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f18's review against another edition
dark
funny
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
I can't be the only person who finds Ryu Murakami hilarious. Cmon fix your votes for tone/mood!
I saw the movie Audition years ago, and found it underwhelming. In part, because I had been overhyped on how gory it would be but reading the book reminded me of other issues I had with the story.
After watching Love & Pop, Audition, and both reading and watching Piercing I think that what I really wanted from this book isn't what Murakami is interested in exploring in his work. I did enjoy this more than Piercing. Aoyama wasn't exactly likeable but he was far less grating than Kawashima who made me constantly want to throw the book across the room until around the halfway point when the comedy of errors plot kicked in. Piercing I found funny straight away which made it a much more entertaining read. Murakami's works are ultimately focused on internal psychology though, and in a way I always seem to have mixed feelings about.Having forgotten the plot since watching the film (other than the most basic outline) I was really expecting Asami to be lying to Kawashima about her past trauma and have been setting him up from the very beginning to fall for her in order to get him close enough to torture. Being reminded that no, actually her trauma had just made her a yandere was a disappointment. Aoyama assumed the homeless child would be capable of murder and I would have loved for him to assume that Asami had turned on him because of her past only for her to reveal it had all been a lie. While people's lives inform their actions of course (cycles of violence exist) its frustrating to see the idea over and over again that its a given that a tough past will turn someone into a monster.
Regardless, the ending was brilliant.
I saw the movie Audition years ago, and found it underwhelming. In part, because I had been overhyped on how gory it would be but reading the book reminded me of other issues I had with the story.
After watching Love & Pop, Audition, and both reading and watching Piercing I think that what I really wanted from this book isn't what Murakami is interested in exploring in his work. I did enjoy this more than Piercing. Aoyama wasn't exactly likeable but he was far less grating than Kawashima who made me constantly want to throw the book across the room until around the halfway point when the comedy of errors plot kicked in. Piercing I found funny straight away which made it a much more entertaining read. Murakami's works are ultimately focused on internal psychology though, and in a way I always seem to have mixed feelings about.
Regardless, the ending was brilliant.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexism, Animal death, Animal cruelty, Mental illness, Blood, Drug abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Sexual content, Violence, Torture, and Gore
Minor: Infidelity, Self harm, Emotional abuse, Cancer, Grief, Pedophilia, Death, Incest, Child abuse, and Alcohol
drug abuse specifically in the form of giving someone drugs without their consentcronasbookshelf's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.5
for the first half of the book, the story was actually pretty interesting and i liked it, but then the second half was just terrible, the pacing was off, the sex scene was awkward and disgusting, the plot twist of asami being a murderer wasn't at all developed, she just killed the dog and tried to kill aoyama, also i never understood why she wanted to kill him in the first place, plus the whole murder scene was underwhelming, it wasn't scary, just grotesque . i really didn't like the ending and thought it was just straight up lazy. the protagonist is a creep and his colleague too, they were 40 something year old men trying to get with 20 something year old women and nobody around them thought of it as weird or told them anything. i don't recommend it. i think the author knows how to write interesting characters and the first part of the plot isn't bad, he just couldn't develop the characters or the story in a compelling way + his male characters in this story are all creeps except for shige.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Murder, Drug abuse, and Physical abuse
mermaidsherbet's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
1.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Mental illness, Violence, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Torture, Body horror, Toxic relationship, and Child abuse
Minor: Abandonment, Death, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Pedophilia, Sexual content, Cancer, Blood, Death of parent, Injury/Injury detail, Alcoholism, Sexism, Cursing, Gore, Murder, Alcohol, Grief, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Drug abuse, and Medical content
alexmorex3's review against another edition
dark
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Gore, and Drug abuse
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