There is no horror quite like the horror of unpleasant people. But as a reader and writer of horror and science fiction novels, I have always been fascinated by characters who are tasteless, offensive, or just plain insufferable. There is something liberating about embracing their negative traits, their self-destructive tendencies, and the complex messiness of their lives. A character’s willingness to go over the top and go beyond normal behavior, even to an extreme degree, can be both terrifying and exciting to read.
Article continues after ad
My debut, Sacrificial animalsis a Midwestern gothic novel of supernatural horror, Chinese mythology, and family drama set on a 400-acre farm called Stag’s Crossing in rural Nebraska. Nick Morrow returns to Stag’s Crossing to attempt a deathbed reconciliation with his abusive father, Carlyle, where he is forced to reconnect with his brother Joshua—his one-time favorite son, disowned for marrying an Asian woman—and Joshua’s beautiful and enigmatic wife, Emilia. When Emilia and Nick begin a devastating, explosive affair, long-buried wrongdoings come to light and the family cycle of violence and cruelty begins anew. As childhood memories of his queer awakening and a possible supernatural presence on the farm resurface, Nick must come to terms with how he has been shaped—and scarred—by his past.
When writing my novel, I focused particularly on the character Emilia. Her presence on the farm is a special case—as a Chinese-American and woman, she stands apart from the Morrow men and creates chaos among them. By marrying Joshua, she was the direct cause of his disownment by his racist father, and her affair with Nick initially seems foolish and inexplicable. I wanted to create a psychologically complex and provocative portrait of a woman caught up in gendered and racialized expectations, whose “bad behavior” becomes all too understandable by the end of the novel.
The inspiration for Emilia’s character came from many sources, including some of my own experiences as an adopted child and Chinese woman in Nebraska, but I often draw on works by East Asian authors, some contemporary, some written nearly a century ago, that have inspired me to write “difficult” Asian female characters. The following works by East Asian authors present several memorable female characters who violate societal norms in different ways – their approaches are shocking, scary, and subversive, but never less than fascinating.
Tomie by Junji Ito
With the Adult Swim television adaptation of Ito’s manga Uzumaki Premiering in September, there’s no better time to revisit the early works of this horror manga master. Tomie Kawakami is a beguiling, succubus-like young woman whose mere presence inspires obsession and violence in those around her. Yet her feminine beauty conceals the monstrous inner workings of her body, which can gruesomely reassemble itself even after fatal wounds. In her introductory chapter, Tomie has returned after being dismembered on a school trip and plans to torment her classmates and would-be murderers. The result is a mix of psychological terror and body horror that Ito’s later work builds upon with spectacular success. Tomie is a fever dream of a femme fatale, embodying the ambiguous mix of intoxication and fear that can lurk beneath lust.
Quicksand by Junichiro Tanizaki
When Sonoko Kakiuchi meets Mitsuko during an art class, her initial interest in the young woman escalates into an inferno of sexual obsession in this Tanizaki novel of deceit, betrayal, and lust. Tanizaki gives the novel a devilishly erotic charge that simmers beneath the deadly web of sexual complications that result from Sonoko and Mitsuko’s affair, which eventually embroils Sonoko’s husband and Mitsuko’s fiancée. The final act of betrayal in Quicksand has remained in my mind for many years after completing the novel and perfectly sums up the themes of the work – forbidden desire and self-destruction.
The Vegetarian by Han Kang
The Vegetarian is a deft psychological portrait of a woman’s struggle to express her bodily autonomy. Yeong-hye’s simple decision to become a vegetarian provokes outrage and even violence from her husband and family members. As Yeong-hye defies her family and deviates even more drastically from societal norms, the family unit itself begins to fracture, and Yeong-hye’s sister In-hye and Yeong-hye’s brother-in-law fall into Yeong-hye’s orbit. Yeong-hye’s increasingly extreme behavior draws attention to her lack of control over her own body, the lingering effects of trauma, and the price we pay for rejecting societal notions of “normal.”
Out of by Natsuo Kirino
Kirino’s suspenseful novel revolves around the lives of four women who earn a living working the night shift at a lunch box factory. When one of the women, Yayoi Yamamoto, murders her abusive husband, the group comes together to help her cover up the crime. The novel explores the often overlooked experiences of people on the fringes of society. Out of is a grippingly brutal portrait of a woman driven to the brink of desperation, whose horrific actions reflect her desolate situation.
Audition by Ryu Murakami
Audition share Tomies preoccupation with the horrors that might lurk behind the facade of the “perfect woman.” The original novel was adapted by Takashi Miike into an unforgettably intense horror film that became a cult classic in the late ’90s, and it’s still worth reading. When widower Aoyama decides to hold a series of fake film auditions to pretend to find a new wife, he quickly falls in love with the beautiful Asami. Unbeknownst to him, Asami’s innocent demeanor hides a disturbed and volatile personality. As the novel races toward its macabre conclusion, Audition brings a uniquely sharp edge to its examination of relationship dynamics, exploitation and twisted romance.
Woman in supermarket by Sayaka Murata
The protagonist of Woman in supermarketKeiko Furukura is a woman who has become completely alienated from society. In her thirties and still childless and unmarried, she works happily in a supermarket, much to the amazement of her friends. Keiko’s observations, delivered in a wonderfully off-kilter narrative voice, can be disarming and strange one moment, piercing and insightful the next. When Keiko and her misogynistic colleague Shiraha briefly give in to societal pressure and decide to fake a relationship, the result is darkly comic, brutally pointed, and impossible to stop reading.
Desire, caution by Eileen Chang
In this novella of wartime intrigue and deception, drama student-turned-radical Wang Chia-chih finds herself in quite a predicament. Disguised as a businessman’s wife, she infiltrates the household of Mr. Yee, the fictional head of Wang Ching-wei’s secret service and a member of the collaborating government, to assassinate him. Although she only becomes Mr. Yee’s lover to further her mission, Chia-chih unexpectedly develops troubling feelings for him, a conflict that has deadly consequences. Chang mercilessly dissects Chia-chih’s inner world, including her self-deception masquerading as a love fantasy. Evocative scenes at the mahjong table, in a jewelry store, and a final fateful ride in a pedicab set the stage for this thrilling and atmospheric spy story in which Chia-chih must choose whether to betray her ideals or her heart.
***
