{"id":4126,"date":"2025-04-06T05:35:20","date_gmt":"2025-04-06T05:35:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/mindscapeinwords.com\/?p=4126"},"modified":"2025-04-06T05:35:26","modified_gmt":"2025-04-06T05:35:26","slug":"strange-pictures-by-uketsu-read-now","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mindscapeinwords.com\/?p=4126","title":{"rendered":"Strange Pictures by Uketsu: Read Now!"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Hi Readers! I am back with a book recommendation. Drop everything and read this book now!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

~~GOODREADS DESCRIPTION~~<\/mark><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The spine-tingling bestseller that has taken Japan by storm\u2014an eerie fresh take on horror for fans of\u00a0Hidden Pictures<\/em>\u00a0and Junji Ito, in which a series of seemingly innocent pictures draws you into a disturbing web of unsolved mysteries and shattered psyches.

An exploration of the macabre, where the seemingly mundane takes on a terrifying significance. . . .

A pregnant woman’s sketches on a seemingly innocuous blog conceal a chilling warning.

A child’s picture of his home contains a dark secret message.

A sketch made by a murder victim in his final moments leads an amateur sleuth down a rabbithole that will reveal a horrifying reality.

Structured around these nine childlike drawings, each holding a disturbing clue, Uketsu invites readers to piece together the mystery behind each and the over-arching backstory that connects them all.\u00a0Strange Pictures<\/em>\u00a0is the internationally bestselling debut from mystery horror YouTube sensation Uketsu\u2014an enigmatic masked figure who has become one of Japan’s most talked about contemporary authors.<\/p>\n\n\n

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~~TRIGGER WARNINGS~~<\/mark><\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Murder, Death, Suicide, Mutilation, Child Abuse, Domestic Abuse, Animal violence, Stalking, Gore.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

~~THOUGHTS~~<\/mark><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

There is always a book that takes Bookstagram by storm. Everyone is either reading that book or can\u2019t stop talking about that book. It\u2019s always a five-star read. It\u2019s an unputdownable book. It\u2019s so unique that you wouldn\u2019t have read anything like it before. I\u2019m here to tell you that ALL of this is NOT an exaggeration because Strange Pictures by Uketsu falls true on all this hype and more!<\/mark><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Strange Pictures consists of four chapters<\/mark><\/strong>, all look like an individual story but they\u2019re all connected in a glorious way that unravels to the reader little by little and then all at once. The first chapter is layered because what sounds straight-forward has hidden meanings \u2013 both words & pictures. The second chapter has a drawing made by a child \u2013 which can mean many different things. The third chapter is intriguing because why would an art teacher draw a landscape of mountains during his final moments? It makes you think and draw your own conclusions, which are very closely related to your own life. So, it works on a personal level as well by making you a part of the book.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It\u2019s a bit of mystery, some drama and good old psychological horror.<\/mark><\/strong> The writing is masterful because the way the dots are connected is pure genius. It\u2019s like flat needle felting.<\/mark><\/strong> The front is a perfect landscape, but when you look at the back it\u2019s complicated. That\u2019s how I imagine the author\u2019s writing process must have been like \u2013 complicated from his view so that it becomes almost perfect from reader\u2019s view.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

All the strange pictures made an otherwise interesting mystery grandiose. Yes, I read the book in one sitting. But, the number of minutes I spent looking at those pictures trying to see if I can figure something out were substantial. In all the cases, it was impossible to understand the psyche of the person unless you are a trained psychologist or an illustration nerd. This is what made the book stand out.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Having recently watched Adolescence, the psychological aspect in this book was even more glaring. It was written with nuance and maturity. I had to be super vague while writing this review because I don\u2019t want to give any spoilers, but you will get what I mean if you have read the book or are planning to read. If you enjoy mysteries, psychological fiction, moderate horror, then you should definitely read this. If you\u2019re stuck in a reading slump, I can guarantee this book will bring you out of it from the first page itself. I have rated Strange Pictures by Uketsu, translated by Jim Rion at 5\/5 stars!<\/mark><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Until next time,<\/p>\n\n\n

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\"\"<\/figure>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Hi Readers! I am back with a book recommendation. Drop everything and read this book now! ~~GOODREADS DESCRIPTION~~ The spine-tingling bestseller that has taken Japan by storm\u2014an eerie fresh take on horror for fans of\u00a0Hidden Pictures\u00a0and Junji Ito, in which a series of seemingly innocent pictures draws you into a disturbing web of unsolved mysteries […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":4129,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"nf_dc_page":"","om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_uf_show_specific_survey":0,"_uf_disable_surveys":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[2,4,23,3],"tags":[38,29],"class_list":["post-4126","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-book-review","category-books","category-book-reviews","category-mindscape-reviews","tag-favorite-books","tag-japanese-books"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/mindscapeinwords.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/PXL_20250330_065355414-1-2-1.jpg?fit=2500%2C2500&ssl=1","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":2776,"url":"https:\/\/mindscapeinwords.com\/?p=2776","url_meta":{"origin":4126,"position":0},"title":"The Glass Hotel: Not a Book Recommendation","author":"Aishwarya Shenolikar","date":"May 24, 2023","format":false,"excerpt":"Hi Readers! 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I have no idea why that book was a\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Book review"","block_context":{"text":"Book review","link":"https:\/\/mindscapeinwords.com\/?cat=2"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/mindscapeinwords.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/PSX_20230521_203202-02.jpg?fit=1200%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/mindscapeinwords.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/PSX_20230521_203202-02.jpg?fit=1200%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/mindscapeinwords.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/PSX_20230521_203202-02.jpg?fit=1200%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/mindscapeinwords.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/PSX_20230521_203202-02.jpg?fit=1200%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/mindscapeinwords.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/PSX_20230521_203202-02.jpg?fit=1200%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":3281,"url":"https:\/\/mindscapeinwords.com\/?p=3281","url_meta":{"origin":4126,"position":1},"title":"Japanese Murder Mystery Book Recommendation: The Mill House Murders","author":"Aishwarya Shenolikar","date":"January 29, 2024","format":false,"excerpt":"Hi Readers! 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