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2.72 AVERAGE
2.72 AVERAGE
I really wanted to like this book more than I did. Probably I'm not the key audience for it. If I'd read it on paper it would have been a disaster. With Kindle I could at least have Wikipedia explain all of the Japanese terms on which the horror hinges, but it still required Google to discover the meaning of the phrase that gives the story its title. For non-Japanese speakers, it really throws you out of the story having to look up so much. And you will need to, because the author doesn't explain a thing in the text. I went in thinking the teeth were blackened by fire and were it not for Google, none of it would have made sense at all.
At the same time, the author seems to want to prove she's beyond fluent in English, stringing together long sentences comprised of florid words that almost fit, but not quite. My favorite example being "...the bell curve of her orbit", which sounds nice but is completely meaningless. Maybe it's just me, but I can't focus a story, no matter how intense and scary it is, when I'm distracted by the author either not knowing what a bell curve is, or not caring that words have meaning. (If they don't have fixed meanings, what's the point of even trying to tell a story?)
Google tells me that Khaw is primarily a scriptwriter and that makes sense. Blackened Teeth would have made a much better movie. A little dialogue would have explained the blackened teeth, and seeing the mythic gods and monsters come to life would spare us having to Google to find out what was going on.
All that aside, it was a fun spooky idea, executed in a fashion that's probably fine for readers who aren't prickly language purists. Knowledge of Japanese culture and mythology a plus.
At the same time, the author seems to want to prove she's beyond fluent in English, stringing together long sentences comprised of florid words that almost fit, but not quite. My favorite example being "...the bell curve of her orbit", which sounds nice but is completely meaningless. Maybe it's just me, but I can't focus a story, no matter how intense and scary it is, when I'm distracted by the author either not knowing what a bell curve is, or not caring that words have meaning. (If they don't have fixed meanings, what's the point of even trying to tell a story?)
Google tells me that Khaw is primarily a scriptwriter and that makes sense. Blackened Teeth would have made a much better movie. A little dialogue would have explained the blackened teeth, and seeing the mythic gods and monsters come to life would spare us having to Google to find out what was going on.
All that aside, it was a fun spooky idea, executed in a fashion that's probably fine for readers who aren't prickly language purists. Knowledge of Japanese culture and mythology a plus.
dark
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
dark
funny
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
I think Cassandra Khaw is a beautiful writer, but I think this was a little over-written. I often just wanted it to get to the point, but overall I thought it was good! Interesting story!
This was okay. Definitely eerie and gory, but not my favorite. The characters were kind of annoying, but I did enjoy the Japanese folk lore. Quick, horror read!
This book started off way creepier than it became. Once the supernatural show up... they just sort of hang around? Then some bad stuff happens, kind of? For such a short book, I'm surprised how quickly it goes off the rails and how messy its tone becomes.
dark
funny
mysterious
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
This was horrible
I wanted to like this one, but the excessively descriptive writing got in the way of the story, to the point where I’m not even fully sure what happened. No character could make a gesture or scenery be described without being compared to something in a poetic way. Example: “he threw a shrug, hands tossed up so quickly that his fingers, if they had been birds, would have broken in the violence.” If that type of writing had been used sparingly and thoughtfully, it could’ve been used to great effect. But instead it was used almost constantly, and annoyed the reader like a mosquito probing every inch of your arm looking for the sweetest spot (see what I did there…like that, constantly).
It was atmospheric and creepy but slightly disappointing. Maybe I expected something else entirely from it. The author took their time setting up and exploring but the ending felt rushed and almost comical.