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2.72 AVERAGE
2.72 AVERAGE
Loved the cover art. Unfortunately not very scary. Beautiful descriptions that belong more to a collection of gothic poetry than a novella about irritating 20 somethings.
Not frightening and my enjoyment of the demons was undercut by my intense hatred of all the characters. Just stupid petty people.
Not frightening and my enjoyment of the demons was undercut by my intense hatred of all the characters. Just stupid petty people.
I did not enjoy the writing style, the characters, or the narrative.
fast-paced
dark
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
N/A
Strong character development:
N/A
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
You could just about smell the cream on the lip of Phillip's grin, though. I tried not to cringe, to wince, beset by a zoetrope of sudden emotions. I hadn't spoke to Lin since before I checked myself into the hospital for terminal ennui, exhaustion so acute it couldn't be sanitized with sleep, couldn't be remedied by anything but a twist of rope tugged tight. The doctors kept me for six days and then sent me home, pockets stuffed with pills and appointments and placards advocating the commandments of safer living. I spent six months doing the work, a shut-in committed to the betterment of self, university and my study of Japanese literature, both formal and otherwise, shelved, temporarily.
From what I can gather, this is a fairly divisive book among the horror literature circles, and the biggest complaint that I repeatedly see is about the writing and vocabulary. It is packed with more figurative language than you'd expect and has a lot of word choices that feel like someone was either studying for the SAT or just wanted a sponsorship from a thesaurus publisher. There's also a lot of unexplained Japanese words thrown in which might be confusing to anyone who's not at least a level five weeaboo. But it is definitely unique, and I don't think that's a reason to shy away from this book.
At it's core, there's an interesting story at play. Five long-time friends, with a LOT of messy relationship drama between them, have a history of going to haunted places and looking for spooky shit. The guy with the 1% parents manages to rent out an entire abandoned feudal Japanese mansion (and the other characters do comment on just how insane that is, don't worry), and they all gather together as young adults so two of them can get married in this place that was supposedly haunted by a bride whose groom died before he could get to the wedding 1,000 years ago. Predictably, hijinks ensue.
Honestly, the dialogue feels real and flows naturally, and the characters for the most part behave the way you'd expect them to, even when the supernatural stuff starts going down. The prose reads almost like a writing assignment, like someone was given a prompt to write a ghost story and make it as flowery and over-the-top as possible. But I don't think that's necessarily a bad thing because I don't think nearly as many people would have even heard about this book were it not known for being so distinctive.
This book did exactly what it set out to do, and it did it in just the right amount of length. I don't regret giving it my time, and if nothing else I appreciate having a new go-to example of ~purple prose~ in my back pocket to reference on the fly. Don't be scared away by other reviews you might see on this one.
From what I can gather, this is a fairly divisive book among the horror literature circles, and the biggest complaint that I repeatedly see is about the writing and vocabulary. It is packed with more figurative language than you'd expect and has a lot of word choices that feel like someone was either studying for the SAT or just wanted a sponsorship from a thesaurus publisher. There's also a lot of unexplained Japanese words thrown in which might be confusing to anyone who's not at least a level five weeaboo. But it is definitely unique, and I don't think that's a reason to shy away from this book.
At it's core, there's an interesting story at play. Five long-time friends, with a LOT of messy relationship drama between them, have a history of going to haunted places and looking for spooky shit. The guy with the 1% parents manages to rent out an entire abandoned feudal Japanese mansion (and the other characters do comment on just how insane that is, don't worry), and they all gather together as young adults so two of them can get married in this place that was supposedly haunted by a bride whose groom died before he could get to the wedding 1,000 years ago. Predictably, hijinks ensue.
Honestly, the dialogue feels real and flows naturally, and the characters for the most part behave the way you'd expect them to, even when the supernatural stuff starts going down. The prose reads almost like a writing assignment, like someone was given a prompt to write a ghost story and make it as flowery and over-the-top as possible. But I don't think that's necessarily a bad thing because I don't think nearly as many people would have even heard about this book were it not known for being so distinctive.
This book did exactly what it set out to do, and it did it in just the right amount of length. I don't regret giving it my time, and if nothing else I appreciate having a new go-to example of ~purple prose~ in my back pocket to reference on the fly. Don't be scared away by other reviews you might see on this one.
SPOILERS NOT A REVIEW. I just want to remember what I read
A group of friends stay at a haunted house in Japan and the rich one who booked the trip dies - stabbed by the friend. The fiancée is possessed and has a break down a girl lives in the walls of the house waiting for her husband. The main character- narrator is a pick me girl who hates other girls, but they made her bi to try to make up for it- that’s how it felt to me. Short and ..0K
A group of friends stay at a haunted house in Japan and the rich one who booked the trip dies - stabbed by the friend. The fiancée is possessed and has a break down a girl lives in the walls of the house waiting for her husband. The main character- narrator is a pick me girl who hates other girls, but they made her bi to try to make up for it- that’s how it felt to me. Short and ..0K
adventurous
dark
mysterious
sad
tense
dark
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I would not say I enjoyed this book, but I am glad I read it. This book is a surrealist haunted house story about grief, codependency, and myth. The metaphors and similes felt very heavy-handed and sometimes took me out of the story. Despite it being a very short book, it took a while for the plot to pick up. It reminded me of the 1977 horror/comedy movie House. I would still recommend it to horror fans, although if you are sensitive to body horror, this one will not be for you.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Violence, Vomit, Toxic friendship
Moderate: Bullying, Drug use, Mental illness
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I think it’s a 2 - but I’m trying not to feel bad about not loving a read, so here ya go
This was fine. Not great, but not bad.
First thing that hit me was that it used a lot of very unnecessary complicated words. Like I appreciate specific descriptions and colourful writing, but it seemed forced at times. Every movement and thought had to become a picture or a metaphor, and that’s just kinda annoying.
I liked the story itself and the realistic characters though.. it was unique whilst doing a probably very overused trope of “teens going to haunted mansion”. But yeah, the ending was kind of abrupt
I’m writing a lot of negatives here so a 2,5 might be weird, but it just feels like it doesn’t deserve less. Cause I’m glad I read it and it did make me focus more. And ever though there was a bit of unnecessary complicated writing, it was good writing and really painted a picture.
AND it didn’t take more than three days to read, so why not give it a try. I feel like some people might really like this and some people will probably really dislike it!
This was fine. Not great, but not bad.
First thing that hit me was that it used a lot of very unnecessary complicated words. Like I appreciate specific descriptions and colourful writing, but it seemed forced at times. Every movement and thought had to become a picture or a metaphor, and that’s just kinda annoying.
I liked the story itself and the realistic characters though.. it was unique whilst doing a probably very overused trope of “teens going to haunted mansion”. But yeah, the ending was kind of abrupt
I’m writing a lot of negatives here so a 2,5 might be weird, but it just feels like it doesn’t deserve less. Cause I’m glad I read it and it did make me focus more. And ever though there was a bit of unnecessary complicated writing, it was good writing and really painted a picture.
AND it didn’t take more than three days to read, so why not give it a try. I feel like some people might really like this and some people will probably really dislike it!