Reviews

Not for me at all unfortunately I love Japanese literature and they love a good pulp/thriller but this flopped for me. Flipping formats does nothing to move the plot rather than distract from it. Characters were very flat especially the MC and I couldn’t really bring myself to care much about them

kenz_reads's review against another edition

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4.0

I think I will be delving more into Japanese horror after reading this gem!

em_harring's review against another edition

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3.0

2.5 stars rounded up.

Unsure of the execution of this great premise. It's a rocky novel that's a bit uneven in plotting and pacing, though it's short so it's easy to get through.

While I liked the audiobook and would overall recommend it, I was pretty unsure what was happening for the first 3/4 of the novel because the POVs sounded so similar. I liked the last hour or so when everything is revealed and you find out what actually happened. I thought it was an interesting take on a premise we've seen before (

Spoiler

I'm thinking, here, of The Collector by John Fowles, though I think that's a stronger novel

). I also liked the use of archival material and interviews that were throughout the book.

I did hate the way women were portrayed and written in this, though. It was very male gazey and made me uncomfortable at times.

A mixed bag, this one. I would probably check out another book by Nakamura.

willwork4airfare's review against another edition

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2.0

So, I did not love it. There were parts that were so thrilling and exciting to read, the crime and the mystery really had many layers and it was interesting to sift through them all, but it had many flaws. I know it was a translation, so I can forgive the writing style, but at times it was difficult to tell exactly who was talking, and that didn't help the clarity of the piece at all. I really didn't enjoy the gratuitous violence towards women. Even if it's typical for the genre, it was just difficult to read at some points, especially with such flat characters. It's short and sweet and I can imagine a lot of people really enjoyed this story, but I had a hard time connecting with it and in the end, I don't think the "twist" was pulled off as effectively as it could've been.

I read this as part of my Japanese author/setting kick in preparation for an upcoming trip I hope to take!

nan_sy97's review against another edition

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dark mysterious reflective tense 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

4.0

nuhafariha's review against another edition

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3.0

I found this book bizarre if I’m being honest. There are so many plot twists and bizarre love scenes which seem to placed there just for the reason of being there. Moreover, the language was not interesting either.

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