Japanese Gothic

Baker (Bat Eater and Other Names for Cora Zeng) creates a breathless collision of timelines, cultures, and destinies in this impressive horror outing. In 2006, troubled New York City college student Lee Turner turns up at his father’s doorstep in Japan on the run from a horrific crime that he doesn’t totally remember and hoping to finally get some answers about his mother’s disappearance when he was a child. His father’s ancient house is crowded with ghosts, including that of Sen of Shimazu, the daughter of one of the last remaining samurai families in 1877, who is snared in a time loop, perpetually training for a battle she will inevitably lose. Sen and Lee develop an uneasy rapport that illuminates for both of them the darkest parts of themselves. As Sen careens toward her brutal fate, Lee learns that the truths that haunt him might be better off staying buried. In wrenching prose, Baker renders her characters both deeply flawed and profoundly human. The unsparing, poetic voice propels the story to its bitter end while evoking the nightmare of feeling like an outsider even among family. It’s as gruesome as it is un-put-downable. (Apr.)