{"id":5243,"date":"2018-09-27T20:03:37","date_gmt":"2018-09-27T20:03:37","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/greydogtales.com\/blog\/?p=5243"},"modified":"2018-09-27T20:03:37","modified_gmt":"2018-09-27T20:03:37","slug":"joseph-pastula-hugh-ashton-petals-softly-falling","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/greydogtales.com\/blog\/joseph-pastula-hugh-ashton-petals-softly-falling\/","title":{"rendered":"JOSEPH PASTULA & HUGH ASHTON, WITH PETALS SOFTLY FALLING"},"content":{"rendered":"

Two striking new books today, dear listener, from two authors far apart in many ways, yet linked by their observations of life in Japan. Pickled ginger and Kagemusha<\/em>; plum blossom; a single brushstroke on mulberry paper. Oh, and Miyamoto Musashi with his Book of Five Rings<\/em>. By some odd synchronicity – a word we learned from Dr Who many years ago – All Lights Will Forever After Be Dim<\/em> (Orford Parish Books) by Joseph Pastula<\/strong><\/span>, and Hugh Ashton<\/span><\/strong>\u2019s Tales of Old Japanese<\/em> (J-views Publishing) turned up at roughly the same time. Both writers have lived in Japan, and both have drawn on those times to infuse their fiction. So let\u2019s have a look at them…<\/p>\n

\n

TALES OF OLD JAPANESE<\/h1>\n

by Hugh Ashton<\/h1>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

There he was again. Sitting on the Matsuokas\u2019 garden wall by the roadside. Keiko had seen him hanging round the area for the past few weeks, but she still hadn\u2019t told anyone about him. He looked old, maybe eighty or so, about twenty years older than Keiko, but still fit. He must have been a tall man once, she guessed, but now age had bent him and he stooped awkwardly. One arm always seemed to be hanging stiffly by his side \u2013 she\u2019d once noticed him fishing a packet of cigarettes out of the pocket of his scruffy stained blazer, extracting a cigarette and lighting it, all one-handed.<\/em><\/p>\n

\u2018Keiko\u2019s House\u2019<\/em><\/p>\n

We\u2019ll start with Hugh Ashton<\/strong>, who we know better as a writer of Sherlock Holmes stories. A British author, along-standing interest in Japan led him to emigrate to that country in 1988, but he has recently returned to the UK, and now lives in the cathedral city of Lichfield with his wife, Yoshiko.<\/p>\n

His new book Tales of Old Japanese<\/em> is a quite marvellous thing. It\u2019s thoughtful, reflective and ultimately really quite moving. How you would categorise it is very difficult. It has haunting and haunted elements, without being a collection of ghost stories. You might say these are detailed, lyrical tales of people\u2019s real lives \u2013 except for the fact that there are moments when you might easily be reading a subtle ghost tale. In short, you could read it if you love weird fiction, and you could read it if you hate weird fiction.<\/p>\n

But let\u2019s avoid that filing system nonsense. The book contains five short stories, each with its own central character and exploration of loss, change and age. If we told you that one story is about an old man who changes his barber, and another about an old woman who feels sad about a bird in a zoo, we would be doing the book so little justice that we would have to hit ourselves. The characters are beautifully drawn \u2013 they feel what we might feel, and their experiences speak to us. It\u2019s probably also important to say that although these stories are about older people, their hopes and fears are those of us all \u2013 don\u2019t expect cosy \u2018elderly\u2019 tales.<\/p>\n

One of Ashton\u2019s gifts is that in a few simple words we are set alongside the central characters, observers in the same room or on the same street – he avoids obfuscation and cleverness in favour of that emotional connection. We don\u2019t want to spoil the stories through analysis here, but will note that \u2018Mrs Sakamoto\u2019s Grouse\u2019 is an absolute delight, and that \u2018Haircuts\u2019 is a hugely sympathetic portrayal of ageing and love.<\/p>\n

We strongly suggest reading this short book. And getting to the heart of what greydogtales<\/em> is about, weird stuff, we would recommend it to those who want to write modern weird fiction. Not because that\u2019s what Tales of Old Japanese<\/em> is, as such, but because of Ashton\u2019s style and ability to capture character \u2013 and change. And because you\u2019ll enjoy it.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
j-view publishing<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

UK – http:\/\/amzn.eu\/d\/e5e8S06<\/a><\/p>\n

US – http:\/\/a.co\/d\/8FqsZdB<\/a><\/p>\n

As a side-note, we interviewed the author with regard to his work on Holmes here:<\/p>\n

http:\/\/greydogtales.com\/blog\/holmes-lichfield-literarian\/<\/a><\/p>\n

ALL LIGHTS WILL FOREVER AFTER BE DIM<\/h1>\n

by Joseph Pastula<\/h1>\n

\"joseph<\/a><\/p>\n

I first saw him standing near the Kabukicho Ichiban Gai gate. A foreign man, maybe European, I thought, due to his blonde hair and piercing green eyes. He stood there staring slightly upward into the sea of lights and signs that lined the street, saying nothing. His clothes were ragged and dirty, and with his hair and beard unkempt, he looked like a backpacker who had been walking through a much wilder expanse of nature than could be found in the heart of Shinjuku. Nobody took much notice, and I wouldn\u2019t have either, had I not noticed the sign he was holding.<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cYou\u2019ll be seeing me soon,\u201d it read in block English letters.<\/em><\/p>\n

\u2018I\u2019ll Soon be Seeing You On\u2019<\/em><\/p>\n

The new book by Joseph Pastula<\/strong> is a different kettle of wasabi<\/em>, and yet aspects of what we have said above do apply. This longer collection of short stories is unashamedly modern weird fiction, yet the bulk of it is once more set in Japan.<\/p>\n

Pastula is an American author, artist, and translator who used to live in the Tokyo metro area. His works of weird\/horror fiction include Little Oren and the Noises<\/em>, a picture book for the weirder kids among us, Old Gory<\/em>, a flag based work of weird fiction, and \u2018Three Moves of Doom\u2019, a fiction delving into the world of pro wrestling. He is also the creator of web based comic Silkworms<\/em>.<\/p>\n

Here, he presents a range of fascinating short stories, with even shorter interlude pieces between each of the tales, which acquaint us with the dark and bewildering sides of life in today\u2019s Japan. Where Ashton provides a range of emotional resolutions, Pastula leaves a trail of questions behind him \u2013 ones which intrigue and worry.<\/p>\n

In All Lights<\/em>, you will find such curiosities as the hunt for a new apartment; an ill-advised visit to a fuzoku<\/em> (legally almost anything but vaginal sex) establishment, and a family visit to a temple shrine. A number of these stories provide no answers as to what just happened. And we are well aware that this can be an annoying aspect of the worst of weird fiction \u2013 attempts at effect without content, without purpose. Inexperienced writers make something \u2018weird\u2019 for the sake of it, lacking the ability to affect the reader through style, structure or genuinely new visions.<\/p>\n

In the case of Pastula, no such accusation could stand. Each of the short glimpses he gives you is more than intriguing or unnerving enough to pass muster, and like a single morsel of makizushi<\/em>*, stimulating in its own right. The added bonus of some culturally unusual (for most Westerners) situations adds an extra frisson to some of the tales, but in each case you sit back and think. \u2018The One That I Want\u2019, for example, delivers a sense of strangeness slightly beyond your grasp as it intrudes into the apartment hunt \u2013 and fascinates by the way in which the characters react to their experiences (it\u2019s quite a humorous tale in its own odd way); \u2018Face to Faces\u2019 is inexplicable and yet very poignant \u2013 and so on. Oh, and some of the stories in the collection are simply disturbing. Which is also good. You get the idea.<\/p>\n

The collection also contains an additional three stories not related to Japan, at the end of the book – \u2018A Severance of Roots\u2019, \u2018An Office Manager at Orford Mills\u2019, and \u2018Orison for the Departed\u2019. All three are well worth the time, with \u2018An Office Manager at Orford Mills\u2019 being a particularly delightful tale with a twist of humour. \u2018Orison for the Departed\u2019 on the other hand, is plain worrying.<\/p>\n

Again, fully recommended.<\/p>\n

\"joseph<\/a>
orford parish books<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

UK – http:\/\/amzn.eu\/d\/hleUGcL<\/a><\/p>\n

US – http:\/\/a.co\/d\/5oaqiW4<\/a><\/p>\n

*Mazikushi is either a small nori-wrapped portion of sushi, or a 15th<\/sup> century Japanese mechanical device for lubricating one\u2019s spare katana during the rainy season. How should we know?<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Two striking new books today, dear listener, from two authors far apart in many ways, yet linked by their observations of life in Japan. Pickled ginger and Kagemusha; plum blossom; a single brushstroke on mulberry paper. Oh, and Miyamoto Musashi with his Book of Five Rings. By some odd synchronicity – a word we learned … Continue reading JOSEPH PASTULA & HUGH ASHTON, WITH PETALS SOFTLY FALLING<\/span> →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"iawp_total_views":4,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-5243","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"yoast_head":"\nJOSEPH PASTULA & HUGH ASHTON, WITH PETALS SOFTLY FALLING - greydogtales<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/greydogtales.com\/blog\/joseph-pastula-hugh-ashton-petals-softly-falling\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_GB\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"JOSEPH PASTULA & HUGH ASHTON, WITH PETALS SOFTLY FALLING - greydogtales\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Two striking new books today, dear listener, from two authors far apart in many ways, yet linked by their observations of life in Japan. 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Holmes forced more of the vile Turkish tobacco into his pipe, wincing as he realised that yet again he was smoking the damnable stuff in order to keep up appearances. \u201cDespite the fact that you are secretly my\u2026","rel":"","context":"In \"sherlock holmes\"","block_context":{"text":"sherlock holmes","link":"http:\/\/greydogtales.com\/blog\/tag\/sherlock-holmes\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Huty1913428","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/greydogtales.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/08\/sherlock-holmes-basil-rathbone-300x200.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":4232,"url":"http:\/\/greydogtales.com\/blog\/shiela-crerar-clay-corpses-psychic-investigation-girls\/","url_meta":{"origin":5243,"position":1},"title":"Shiela Crerar, Clay-Corpses & Psychic Investigation for Girls","author":"greydogtales","date":"July 20, 2017","format":false,"excerpt":"\u201cOh, you modern women! You dabble in science and medicine, you dabble in politics and law, and now you dabble in the occult. 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When we thought about interviewing author Gwendolyn Kiste, we realised we wanted to burrow behind her work a bit, so we went there.\u00a0 Though we centre on\u2026","rel":"","context":"In \"interviews\"","block_context":{"text":"interviews","link":"http:\/\/greydogtales.com\/blog\/tag\/interviews\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"SONY DSC","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/greydogtales.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/05\/And-Her-Smile-Will-Untether-the-Universe-Gwendolyn-300x201.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":7318,"url":"http:\/\/greydogtales.com\/blog\/scotland-the-strange-the-eyes-of-doom\/","url_meta":{"origin":5243,"position":3},"title":"SCOTLAND THE STRANGE: THE EYES OF DOOM","author":"greydogtales","date":"January 24, 2024","format":false,"excerpt":"This week, in honour of Burns Night, which celebrates Scottish poet Robert Burns (25 January 1759 \u2013 21 July 1796), our greydogtales site begins a ramble through the subject of Scottish supernatural\/horror and related cultural stuff. We\u2019ll have some classic tales, new material, guest reviews of some really bad films\u2026","rel":"","context":"Similar post","block_context":{"text":"Similar post","link":""},"img":{"alt_text":"SCOTLAND THE STRANGE","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/greydogtales.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/Ben_Lomond_from_Beinn_Narnain-300x163.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":7509,"url":"http:\/\/greydogtales.com\/blog\/clarks-world-the-willvent-bin\/","url_meta":{"origin":5243,"position":4},"title":"CLARK\u2019S WORLD: THE WILL\u2019VEN\u2019T BIN","author":"greydogtales","date":"November 5, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"We\u2019re always pleased to see a new book from Alan M Clark, not only a talented author but also, as it happens, an award-winning artist. The Will\u2019ven\u2019t Bin, just out from IFD Publishing (15th October), joins his other intriguing historically-set works, this time with a Young Adult focus and science\u2026","rel":"","context":"Similar post","block_context":{"text":"Similar post","link":""},"img":{"alt_text":"alan m clark","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/greydogtales.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/EbookCover_TheWillventBin_small-200x300.jpeg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/greydogtales.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5243","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/greydogtales.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/greydogtales.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/greydogtales.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/greydogtales.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5243"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"http:\/\/greydogtales.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5243\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5248,"href":"http:\/\/greydogtales.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5243\/revisions\/5248"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/greydogtales.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5243"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/greydogtales.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5243"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/greydogtales.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5243"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}