenant' is a story about feeling like an outsider, of connecting to something not human, and yet also looking for connection. It's complex, contains murder, and gripped me! 'The Walker' feels like another story connected to 'Full of Malice' and 'After Everything', but maybe I'm reading too much into it. 'Softly, as in a Morning Sunrise' features a spacecrew of outcasts, a surprise baby, and smiling bunnies! 'Memory of Water' is a story about being disconnected from the world and yourself, bone-weary by all of it and incapable of joining it. 'I'll Never Forget' is, I think, related to Suzuki's Terminal Boredom and I did feel like maybe I missed some of its meaning, even though it can stand on its own. And finally, 'Hit Parade of Tears' was an intriguing story about long life, meaning, and freedom.

As I said above, I was very intrigued by Suzuki's writing style. There is a bluntness to it, which fits perfectly to her attitude as described in the blurb. It is a going against the expected, moving beyond the usual set-up and confronting readers with something different and slightly twisted. I was very intrigued by the premise of each story and the overarching disconnect that they speak to. As such, I did find myself feeling disconnected as well, as if nothing was really hitting me anymore, as if everything was passing by me. I think this was probably Suzuki's intention, but it did mean I had to shake off a blue feeling after finishing Hit Parade of Tears. Not every reader might enjoy that, but it was an intriguing experience for me. I'd definitely be interested in reading Terminal Boredom as well, if I find myself with the mental resources to dig myself out of the disassociation afterwards. The translations were also done very well, as far as I could tell, flowing with the tone of the story.

The translation credits break down thus: 'My Guy' and 'Trial Witch' by Sam Bett; 'Full of Malice' and 'Hey, It's a Love Psychedelic' by David Boyd; 'Hit Parade of Tears', 'I'll Never Forget' and 'Memory of Water' by Helen O'Horan; and 'After Everything', 'The Covenant', 'Softly, as in a Morning Sunrise' and 'The Walker' by Daniel Joseph.

I did enjoy reading Hit Parade of Tears, although I didn't find myself connecting to each story. I was very intrigued by Suzuki's twisted protagonists and her blunt writing style, but I also found myself disconnecting from the stories a lot.

Thank you for the ARC of this! This book is a great collection of some grungy pink short stories that really highlights the inner working of the characters within them. Different settings and stories were enough to keep me intrigued and prose was very good!

After the extraordinary 'Terminal Boredom' finally brought Izumi Suzuki to the attention of English-speakers, now comes another collection of her sci-fi, feminist, cyber-punk-y stories. From trial witches to visiting aliens to dystopian societies, these stories confirm what an astonishing creative streak Suzuki went through. As with all collections, some stories work stronger than others, and some are very very short here.

But make no mistake, this is an important and must-read collection, awe-inspiring in its vision and the kind of stories that leave you with more questions than answers. And to cap it all, her writing just left me shaking my head in wonder at the author, and the wonderful translations of all the stories: 'Vast flames burned with a ferocious beauty in the darkness'.

(With thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for an ARC of this title.)

"Hit Parade of Tears" is a collection of eleven short speculative fiction stories written mostly in the 70's by the actress, model, and author Izumi Suzuki and republished posthumously in 2023 in English. Checking out her wikipedia page and learning about her tragic life will enhance understanding of her stories. Her writing was clearly influenced by her experiences and surroundings. These stories offer a complex combination of utter normality, tragically imperfect humans, horror, uncertain reality, and the Japanese 70's sub-culture of music, smoking, drinking, & sex, coupled with speculative fiction plot twists.

Let me share my impressions of these stories:

1. My Guy
This story hooked me. The first two pages offered insights to the attractive Japanese women I used to notice while I was commuting to school through Shibuya and Shinjuku. Additionally, I was entertained with the "mountains of Kanagawa" being a place holder for a natural wilderness near the civilization of Tokyo. (Even though I have spent time in the wilds of Kanagawa, I have never seen evidence of the UFO's mentioned in this story.)

2. Trial Witch
A rather entertaining speculative fiction about an ordinary housewife who out of the blue receives limited magical powers, providing an insightful view into an unhappy Japanese marriage in the 70's. Listen up guys! If there is a chance your wife might receive magical powers, be sure she doesn't have any grudges against you!

3. Full of Malice
A creative and very disturbing short short story with a very sharp conclusion.

4. Hey, It's a Love Psychedelic!
A creative story about the unraveling of both the timeline and reality against a backdrop of 70's Japanese pop subculture. I did not get many of the references, but definitely appreciated mention of the "Yellow Magic Orchestra" and the late great Ryuichi Sakamoto from back before he was universally known! I was stunned with multiple references to common ordinary places a stone's throw from where I used to live in Yokohama. I also liked the way the author used different spellings of the protagonist's name to highlight changes in the timeline.

5. After Everything
Basically Chapter 2 of "Full of Malice". I only recommend this to readers who like casual horror.

6. The Covenant
A disturbing story with overtones of Twilight Zone including telepathy, drinking, sex, insanity, casual horror, and questions of reality, against a backdrop of 70's Japanese pop subculture. Nicely presented from the viewpoints of multiple characters. Hard to stop reading.

7. Softly, as in a Morning Sunrise
A simplistic space opera where the crew of the spaceship are basically delinquent outcasts.

8. The Walker
The third chapter of "Full of Malice". Although this speculative fiction seems somewhat ordinary on the surface, it has a surprising conclusion. Here too, I only recommend this story for readers who like causal horror.

9. Memory of Water
This is a disturbing story of multiple personality syndrome. Although there are questions of what is real, the story does a good job of looking at what could happen if two totally different personalities take turns sharing the same body.

10. I'll Never Forget
A mind twisting story of the cultural interactions between Terrans and a defeated alien civilization. The focus is on individuals from different cultures after the end of explicit hostilities. This story feels like it borrows material on US/Japan relationships after World War Two.

11. Hit Parade of Tears
A counter-culture revolutionary story placed in a dystopian alternative future that includes many cultural references to Japanese motion pictures and music that I was unable to follow. Although I found this story somewhat confusing, I appreciated casual references to places that I used to live a stone's throw from!

In conclusion, I am appreciative of the chance to read this collection. I will read more by Izumi Suzuki without hesitation.

I thank the publisher, Verso Books, for graciously providing a temporary electronic review copy of this book.

A wonderfully eclectic and varied collection or science fiction/speculative short stories, but something about them didn’t work for me. Personally like a short story that packs a punch, and while these were certainly strange, they didn’t have the emotional or intellectual or literary impact that I was looking for.

I find it tricky to review a short story collection. I love the space an author has to create and close a world in a shorter frame.
Some of these, especially the first few, I was very pulled into. It’s what got me excited about digging into the rest. But then the next couple of stories from the collection fell pretty flat for me. I think the authors writing style is completely unique and what I enjoyed, I really really enjoyed. I’d be interested in reading a novel by them, someday.

Hit Parade of Tears gives us an assortment of short stories that are other worldly. They make you feel stuck in a fever dream and will consistently take left turns to where you weren't expecting. However, that wasn't always for the best. I gave each story either a thumbs up or down in my notes and ended up with only four thumbs down, out of eleven stories, but one of those was the longest story in the collection. It unfortunately caused me to feel pretty detached while I continued. The ones that I loved, I really loved but I kept worrying I was going to get stuck in another long one that I didn't care for, making me feel really torn. I would still recommend the author but would recommend their previous work.

The stories in "Hit Parade of Tears" are haunting and surreal, exploring themes of loss, loneliness, and alienation. Suzuki's writing is spare and poetic, and she has a talent for creating vivid and unsettling images that stay with the reader long after the story has ended.

One of the strengths of the collection is the way in which Suzuki incorporates elements of science fiction and fantasy into her stories. However, the speculative elements never overwhelm the emotional core of the stories, which are rooted in real human experiences of pain and longing.

Overall, "Hit Parade of Tears" is a powerful and deeply affecting collection of stories that showcases Suzuki's unique voice and talent for crafting haunting and otherworldly tales. The translation by Polly Barton and Sam Bett is excellent, capturing the beauty and lyricism of Suzuki's prose. This book is highly recommended for readers who enjoy literary fiction and speculative fiction alike.

Many thanks to Netgalley and Verso Books for providing me with an e-arc in exchange for an honest review.

Im thrilled to be able to read this collectiom of short stories from an author i discovered last year and absolutely loved. Terminal boredom was a great piece of collection that showcased Suzuki's ideas on society and her perspectives on gender roles, challenging notions on societal issues and her setting revolved around scifi was brilliant to say the least. For me, this newly tranlsated collection comprised some of her best works and some of her less than stellar pieces bcus honestly, I felt this one was slightly lacking than her first collection.

We are still served with the absurdity of her characters, the non linear storytelling she excelled in, the weird disjointed plot she weaved in the stories which i found myself attracted to but also cannot comprehend or wrap my head around some of the stories. There are the stories of intergalactic couple, a story on time being inexistent or irregular, the story of a spaceship crew on an unmarked planet, the girl who wandered between reality and delusion, the hilarious hijinks of a wife on a witch trial and cast spells on her husband, the search of a lost brother in an asylum by his older sister and many more. There is a story that seems to be a continuation from the previous collection on the intergalactic couple which felt nostalgic, sad, devastating and damn my mind was spinning reading it.

For me personally, when i love the stories, i love it. But i get put off a bit when the stories that i really like ended on an unfinished note that i just go huh and actually felt unsatisfied by it. But it could prove that im invested in the world and want more. But sadly we will never get more. This new collection will be divisive, you either love it or hate it. I like it by the end for how great some of the stories are and i can get away with some of the weakest ones bcus the stories that i love in here, I REALLY LOVE IT.

There are glimmers of brilliance in this collection of stories by Izumi Suzuki, but sadly even the best of them are not truly comparable to the gems in the previous translated collection, "Terminal Boredom." While the stories in the first book seemed remarkably prescient, those in "Hit Parade Of Tears" have aged poorly, and are immediately recognizable as a product of the historical and cultural context in which they were written. I would recommend the author, but not this book -- I will be pointing readers interested in Suzuki toward "Terminal Boredom" instead.

I was immediately drawn to this collection from the cover alone; the immaculate vibes of angst, punk, and smeared makeup say so much about the author, Izumi Suzuki, an infamous Japanese actress, and writer in the 1970s. These bizarre, fantastical sci-fi stories are the perfect representation of “art imitates life.” Well, Suzuki’s life, at least. Each story has a palpable heartbeat of counterculture, an almost elegantly-feral feminine rage against the ideals of a patriarchal society.

If you’ve read Izumi Suzuki’s other work, Terminal Boredom, I dare say you might find yourself a little disappointed. I wanted to love these a little more than I actually did. Yes, we have handsome aliens, witches, doctors removing the tops of heads, and the exploration of new planets, all of which are uniquely their own concepts, but some of the stories can be almost overwhelming in their fiction. Considering this collection was initially published in 1980s Japan, I can rationalize some of the more outdated cultural concepts and understand it’s from a different time, but they didn’t go unnoticed. However, I will say, these stories are a delightful glimpse into a mind with such a rich, uncommon imagination that I won’t be forgetting them any time soon.

My thanks to both NetGalley and the publisher Verso Books for an advanced copy of this collections of short stories from a Japanese author who was at the forefront of science fiction writing, many years ago.

Science fiction for a genre that is supposed to be of ideas can be pretty staid. There is lot of talk about dangerous visions, and stars being filled with wars, but until recently a lot of science fiction was men facing an unknown something or another, and fighting, dying, making friends, or transforming. There was a sense of wonder, but not a sense that these were real people, facing odd threats, strange aliens, or weird things. Women were coming into there own, but a lot of women were still outliers in science fiction, making strides, gaining acceptance but not really breaking through. I can't imagine what it was like in Japan for a female writer of speculative fiction. Especially one who was an actress of films that were considered risque or pink films as they were called. Izumi Suzuki was an actress, and writer of skill and imagination, and it is nice to see that Suzuki is finally getting a chance to shine again. The collection, Hit Parade of Tears features a variety of shorter works some contemplative, some shocking, but all very different, and in a few ahead of certain sub-genres that were just coming to fruition.

The book is comprised of eleven stories, ranging from science fiction, to fantasy to wish fulfillment, and a little bit of brutality. One story is a love story between an alien and a young woman he meets by a train station. Another is about a woman who is given a gift that helps her deal with her drunken womanizing husband, a gift of magic she can't control well. The story Hey, It's a Love Psychedelic? is considered by many to be a precursor to cyberpunk in the ideas of a Net and information flow. That could be a reach, but it is a good story, with a lot of nice scenes. My favorite is the story that starts off the collection My Guy, because of the uncertainty of the character and what she thinks might have happened to her true love, and if he was real or a charlatan of some sort. The last couple of paragraphs really make a reader go ahh, hmmm. Also Full of Malice is a story that seems to come from our newspapers about making happy people through surgery, something that Florida will probably mandate soon.

The stories are from a different era of thinking and writing, and also from Japan, so there is a lot of views that might seem odd to modern eyes. The treatment of women, a few slurs, but nothing to surprising. I enjoyed the collection quite a bit, this being the first that I had read by the author, who passed away in 1986. A few stories were not for me, and in any collection there are always a few, but all in all I was impressed by the stories, their execution and the ideas that Suzuki had. The women were very well written, and seemed real, sometimes smart, sometimes dumb, but that is how people react under pressure, not the way we want them, and not the way they want to themselves. The translations by four different translators was good, I didn't notice a change in style, and as the stories are so different I doubt one would. A very good collection.

Recommended for those that like their science fiction a little different and want to try new authors from new locales. A collection worth investigating.